Narazumono

Narazumono, whose translation in the English version is An Outlaw, is a gangster film in the lone vigilante style, very popular in the 60s, but with some characteristics that distinguish it, not always for the better, from other darker works, such as that characterized by the new Japanese wave.

The use of color, in a lively and bright tone, which clearly distances it from the somber black and white tones of classic noir and even from the new wave, that loved the black and white, although elevated to the showy splendor of the large format. Here, color played to the detriment of the work, which lost style and became commonplace.

On the positive side, we have the fact that the film was almost entirely filmed in Hong Kong and Macau, in the 60s, thus giving an interesting historical view of these two cities, in colonial times, cosmopolitan and densely populated the British colony, empty, provincial and almost miserable the portuguese.

This is probably the worst movie of Ken Takakura, not only his acting is bad, the script is also bad, the director also sucks. Takakura Ken's acting is very blunt, not like a very talented actor at all, his acting skills are very awkward and rigid, It's even a bit like a Korean actor, who must use constant self-talking to himself to express the thoughts in his head, and then use movements to follow his thoughts, it looks just pretty stupid. All the other supporting roles are not good at all because of the lousy script and the bad director.

After the movie continued for ten to fifteen minutes, it was almost unbearable and unwatchable at all!

Charismatic antihero Ken Takakura playing a solitary social outcast heads a fabulous cast in this exciting crime drama. The lone assassin embarks on a desperate trail of revenge after he is used as the fall guy in an elaborate frame up. His pusuit leads him into the sordid world of drug trafficking and the exploitation and abuse of young women. The complex tale twists and turns much like the setting, the tight back alleys and lane ways of Hong Kong. It is fabulous on location filming which beautifully captures, with superb cinematography, the natural and city scapes from the excessive wealth to the lowest social depths. Yokohama is the Japanese setting with a only brief stopover, most of the action is in Hong Kong, where a number of expats are also based. Writer Director Teruo Ishii's early crime/noir dramas are all excellent. I think they culminate here in "Narazumono" which is exceptional, an outstanding gem. It seems all the director's mastery, his writing, his creative flair, has come together for this super stylish super cool thriller. Surprisingly little known, a shout out for this wonderfully entertaining excellent Classic Japanese film. Highly Recommended !!

A Japanese man makes a hit in Hong Kong and is then cheated for his payment. Then he goes on a mission to find out who hired him and get revenge.

This is indeed not an action movie as it spends much more time on "our hero" finding out who cheated him and where to find him than action sequences. In a way more a detective story where the detective is a hit-man. I did feel the story was very well worked through and the characters he met on his way was interesting and well acted.

If you like revenge movies then this is a great movie to choose. This movie could have been made today of course with more explosions and shooting. But it is a real treat if you can live with the slower pace. I also enjoyed the colorful views of the city there was at times.

I would not call this movie a masterpiece but a movie in the better end of the scale that I am happy I have seen it. There should truly be more people enjoying this movie.