Customer Reviews

Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir (The Criterion Collection)

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Having seen most of the films in the traveling Nikkatsu noir retrospective last year when it hit New York and Boston, I was initially disappointed with the choice of titles in this collection, because the only film from that retrospective included in this box set was A Colt Is My Passport. But in hindsight, I'm glad Eclipse didn't merely duplicate the films from that retrospective, as obviously there is a lot more Nikkatsu noir out there than most of us had any clue about. Whoever chose the films for this collection knows their Japanese noir and picked a bunch of obscure and pioneering titles that all happen to be excellent. All 5 of the films in this collection are true films noir (not "sort of noir" borderline cases like many DVDs marketed as "noir" can be), kinetically and inventively filmed in black and white, featuring excellent jazz scores (and in one case a spaghetti Western-like score), beautifully presented with barely a hint of print damage, and in their original theatrical aspect ratios. As with the "no frills" approach taken in the Eclipse collections to keep the prices reasonable, there are no special features like interviews, documentaries, trailers, etc. However, the printed liner notes provided for each film give you all the critical/historical background you need on each film. I very much hope Eclipse decides to do not just a follow-up but multiple volumes of this collection -- and soon! No doubt there are plenty of noirs out there from the incredibly prolific Nikkatsu studios. Japanese noir didn't really take off until the late 1950s (barring the two influential Kurosawa films: Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in the late 40s), so many of the Nikkatsu noirs I saw in that travelling retrospective were inevitably in color. So it would be great to see some of these color noirs included in the next collection, particularly Toshio Masuda's other films (the one in this collection, A Colt Is My Passport, is black and white, but Red Handkercheif, Velvet Hustler, Gangster V.I.P., Bloodstained Challenge, and probably others are in color). In fact, how about an Eclipse set with just the Masuda noirs, along with further sets with films from various directors? In any event, this first collection is an essential purchse for fans of film noir, Japanese cinema, or just plain highly entertaining B-movies.

Finally! It is about time someone released Takashi Nomura's brilliant noir film, A COLT IS MY PASSPORT. This film, alone, would be reason enough to buy this box set; but, the added attraction of four more clasic Nikkatsu Action flicks (including the superb CRUEL GUN STORY) makes this a gotta-get for fans of hard-boiled Japanese action cinema.
Hats off to Criterion/Eclipse for stepping up and unleashing more great Nikkatsu films!
Subarashii!!!!

When I received an email newsletter from Criterion announcing the release of 5 japanse noirs as part of their Eclipse Series my immediate response was: where is my credit card? Not everything in the genre is easily obtainable from this side of the globe, especially for the relatively older works not directed by Kurosawa and the other well-known masters. This fine collection of films from one of Japan's oldest film studios is certainly a welcome contribution. The five pieces are very diverse, worth watching at least once and delivered in excellent quality and obtainable for an affordable price.

Included in this boxed set are 5 fantastic Japanese films noir produced by the Nikkatsu studio in the 1950s and 1960s. This was the height of the Japanese film noir era, and few studios produced as many wonderful films of this style during that era. The price is reasonable for 5 expertly translated and subtitled quality films. The Eclipse collections have impressed me for the quality of sound, picture, and subtitles for what are considered less 'popular' collections. Along with the Eclipse collections for Ozu and Kurosawa, this is one of my favorites.

'I Am Waiting' is the earliest film and features a disgraced former boxer as the hero. He was involved with the mob and organized crime years ago, but left that life behind. He is suddenly swept back into that world when he intervenes and rescues a woman in distress from her gangster boss. The film centers around the interaction of both main characters with the specters of their past and their hopes for the future.

'Rusty Knife' is a wonderful and dark film revolving around an ex-con's attempt to live a straight life and forget his dark and awful past. Despite his efforts to distance himself from the world of organized crime, he is swept back into this world due to his desire to protect a younger former organized crime colleague.

'Take Aim at the Police Van' is a story of a hit on an ex-con. The disgraced guard takes it upon himself to track down the killers and clear his name.

'Cruel Gun Story' features an ex-con trying to live the straight and narrow, but gets back into crime despite his wishes to stay clear. His former colleagues arrange a heist of an armored car. During the heist and afterwards, things go horribly wrong and a trail of violence and dead bodies follows.

'A Colt is my Passport' is probably my favorite of the bunch. This is the story of a mob hitman, Kamimura, hired to assassinate a rival mob boss. After the hit, his boss sells him out to the rival boss' son. The tables turn as Kamimura attempts to flee/fight off the hit against himself.

All in all five great mob/hitman/crime noir films for any fan of the genre!

All credit to the other reviewers who have done their homework and appreciate the stylistic elements of these films. I'll just say I picked up one these at the local library and found myself scouring the shelves for a similar Criterion pattern on the spine to score the rest.

What I enjoyed were characters who could convincingly slouch like a Japanese version of Zoot-suited Bogart, plots with match-ups and double-crossing like the "Good, the Bad and the Ugly". These movies provide an immersion in a time and world (Japan post-war low-lifes and gangsters) as lost to us all as a Jurassic forest, or the royal court of the Sun King. Gives me faith that in the worlds of film, literature and music there is more to explore.

"Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir" is a five-disc box set containing five feature films from Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan. From the mid-1950's to the early 1970's, Nikkatsu specialized in brutal crime movies to attract the youth audiences that were becoming accustomed to American big-screen imports. In "I Am Waiting" (1957), a restaurant manager and former boxer saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess trying to escape the bonds of her gangster employer. "Rusty Knife" (1958) has former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime only to have their lawless past resurface when the authorities seek them out as witnesses to murder. "Take Aim at the Police Van" (1960) is an action whodunit. A police truck is attacked and a gangster inside is murdered. The penitentiary warden, accused of negligence, is suspended, but takes it upon himself to track down the killers to regain his honor and reputation. The other films are "Cruel Gun Story" (1964), about a mob heist, and "A Colt Is My Passport," about a hit man caught between rival gangs. As in keeping with the high standard of The Criterion Collection, print quality is exceptional considering the age of the films.