38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

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numediaman2
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 4:51 pm

Tokyo Drifter

#26 Post by numediaman2 » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:25 pm

souvenir wrote:Tokyo Drifter played on TCM late last night and it seemed to look very good and sharp, better than the Criterion dvd.
I did, in fact, capture this. But I wish TCM would create a high def channel the way TNT and Discovery have. Nonetheless, the film had the Janus logo and looked very good. I suppose we will see a Criterion upgrade soon.

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jt
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Branded to Kill

#27 Post by jt » Mon Dec 03, 2007 6:24 am

This is today's lead Wikipedia article.

putney
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Branded to Kill

#28 Post by putney » Mon Dec 03, 2007 6:58 am

very late in the game to add something here, but i want to say that the above (first listing) description as "turning a cookie cutter script" into something is absolute hogwash. The writer's of the script, especially Atsushi Yamatoya knew exactly what they were doing. A lot of the ideas in this film can be seen in practically every film Yamatoya wrote or directed himself. (he directed 4 films, 3 for Wakamatsu productions, and his last film , the masterpiece "Love trap") Yamatoya went on to work with Suzuki again several times, both in television movies (Fang in the Hole, etc.) and his great Hishuu Monogatoari (story of sorrow and sadness) which unfortunately is not available in a well translated form. I am absolutely a Suzuki fan, this is not meant to deride his vision. that said, i think this idea that pervades a lot of this way of thinking, that the director somehow "singlehandedly brought the system down, mannnn.." does a disservice in the end.

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Doctor Sunshine
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Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#29 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Mon Dec 03, 2007 8:58 pm

Technically there was another script before Suzuki ever came on board, although the only thing I know about the original script is that the studio heads didn't like it and brought Suzuki in who rewrote it with his Group of Eight. The sequence of events is laid out in the Wikipedia article's production section (I actually wrote that article). Takeo Kimura, Yamatoya (who was working as an AD) and five other ADs formed a writing group in the mid 60s under the name Harchiro Guryu. Suzuki was definitely a collaborative type--I believe it was Yamatoya who came up with the ranking system--but he still deserves full credit for drawing and galvanizing all of these anarchic, creative types. The boiling rice fetish was all Suzuki, though. He didn't bring the system down himself but he paved the way and showed people like Koji Wakamatsu how to do it... well, them and television and American imports.

putney
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Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#30 Post by putney » Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:04 am

doctor sunshine, i didn't mean to disparage Suzuiki's input at all, seriously... what i meant by my poor writing is that that sort of hyperbolic writing we see so often, (singlehandedly fought the system, etc.) effectively shuts down the road for people to find out about people like Yamatoya and others. I had just noticed the dvd copy yesterday, and felt a need to mention it, as i saw no other mention of it in the thread. No disrespect, at all, to anyone involved in the film...

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Doctor Sunshine
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Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#31 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:20 am

putney wrote:i didn't mean to disparage Suzuiki's input at all, seriously
He has a lot of hyperactive fans, I agree. I haven't seen any of his disciples' work but I'd like to. But then, I wish someone would get back into gear with the Suzuki releases too. We know Criterion are sitting on more.

gelich
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Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#32 Post by gelich » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:25 pm

Last night I watched 'Branded to Kill' on Criterion and was terribly disappointed in the picture quality. Based on the screen caps in this forum, it doesn't appear that the British disc offers a real improvement.

Is anyone familiar with the Madman edition? How does it compare? And while I'm at it, how about the Madman "Tokyo Drifter"?

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Cold Bishop
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Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#33 Post by Cold Bishop » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:27 pm

And while were at it, what were the consensus on the Yume re-releases?

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#34 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Sun Aug 03, 2008 2:21 am

Cold Bishop wrote:And while were at it, what were the consensus on the Yume re-releases?
I don't know about Madman but Yume used the Second Sight transfers, which is to say they're not too good.

gelich
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Branded to Kill

#35 Post by gelich » Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:08 pm

I've just received the Madman edition of 'Branded to Kill.' I'm happy to report that the picture quality is a substantial improvement over the Criterion. And anamorphic, too.

