Customer Reviews

Hunter in the Dark [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have seen many Japanese films but this one really stands out along with Gosha's own classic, Goyokin (1969) and Tenchu (1969). If you think samurai movies deal with nothing but sword playing, you'd better try Hunter in the Dark. The plot and main characters are as rich and complex as Godfather, and its beautiful, haunting images will grab your attention like no other films until the last scene where two opponents (played by Tatuya Nakadai & Sony Chiba) take their one final moment in a great fight. All the action sequences are extremely well done and the story plumbs into the mythic legends of the dark side of Samurai era. The acting, screenplay, cinematography, and lighting all go hand in hand to create one of the most beautiful yet intense films ever made. This is Hideo Gosha at his best. It is urgent to issue other Gosha masterpieces as well, preferably on DVD.

I saw that the review already posted here was wrongly attributed to this movie.This is actually a Yakuza/Samurai film set in mid 18th century Japan and is a beautifully filmed and powerful film on corruption and double dealing in a world where the underworld simply mirrors the manipulative ways of the ruling class. A samurai carrying a traumatic secret becomes the yojimbo of a gang boss (played by Tetsuya Nakadai) involved in a power struggle with a rival gang boss. The new yojimbo is enticed with offers to betray his new patron but chooses to remain loyal, thus setting into motion a tragic chain of events. Hideo Gosha is one of the world's great directors and it is unfortunate his films Tenchu and Goyokin are not more readily available, as well as his early classics such as Three Outlaw Samurai and Sword of the Beast.

I like many of Gosha Hideo's work in the 1960's, such as Three Samurai(Sanbiki no Samurai), Goyokin, and the one-eyed swordsman Tange Sazen. In the 70's he produced a few ambitious works and the results varied, I found "Hunter in the Dark" to be the most successful among them. It tells a story of love and betrayal, friendships and ambitions. The characters are satisfactorily developed; they are varied, interesting and well presented - Sonny Chiba's overwhelming ambitions, Nakadai Tatsuya's commitment to the clan code of honor and friendship, Harada Yoshio's tragic past and confusions, and Kishi Keiko's helplessness and loneliness. Gosha did an excellent job in casting the movie, and all were excellent in their roles. At the end men died for their ambitions and their believes, while women gave up their lifes for love. It echoes the very primitive curses in our genetic code.

I saw the Far East DVD release in 2002, the transfer of video and audio were not very good. I look forward to a better transfer work in the U.S. DVD release.

Other reviewers have already nailed this as a great Japanese samurai movie for many reasons which I need'nt repeat.

However, having just made this purchase, I would like to WARN any prospective purchasers of this release version of "Hunter in the Dark" that the quality is ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! First off, this Panorama(HK) version over-compresses a 2 hr. 17 min. movie into 3.82 GB of a single layer disc resulting in grainy, blurred visuals. Secondly, the editing from original widescreen to this full screen version is horrendously flawed abounding with stretch distortions and badly positioned & overblown pan/scans.

Widescreen version DVDs are available, but unfortunately they appear to be bootlegs.

3 stars is kind of a cop-out, maybe I should give it 2 or 1. The fact is I don't know if this is a good movie or not. This is a Chinese edition, I believe, and I don't know but it looks like it was transferred onto dvd from video. In any case it is just dark. Too dark. I doubt that Gosha intended it to be like this-murky. Furthermore, the subtitles were a Chinese person's English subtitles. Not as awful as I have seen elsewhere, but a distraction. This might be a really good movie, it seems like all the other folks are saying so, but as is it was a little hard for me to follow. I have seem better Japanese historical flix. Same director- Goyokin- is a good one, and the transfer is good and subs are by Americans. i thought hunter in the dark was available from a US maker, but I just did a search and couldn't find it. Wait for someone to do it before buying this.

This is one of the more complex films by by Director Gosha Hideo, who brought us such cinematic classics as "Three Outlaw Samurai," and the great film "Goyokin," among others. Although, I must admit, Gosha Hideo made some very complex films. The films narrative is set in 18th-century Japan. The are actually several narratives moving at the same time, however, the primary one deals with loyalty and betrayal. In the film, one of the films main protagonists, Gomyo Kiyoemon, (Tatsuya Nakadai) stars as a gang boss embroiled in a power struggle with another Yakuza boss. The film provides the viewer with the corruption, betrayal and backstabbing that is part of this world which claims to have a moral code of honor. Even the yakuza women are portrayed as corrupt and deceptive.

