In this free-jazz gangster film, reformed killer “Phoenix” Tetsu drifts around Japan, awaiting his own execution until he’s called back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. Seijun Suzuki’s “barrage of aestheticised violence, visual gags, [and] mind-warping color effects” got him in more trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who had ordered him to “play it straight this time.” Instead he gave them equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. —The Criterion Collection
Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順, Suzuki Seijun?), born Seitaro Suzuki (鈴木 清太郎 Suzuki Seitarō) on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predominately B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre. His increasingly surreal style began to draw the ire of the studio in 1963 and culminated in his ultimate dismissal for what is now regarded his magnum opus, Branded to Kill (1967), starring notable collaborator Joe Shishido. Suzuki successfully sued the studio for wrongful dismissal but was blacklisted for 10 years. As an independent filmmaker he won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō Trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991).
His films remained widely unknown outside of Japan until a series… read more
The movie has enough style and personality to inspire five generations of filmmakers, even the narrative itself becomes more of an aesthetic element than a guide to the story. To me this is a brilliant and a rather misunderstood film.
It was visually beautiful enough to keep interested but I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this one.
Sloppy, lazy, and half-assed like Godard on one of his bad days. Generic genre moves are not innately interesting, so the fact that they are deconstructed does not make them any less boring or pointless.
Following roles in the Nikkatsu action films of the 60s, Hideaki Nitani would become known for TV work in the 70s and 80s.
Also: The adaptation Jafar Panahi never got to direct, Seijun Suzuki on DVD and Blu-ray and more.
DR. LIVINGSKELETON, I PRESUME? The Living Skeleton is a lot of fun, or at least, that was my experience, or I think it was
Director Seijun Suzuki once again redefines gangster movie cool with this hyper-stylized crime drama. It may not be quite as consistent as his masterpiece ‘Branded to Kill’ – the B-movie production… read review
