Take Aim at the Police Van (1960)
★ ★ ★ – OkaySuzuki is known for a brash pop art style. This is more of a typical Noir, with deep blacks and a murder investigation that leads down to the underbelly of the city. While his style hadn’t developed, his narrative confusion is already here. It all mostly makes sense, but I probably could’ve benefitted from a notepad.
Youth of the Beast (1963)
★ ★ ★ – GoodI don’t usually recommend films that are difficult to follow, but Suzuki has a sensationalist style and this is well worth watching for those moments when he throws cinematic paint on the walls. It’s not incomprehensible, just difficult to keep everyone straight and care about a few of them along the way. I imagine repeat viewings would help and you’d want to go back for
those delicious visual moments.
Gate of Flesh (1964)
★ ★ ½ Suzuki’s style doesn’t mesh with this portrayal of post-war prostitution, because there’s a grounding of reality to the subject matter. Some good moments, but a lot of it comes off like 70s style sexploitation.
Tokyo Drifter (1966)
★ ★ ★ – OkaySo glad to be watching these together because the difference between Youth of the Beast and this is like a distinct filmmaker before and after digital effects. With Beast, Suzuki finds places to put a personal spin on the script. Here, it’s a completely artificial construct, with no roots in reality. While that makes for more Suzukiness and eye-candy design, I care less about the characters and story. They used to float along on the style, but here they nearly drown in it. Still worth watching for the constant visual inspiration, but I miss limits being imposed on Suzuki’s creativity.
Fighting Elegy (1966)
★ ★ Very different from the two films it falls between, closer to the particular oddness of its writer Kaneto Shindō (Onibaba). Teenage lust redirected into beating people up channeled into angry imperialism. Would probably benefit from a 2nd viewing (perhaps with commentary to better explain the subtext). What’s left are a handful of unusual directing choices, and one beautifully moving image to sum up the love story.
Branded to Kill (1967)
★ ★ ½ Suzuki’s experimental style has been reminding me of the French New Wave. On those grounds, this one is the full Godard. We’ve now left reality completely and entered a world where assassins can be ranked, everyone knows the ranking and a person’s ranking is as important as a sports record. Behavior often walks the line of cool while being bizarrely funny. For example, two killers are in a standoff that goes on for hours, and one shows his skill by sleeping with his eyes open and when he has to use the bathroom, he just casually pees down his leg, acting like it’s no bother. Suzuki at his most extreme, a bit too far for my tastes.
Pistol Opera (2001)
★ ½ I had to find out why the long absence of notable work, only 8 films in the 34 years between Branded and this, including a dramatic trilogy acclaimed in Japan. (Short answer: contract dispute because he was ahead of his time.) This was meant as a return to his old ways, even re-using the ranked assassins of Branded to Kill. The style however is full-on Ken Russell, desperation as Suzuki is determined to do anything strange for the sake of it. One of his simplest plots and there’s an occasional eye-popping image, but the overall visual strategy is so disjointed it's off-putting.