B-
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki's renown was originally built mostly on his constant squabbles with Tokyo film giant Nkkatsu studios where he frequently butted heads with management, producing wild, map cap filmd that were seen as disgraces by the suits at Nikkatsu but many of which have now become seminal films in the history of Japanese ciname. Suzuki's wild, uncompromising style was largely borne out of his attempts at causing grief to Nikkatsu and resulted in some great stuff such as "Tokyo Drifter" and "Branded to Kill." His later works, of which "Pistol Opera" is a part, are sort of a mixed bag but contain a fair amount fo what made Suzuki's original films so good.
"Pistol Opera" follows Miyuki "Stray Cat," Minazuki, #3 ranked assassin in the hilariously straight forwardly named "Assassins Guild" in her attempts to both survive the attacks of other guild members and claim the #1 spot for herself. The film works as a series of showdowns between Stray Cat and a motley crew of assassins with names such as "Hundred Eyes" and "Painless Surgeon." Suzuki's absurdist style is on full display here and the smilarities between "Pistol Opera" and his earlier works is not hard to draw. Indeed, it appears that Suzuki has not felt the need to reform himself later in his career or rather offer films that diverge significantly from the works which made him famous in the first place. Although "Pistol Opera" suffers a bit from the fact that is just comes off as a newer, more modern version of some of Suzuki's older films, it remains nonetheless that "Pistol Opera" is alot of fun and features from uniquely Suzuki-esque moments that are both visually exciting, absurd, and hilarious at the same time.
Seijun Suzuki's renown was originally built mostly on his constant squabbles with Tokyo film giant Nkkatsu studios where he frequently butted heads with management, producing wild, map cap filmd that were seen as disgraces by the suits at Nikkatsu but many of which have now become seminal films in the history of Japanese ciname. Suzuki's wild, uncompromising style was largely borne out of his attempts at causing grief to Nikkatsu and resulted in some great stuff such as "Tokyo Drifter" and "Branded to Kill." His later works, of which "Pistol Opera" is a part, are sort of a mixed bag but contain a fair amount fo what made Suzuki's original films so good.
"Pistol Opera" follows Miyuki "Stray Cat," Minazuki, #3 ranked assassin in the hilariously straight forwardly named "Assassins Guild" in her attempts to both survive the attacks of other guild members and claim the #1 spot for herself. The film works as a series of showdowns between Stray Cat and a motley crew of assassins with names such as "Hundred Eyes" and "Painless Surgeon." Suzuki's absurdist style is on full display here and the smilarities between "Pistol Opera" and his earlier works is not hard to draw. Indeed, it appears that Suzuki has not felt the need to reform himself later in his career or rather offer films that diverge significantly from the works which made him famous in the first place. Although "Pistol Opera" suffers a bit from the fact that is just comes off as a newer, more modern version of some of Suzuki's older films, it remains nonetheless that "Pistol Opera" is alot of fun and features from uniquely Suzuki-esque moments that are both visually exciting, absurd, and hilarious at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment