On this episode we look at the cinema of cool with seijun suzukis tokyo drifter. Tokyo drifter looks gorgeous on bluray presented in an avc encoded 1080p high definition transfer in its proper 2. Jan 04, 2012 tokyo drifter 1966 seijun suzuki was employed by nikkatsu japans oldest movie studio in the 1950s and 60s, churning out bmovies at an alarming rate. A colorful riot of an action drama, tokyo drifter, like many of suzukis films, transforms a standard gangster film plot into a vehicle for his own loopy brand of filmmaking, featuring gorgeous cinematography, unconventional storytelling. Matsue and maeno together take the city in all its gritty glory and attempt to shine a light on the darkness. Tokyo drifter criterion collection widescreen, subtitled.
In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer tetsus attempt to go straight is thwarted when his former cohorts call him. Tokyo drift follows high school car enthusiast sean boswell black, who is sent to live in tokyo with his father, and finds. Seijun suzukis 1966 yakuza picture tokyo drifter starts as a blackandwhite film. Fans of classic yakuza films and japanese newwave cinema have reason to celebrate today with criterions release of seijun suzukis 1966 tokyo drifter, and his 1967 branded to kill. Branded to kill, suzukis final film for nikkatsu, after which the studio promptly fired him, attempts to escape the prison house of genre entirely, morphing into a feverdream series of nightmare tableaux, but tokyo drifter seems satisfied to beat its head against the walls of its solitaryconfinement cell. A common yakuza film trope that suzuki loved deconstructing. Tokyo drifter dvd, 1999, criterion collection for sale. That hauntingly cornball theme song, permeating the movie in ironic nightclub variations like a slinkydink melange of brechtweill and bobby darin and sandra dee. Tokyo drifter stands with branded to kill as one of the bestknown and most acclaimed films of seijun suzuki, one of japans most talented maverick directors. Tokyo drifter, tokyo nagaremono original trailer with german subtitles, directed by. Tokyo drifter is one of the coolest films ever made. Theres definitely a jazz vibe to it that draws the comparison, but its also like jazz in that suzuki takes a basic gangster picture framework and, in effect, improvises to round out the basic skeleton with something much more interesting. Dec, 2011 just what is it that makes seijun suzukis tokyo drifter 1966 so different, so appealing.
Its hard to imagine that criterion has done a worse transfer than what we get for their original 1999 dvd edition of seijun suzukis tokyo drifter sadly they have. Director seijun suzukis onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors is equal parts russ meyer, samuel fuller, and nagisa oshimaan anythinggoes, inyourface rampage. Suzuki got to shoot this one in color he never made this decision himself, as he explains in an interview on the disc and, well, never let it be said that he. I assume it was a poorly done port from their original laserdisc edition. Tetsu will end up fighting with every male he meets at some point, trust me. A colorful riot of an action drama, tokyo drifter, like many of suzukis films, transforms a. Branded to kill, suzukis final film for nikkatsu, after which the studio promptly fired him, attempts to escape the prison house of genre entirely, morphing into a feverdream series of nightmare tableaux, but tokyo drifter seems satisfied to beat its head against the. Tokyo drift is a 2006 american action film directed by justin lin, with a screenplay by chris morgan. Tokyo drifter 1966 seijun suzuki was employed by nikkatsu japans oldest movie studio in the 1950s and 60s, churning out bmovies at an alarming rate. At the time of tokyo drifter, sean connery had portrayed james bond four times and was about to make a fifth appearance, set in japan itself, in 1967. For japanese director seijun suzuki, low budgets yielded. Film maker who paired pop art visuals and yakuza hitmen in tokyo drifter leaves behind a singular, surreal body of work that gained international acclaim celebrated japanese film director seijun suzuki, best known for cult 1960s yakuza films tokyo drifter and branded to kill, has died at the age of 93. Tokyo spinout cars 2 microdrifters new 2012 releases mattel toys disney pixar mattel cars toy. In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer tetsus attempt to go straight is thwarted when his former cohorts call him back to tokyo to help battle.