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der_Artur
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#36 Post by der_Artur » Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:26 am

Gelich, it would be nice if you posted some screenshots.

gelich
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#37 Post by gelich » Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:40 am

golgothicon wrote:Gelich, it would be nice if you posted some screenshots.
Golgothicon, you are right. Unfortunately, I don't have the capability.

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#38 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:08 pm

Branded to Kill has new subtitles and a new transfer in the latest Criterion/Auteurs film fest. It looks incredible: it's no longer cropped to hell, the black levels are perfect, the subtitles are no longer clunky and, streaming, it's way sharper than the DVD. When they started doing the rereleases, I really didn't think these and the Fullers had much of a shot--though they need it as bad as anything. Fuller, I came to realize, breached the cult-to-canon barrier long ago so that's not so much of a surprise but this... well, I am pleased. I know a bluray's too much to hope for but I hope Tokyo Drifter gets some love as well.

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Matt
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#39 Post by Matt » Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:29 pm

Suzuki must do well for them, otherwise I doubt they'd have gone on to release 4 more of his films after these 2. These discs could really use a reissue.

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Cold Bishop
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#40 Post by Cold Bishop » Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:30 am

But still no Carmen from Kawachi to finish up the Prostitutes Trilogy :(

If you could gets caps for the Auteur release, it would be appreciated.

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kaujot
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#41 Post by kaujot » Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:25 am

Cold Bishop wrote:But still no Carmen from Kawachi to finish up the Prostitutes Trilogy :(

If you could gets caps for the Auteur release, it would be appreciated.
Direct link

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Cold Bishop
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#42 Post by Cold Bishop » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:32 am

Oh, I see. Its one of the free ones. Thanks for the link.

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kaujot
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#43 Post by kaujot » Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:44 pm

The only reason I'm watching it is because it's free.

Though I've oft heard the praises for both of these films, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth after watching the only Suzuki I've seen (Pistol Opera). And even with the praise for BtK and TD, I didn't want to watch the apparently horrendous transfers.

I would probably imagine, though, that with the obviously upgraded transfer, that new editions of both (or at least BtK) are in the pipeline.

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#44 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:47 am

Pistol Opera is an unfortunate one to start with. Suzuki's major strength was his ability to attract talented, creative, iconoclastic collaborators and use them well. Both Pistol Opera and A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness--the two worst I've seen--were made after decade long hiatuses which dampened that pull. Sadness has some redeeming features but Pistol is full of problems, not the least of which is the lazy photography, cheap-looking sets and I think even Suzuki has said the lead wasn't right for the part. Not to mention reprising Shishido's role with another actor and that one scene with the little girl would leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth. That said, they enabled greater comebacks, though I hear Capone Cries a Lot is not too good either, and he retired on a high note with Princess Raccoon.

The new transfer's as big a revelation as Seven Samurai. I'm sure they could put together some impressive extras too, the film's certainly won over some critics and scholarly types in the past ten years and they must have interviewed Takeo Kimura and Tadao Sato about it, not to mention Suzuki. Tony Rayns edited one of the only two English language books dedicated solely to Suzuki (both accompanied retros, I can't remember if he edited the Dutch one too) so I'm sure he'd have a couple words to say on the matter. Tokyo Drifter does seems pretty likely as well, going by the TCM talk above, which also means they've been sitting on these transfers for a little while. I'm optimistic these'll be reissued this year along with the Nikkatsu Action Eclipse set.

Cold Bishop, I've heard from a couple sources that Criterion aquired a slew of Suzuki titles back in the day, beyond what they've released, and Carmen seems like a no brainer.

