Four separate set piece sequences make this a top 10 of the year quality film
There’s a gorgeous opening tracking shot of a man killing two men who turn down the marriage proposal for his daughter. You have obstructed mise-en-scenes views and a booming drum music to accompany the brutal killing. It’s a great opening
Another stunning tracking shot through the walls of a massage place
The narrative is bloody, murderous and deliciously vile- very Dog-Eat-Dog nihilism like Kurosawa but with a gothic supernatural twist
I’m not 100% certain but I don’t think there were a tremendous amount of color films in 1959 Japan- could be wrong—perhaps Nakagawa was closer in popularity to Kurosawa and Ozu than I thought
Another great set piece shot is the shot behind the gate with red paneling framing the action
Not exactly the cleanest narrative- very layered and plotted but also very entertaining as it combines basically melodrama, horror and action
Nakagawa plays with the haunted by past/guilt as revenge motif – a moral tale of inescapable past sins
The final battle graveyard set piece and blending of reality (fighting against the avenging characters) and surrealism (haunting guilt, neon light, changing and crumbling landscape) is a stunner. It turns into a bit of a montage as it goes back and forth end the final vision is a gorgeous framing of mise-en-scene image with his avenging angel dressed all in white satisfied with the demise of the lead – the Shigeru Amachi character
Highly Recommend top 10 of the year quality film because of those visuals and set pieces
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