Directed by seijiun suzuki, the film is lovingly made and is filled with outrageous and eccentric touches as suzuki attempts to make tokyo drifter into every movie and not just another yakuza movie. In tokyo drifter, suzuki employs outre lighting effects, intentionally artificiallooking sets, dynamic widescreen compositions, and. It is about a reformed killer named tetsu who enters into a battle with a rival gang despite his intent to do otherwise. Criterion gives seijun suzukis outthere yakuza flick tokyo drifter a much needed upgrade on bluray, presenting the film in its original aspect ratio of 2. During an interview feature on the new criterion bluray of 1966s tokyo drifter, assistant director masami kuzuu discusses some of his favorite visual motifs in the film, and debates their possible symbolic significance. Unlike most of the other films on the list, tokyo drifter has no approach to realism, instead going for a mix of artdeco fantasy and popart insanity. Note the impressive fountain of blood at the end when kurata slices his wrist with a shard of glass. Tokyo drifter is not good enough to hold the audiences attention with every plot detail i did it, so that you would not have to, but you would be amazed out how pleasant it is simply to watch.
Get shorty season 12 complete webhd 720p june 5, 2019. Tetsu tetsuya watari, a former gangster looking to go legit, is set upon by a bunch of toughs from a rival gang. Tokyo drifter is a 1966 yakuza film directed by seijun suzuki. Tokyo drifter, 1966, directed by seijun suzuki, written by yasunori kawauchi this is another one of seijun suzukis movies for nikkatsu, and, like branded to kill, it has a pretty banal script but is worth seeing for its lurid style. It is ridiculous in ways that in other action films we readily accept.
May 25, 2019 unlike most of the other films on the list, tokyo drifter has no approach to realism, instead going for a mix of artdeco fantasy and popart insanity. May 11, 2016 tokyo drifter is often described as a jazzy film. Tokyo drifter, tokyo nagaremono is a 1966 yakuza film directed by seijun suzuki. With tetsuya watari, chieko matsubara, hideaki nitani, tamio kawaji. Cars micro drifters racing lightup tuners tokyo mater wheelies radiator springs playset wheelie car. Tokyo drifter dvd, 2011, criterion collection for sale. Preproduction the script and postproduction the editing, tokyo drifter is seriously lacking. Seijun suzukis career fell into two distinct parts. Whats particularly amazing is that it achieves this goal with the use of a screenplay that is filled with flaws, most notably gaping plot holes that would sink most other.
If youve seen the film before, youll probably remember that the black and white opening scene has some strange blown out white levels and contrast is heavily abnormal resulting in some fairly black. A film which along with branded to kill saw him blacklisted by nikkatsu as he set out to create somthing alot more diffrent than the typical yakuza fare hed previously been associated with as here enforcer tetsuya phoenix tetsu hondo is forced to become a drifter when his boss disolves the. Basically just another tale of gang warfare, its kitted out with plot ellipses, bizarre sets a. Tokyo drifter 1966 tamio kawaji and tetsuya watari in tokyo drifter 1966 chieko matsubara and tetsuya watari in tokyo. Watch tokyo drifter full movie in hd visit movie 45706 after yakuza boss kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpi.
Tokyo drifter acts as an ode to tokyo, with a very simple premise. From the late 1950s until 1967, he was a director of productionline genre flicks at nikkatsu studios. Calling tokyo drifter a stylish yakuza color film is an understatement out of this world. Jan 25, 2010 tokyo drifter, tokyo nagaremono original trailer with german subtitles, directed by.
Tokyo drifter is the second film by director seijun suzuki to be released to the criterion collection on dvd. The story follows tetsuya watari as the reformed yakuza hitman. Tokyo drifter criterion collection, dvd, widescreen, subtitled, action adventure, foreignjapanese, 715515090711. In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer tetsus attempt to go straight is thwarted when his former cohorts call him back to tokyo to help battle a rival gang.
Not being a twenty something japanese lout i am not the target audience for this film. Tokyo drifter 1966 and fighting elegy 1966, showing this week, were both made when nikkatsu, hoping to rein in suzukis extravagant visuals, cut his production budgets. There are some inspired shots in this film and suzuki makes the most out of some pretty cheesy sets. Director seijun suzukis onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors is equal parts russ meyer, samuel fuller, and nagisa oshima. Tokyo drifter stands with branded to kill as one of the bestknown and most acclaimed films of seijun. The opening sequence consists of a mash of images from. It is about a reformed killer named tetsu who enters. The story follows tetsuya watari as the reformed yakuza hitman phoenix tetsu who is forced to roam japan avoiding execution by rival gangs the majority of the film takes place in tokyo, but portrays the city in a highly stylized manner. Watch tokyo drifter full movie in hd visit after yakuza boss kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpi. The story follows tetsuya watari as the reformed yakuza hitman phoenix tetsu who is forced to. Just what is it that makes seijun suzukis tokyo drifter 1966 so different, so appealing.