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dad1153
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#45 Post by dad1153 » Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:06 am

Caught "Tokyo Drifter" on TCM a couple of weeks ago. My first Suzuki movie and I'm impressed. There's very little story here and what's present isn't the least bit original (sensible-by-comparison-with-fellow-thugs mobster Tetsuya wants out of the life, Tetsuya leaves the life -and girlfriend- behind briefly, gang warfare and past conflicts reluctantly brings Tetsuya back into the life... yawn!) but damn if it isn't all made to look, sound and appear to be ultra-sexy-hip cool. Suzuki is so attuned to his own self-aware choices (without letting himself or his actors cross the line into self-parody) that the pedestrian-at-first-sight story reveals itself to be a deliberate clutch on which to spring forward the narrative. Rather than dating the movie to the decade it was made though Suzuki's directorial touches (primary color splashes, stylish shootouts in empty warehouse-like locations, Hajime Kaburagi's jazzy scores, the perpetually-repeating song, etc.) and strong-on-first-impression actors (loved Hideaki Esumi's turn as 'Shooting Star' Otsuka, a spiritual brother of sorts to Tetsuya Watari's 'Phoenix' dude) elevate "Tokyo Drifter" above its rudimentary setting and into the realm of timeless high art. We have the likes of "Tokyo Drifter" to thank for young Quentin Tarantino's impressionable mind extending the 'cool' mystique of the hitman well into the Y2K decade. While the jury is still out on Tarantino there is little question that, in its own unique and twisted way, Suzuki and "Tokyo Drifter" are a gift that have and will keep on giving. On to "Branded to Kill" and other Suzuki movies if I can find them cheap or on Netflix.

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agnamaracs
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#46 Post by agnamaracs » Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:51 pm

I would GLADLY pay $100,000 to Criterion if they would make a remastered BtK just for me.

I don't HAVE $100,000, but I'd gladly PAY it.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#47 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sat Sep 05, 2009 3:48 pm

I've seen the trailer for Branded to Kill on the Criterion site and it looks a dozen times better than the version out now. The translation is a little different too. I'd expect a new version within a year.

By the way, the transfer for these two films are atrocious. Vertically stretched with washed out colors on Tokyo Drifer, Branded to Kill isn't even black and white, it's more green and white. And both non-anamorphic to boot. But still, it's the only way to watch them and I know I've seen these too many times.

I have a particular fondness for these two films (both being some of the first Criterion's I saw) and I'm a big fan of Suzuki and Nikkatsu action films in general.

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Doctor Sunshine
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#48 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:19 pm

A slightly tangential story. A Clockwork Orange was probably the film that turned me into a film geek. I had a VHS copy (two actually) and watched it at least 40 times over a couple months. But in the scene where Mr. Deltoid drinks from the glass on the night table and then looks disgusted, I could never make out what was in that glass. I figured it out by deduction but it wasn't until I saw the film in a theatre some years later that I had it confirmed.

Same thing with the Branded DVD. When Goro and his wife are having their rice-fueled love session, it keeps cutting back to the bed and there's something on it. My theories included an article of clothing, shadows from rumpled sheets, a pile of boiled rice, and a wet spot. The new version that played on the auteurs finally answered the question. Although I've forgotten what it was already. Crumpled up underwear, I think. Anyway, that was just streaming, a new DVD would be a revelation.

Incidentally, when I saw Tokyo Drifter on TMC recently, it looked to be the old DVD transfer and subtitles. Not that that necessarily means anything. Hopefully the Nikkatsu Noir set wins a big audience and we see these and more of those soon.

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Peacock
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#49 Post by Peacock » Sat Sep 05, 2009 9:39 pm

How does the region 2 Yume dvd compare to the Criterion... any better?

edit: ok i should have read further up the page.. so i take it the answer is no.

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manicsounds
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Re: 38-39 Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter

#50 Post by manicsounds » Sun Sep 06, 2009 7:25 am

I sold off these 2 a long time ago in hopes of a restored version of each. But then again strangely, I bought all the other Suzuki Criterions in the Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale and have not even opened them.... Has it already been a year since that?

It's still amazing of the impact Suzuki had on the 70's cinema of Japan by looking at things stylistically, yet he was fired for being too outrageous (aka ahead of his time).

If Tokyo Drifter was released in the 70's his career would've stayed at Nikkatsu, obviously.

I might have to open a Suzuki film for tonight.

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