Movielogr
Branded to Kill (1967)
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Length 91 minutes
Actors
Jô Shishido | Kôji Nanbara | Isao Tamagawa | Annu Mari | Mariko Ogawa | Hiroshi Minami | Hiroshi Chô | Atsushi Yamatoya | Takashi Nomura | Tokuhei Miyahara | Hiroshi Midorikawa | Kosuke Hisamatsu | Iwae Arai | Yû Izumi | Kyôji Mizuki | Takashi Seyama | Masaaki Honme | Mitsuru Sawa | Shiro Tonami | Akira Takahashi | Shinzô Shibata | Tessen Nakahira | Wataru Kobayashi | Yoshigi Ôba | Ken Mizoguchi | Michiko Hagi | Franz Gruber | Akira Hisamatsu
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/03/2014 | TV | DVD | Library | 7.5 stars |
| (Average) 7.5 stars |
Viewing Notes
Watching Joe Shishido in this I decided that his cheeks look like prosthetics. Lo and behold in the interview w/Shishido sans his “cheeks” on the new Criterion disc he discusses getting the cheek implants to make him more handsome! WHAT. The scars on his cheeks are very visible from whenever he decided to have them removed. Amazing to learn this. (of course I could have just read this on IMDb if I ever bothered reading the trivia on that site)
Also in TIL after watching this: Suzuki was blacklisted after this movie because he sued Nikkatsu for not releasing the film. Apparently the president of Nikkatsu did not understand the movie so he fired Suzuki. Suzuki then sued to get it released but no studio would hire him for 10 years. Kuzuu says that it wasn’t until a commercial that Suzuki made got notable attention that he was able to make films again. Crazy stuff.
As for the film, yes it’s a blast. Although I will say that final sequence is a bit wobbly when both hitmen adhere to some bizarre assassin code. But everything up that is damn near brilliant and weird and different than anything in that subgenre.
I’m disappointed that I haven’t bothered to watch this sooner esp. considering I own the previous Criterion release (I picked up this newer edition from the library). I think on future viewings my rating will go up because there is so much to love and appreciate. Suzuki is so damn creative doing things with the camera and action I haven’t seen.
Still reeling from the notion that Nikkatsu did not want to release this movie, what is now considered one the best Japanese films of all time. Nuts.
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