Speaking of my local video store, I saw Akira Kurosawa’s Drunken Angel last night. Matsunaga (Toshirô Mifune) is a gangster who’s been diagnosed with tuberculosis by an alcoholic doctor (Takashi Shimura). I figure any movie that contains the better part of the cast of seven samurai is required viewing. As can be expected in a genre picture, the characters are pretty standard. We’ve seen alcoholic doctors before (Doc Boone from Stagecoach has to be one of my favorites), and if a womanizing gangster stricken with TB doesn’t immediately bring Doc Holiday to mind then you probably watch a lot less movies then I do…which is probably a good thing. As sort of an aside, I think they need to make more Doc Holiday movies. After all, there’s nothing cooler than a gunman with a death wish. If you’ve seen Val Kilmer in Tombstone or Victor Mature in my Darling Clementine then you’ll know what I mean.
Anyway, Drunken Angel isn’t a western/samurai movie like you might expect. It’s actually film noir, set in the slums of Tokyo immediately following WWII. It reminded me of The Third Man in that respect. The two films were shot a year apart (1948 and 1949), and when the characters walk through the rubble you know that it’s not a set.
If you’re looking for an action movie then this might not be the movie for you. There is very limited stabbing and no one gets shot. Having said this, there is one fight scene in a freshly painted hall that is amazing. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite action sequences in a Kurosawa movie. If you’re worried that this film drags at parts (Stray Dog), don’t be. Just because there isn’t an over abundance of action doesn’t mean that the film is boring. I could probably type about that movie for a while, but the bottom line is this; It’s really good. Spring Break sucks, so spend it watching Drunken Angel. That is all.
No comments:
Post a Comment