Kuro tokage

I hadn't seen any of Kinji Fukasaku's work from the 1960s so I thought BLACK LIZARD would be a good place to check it out. It's a lively adaptation of an old detective novel by Edogawa Rampa, although being made in the late '60s it has more than a touch of Bond to it with a super villain, an island lair, and some hotel hijinks. The detective doesn't feature too much here, the brunt of the narrative being given over to the Black Lizard character, a female nightclub owner played by a guy in drag. It's a highly stylised and frankly bizarre little film that labours some of the plotting, but it has some interesting surrealist touches to make it worth a look.

Kenji Fukasaku's BLACK LIZARD (1958) was released in the US by CINEVISTA in the early 90's. The movie received a focused and limited release in the US, but its existence in video has developed a cult following that has gained momentum as the years has passed. With the totally bizarre appearances of then-Japan's most famous Kabuki theater transvestite Akihiro Murayama as the title role Black Lizard, Yukio Mishima's cameo as a "statue" or maybe even as an eerie stuffed human figure; a screen play by Mishima based on a story of one of Japan's most famous horror writers, Rampo Edogawa, and even music by electronic "planet music" guru Isao Tomita, this movie reads as a who's who in the arts and literature in Japan in the 60's. But many movies in the past created by geniuses have failed in delivering an intellectual as well as a cinematic punch. This is NOT the case with "Black Lizard". From the psychedelic settings, the poetic dialogue and tragicomic developments, the movie succeeds both as high-art "manga" as well as a well-thought piece of "agit-prop". Few movies deliver so much substance hidden under so much flash; it is one experience that has to be felt viscerally as well as intellectually. Unfortunately, the VHS version is out of print, and I do not know of any plans for a DVD release as of this writing. We wait anxiously until someone revives this totally bizarre and wonderful piece of art and it is released in DVD format for a new generation of anime-educated viewers.

IMDB calls this a comedy. This is not in any way. It's a crime drama.

A jewel thief kidnaps a jeweler's daughter to obtain one of those one-of-a-kind diamonds you often see in movies. But a detective stands in her way.

First, the Black Lizard aka the woman jewel thief is played by Akihiro Miwa, a male actor known to crossdress professionally. Strange casting decision. He doesn't pass as a woman at all. Not even as an ugly woman. Unfortunately, that made a movie I'd rate at 9 as more like 6 and a half.

The acting is a mixed bag. Some are very good. Some terrible. But the direction was brilliant. Especially the little audio & camera tricks. There are a couple of things that are less than believable but some things in this film are a bit cartoonish.

All in all this is a very good movie. Biggest problem is I never could accept the lead actor as a woman. Very distracting. Yet I still recommend this movie.

This obscure Japanese thriller would seem to have a very good reputation among cult fans; and while I can see the appeal of the film, I do have to say that I'm surprised by all the praise it gets as aside from the odd memorable moment; the film is a mostly flawed piece. Black Lizard is directed by Kinji Fukasaku; the director who would go on to direct the seminal masterpiece Battle Royale in 2000. The film is basically a heist movie; although it often gets labelled as a comedy and that is mainly down to the thick layer of absurd comedy emanating from the central villain; although anyone going into this film expecting to laugh will be disappointed. The central character is named 'Black Lizard' - a thief with a penchant for jewels. She sets her sights on a diamond named "The Star of Egypt" and in order to get to it, kidnaps the owner's daughter and asks for the jewel in ransom. The detective on the case is named Akechi; and after a card game together, the two develop a mutual respect; and Black Lizard falls in love with the detective.

The most bizarre thing about this film is the casting of transvestite Akihiro Miwa in the lead role. Initially, I was sure that the central character was a transvestite; but as the film went on, it seemed to suggest more that the character is actually a woman, although there are some suggestions that maybe that isn't the case. The actor's performance would have been quite good if the character was meant to be a man in fact; but he really doesn't convince as a woman, and while I appreciate the idea of putting him in the lead role; I don't think it was a very good one. The plot has rather a lot to it and moves very quickly considering the running time of the film which is definitely to it's credit; although at times it does move a bit too quickly and the film does not have time to really put forward all of it's ideas. This is mainly at the expense of the characters; as we are not made to care about anyone in the film, which leaves the whole thing feeling a bit cold. There's some good style on display, however, and that's one of the main positives. Overall, this film might be of interest to some but I wasn't very impressed with it!

I was fortunate enough to see "Black Lizard" at our local art cinema upon its very special U.S. release way back when and have searched high and low for the film on VHS, laserdisc and DVD ever since. The film is amazing, and I'm surprised it hasn't received that much attention amongst film buffs. Those of us who have seen it know what a wonderful film this is and I suggest that anyone who wants to see it again, at least on home video, should go to the logical source for a film like this - The Criterion Collection. Send them messages through their site telling them how special and important this film is and maybe, just maybe, they'll do something about it! I've already sent my request, so give it a shot. The more people request it, the better chance we have of seeing it get a DVD release! Long live "Black Lizard"!