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With: Tetsuya Watari, Meiko Kaji, Seizo Fukumoto, Takuzo Kawatani, Hideo Murota, Nagisa Oshima, Tatsuo Umemiya
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Written by: Kazuo Kasahara
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Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku
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MPAA Rating: NR
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Language: Japanese, with English subtitles
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Running Time: 92
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Date: 03/18/2013
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Threat Detective
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
I have absolutely no idea what happened in this movie, but I liked it. This is the kind of movie Spike Jonze was emulating when he made the 1994 Beastie Boys video "Sabotage." Kinji Fukasaku directs with an astonishing technique, a striking, full-color cinemascope frame, revved up to an impossible pace. Whenever our antihero, detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari) speaks to anyone, he winds up in a fist-fight; Fukasaku's camera tilts and dives and chases after the action, and at no point becomes lost in the jumble. It's unbelievably skilled, clear, exciting work. Kuroiwa somehow gets stuck in the middle of a war between two Yakuza gangs, and keeps a girlfriend -- the rescued wife (Meiko Kaji) of a former yakuza member -- on the side. Everyone wears funky 1970s shirts and giant-sized sunglasses, and the whole thing oozes cool. Fukasaku (1930-2003) was a prolific director, best known in this country for the dubbed version of The Green Slime (1968) and for his final masterpiece, Battle Royale (2000).
I originally saw this film on Kino Video's 2006 DVD release, but Radiance's 2023 Blu-ray is truly spectacular. Bonuses include a 15-minute interview with filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi (The Blood of Wolves), discussing his love for the film, as well as a 12-minute visual essay by Tom Mes, "The Rage and the Passion," a trailer, and an image gallery. This is Highly Recommended.
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