First one important thing to mention. If you have the VHS, you might want to keep it for the time being, as I have purchased the DVD twice thinking I had a bad copy, and the VHS is much better. Hopefully the DVD has been given better treatment since I last purchased mine. The film gives the viewer a good look at what honor means to these 18th-century Yakuza, and if they live the Bushido code they themselves boast so much about. However, nothing could be further from the truth. There are no moral virtues in this setting among the bosses, and this is where another one of the films main protagonists enters the picture. As a warning, many of the sword fights and killings are very ruthless, and this includes the female assassins in the film. This film is VERY DARK. Hence the title: Hunter in the Dark. Moreover, these yakuza refer to themselves as 'hunters in the dark.'

Enter Yataro Taningawa, (Yoshio Harada) who is a one-eyed hired assassin, who has been assigned as the Yojimbo (bodygaurd) to the crime boss Gomyo Kiyoemon (Tatsuya Nakadai). Yataro Taningawa is battling his own demons in this film. He is the most complex of all the characters. He has lost his memory either through stress, or a blow to the head which caused him to lose his eye, and left him with a large scar on his forehead. Yoshio Harada is the STAR in this film in my opinion. I believe this is one of his best character roles. Especially in this time period: The film was made in 1979 and released in 1980. Harada does not give us his usual long-haired, drunken, debauched or rebellious character roles he was known for in his early years. Far from it. There is something in Yataro Taningawa's past that even surprises his crime boss. Personally, I believe he stole the show in this film. Although Tatsuya Nakadai is never a slouch in any film.

As the narrative moves forward, we see a very brutal man in the character Yataro Tanigawa. He proves his allegiance to the boss early in the film, and as such, the boss has much trust in him. Yet, there is much to his character which is hidden and dark. It is too important to even divulge or hint at. The Boss is guided by his main focus of trying to get his clan reinstated. Since his no longer has clan status, they must live as 'outlaws.' Also making an appearance in the film is Sonny Chiba, who is himself at odds with the crime boss portrayed by (Nakadai) This is decent film, above average, but not great. Still, it is well worth a look. Once more, be careful when purchasing this film, the subtitles are atrocious, and their is cropping in the film--which is a crime in my opinion. I recommend the film with caution. It will not appeal to some viewers. Rent it first. [Stars: 3.5]

This film is, like anything you care to try by Hideo Gosha, excellent. It gets five stars easy. As with the "companion" edition DVD of "Samurai Squadron Versus Bandits", the film "transfer" isn't particularly worth a d___ and the subtitles are puzzling at best. The translator texted them in using the toes of his left foot. Still in a roundabout way you can - if you concentrate - fathom out the multi-layered plot by use of the rudimentary translation. This would benefit infinitely from an improved edition of course, and it certainly deserves it, but in these tough "fiscal" times you take what you crave wheresoever you can get it. I have a list as long of my arm of jidai-geki films that remain untranslated and unavailable outside the world of samurai "boots".

Also in it are Tetsuro Tanba, Yoshio Harada (who is great of course in ZIGEUNERWEISEN and RONIN GAI) and EIJIRO TONO. There are some good scenes of female assassins throwing cleavers at our "hero". This is also a good film, actually, because it is hardly clear who the "hero" or fulcrum of the narrative even is. Is it the amnesiac wanderer Harada? -- or Nakadai in his familiar role as a "villian" with a heart of gold?

This film is really all about IDENTITY AND MEMORY and anyone who says otherwise is a liar. It is also about MEAT CLEAVERS and THE WOMEN WHO THROW THEM.
The final scene is a peach and I shan't give away too much if I mention that they destroyed an entire hen-coop to make this filmic piece de resistance a palpable reality.
As Ezra Pound would say, "GET IT."

seems to be one of the questions that the director may have asked his audience..

It is amazing how spontaneous this masterpiece looks. Deep character evolution looks as natural as blooming of the flowers, and THAT I think is an unparalleled accomplishment.
Indeed a seemingly violent boss Gomyo played by Nakadai turns out to be way different, so does his ex, a bordello madam. So does the protagonist samurai who has amnesia....

As it were, death plays a crucial part in the movie. The constant closeness of it, is probably what provides a strong impetus for the characters to "reveal" themselves. Not unlike the Bushido, or the Toltec..Indeed, it is very hard to say who is really a bad guy, since every character looks (and is) confused at least once, while the unlikable characters usually die not-so-pretty deaths with contorted faces.

Let us also not forget that during the mid Edo period a suicide committed in a timely manner was looked at as an ultimate WORD. Something, that is very hard for Westerner to understand, since we have been conditioned differently. With that in mind, some suicides committed in the film look quite proper..

Great Flix...one of Gosha's best movie's ever!!!
Think Godfather 1, 2, & 3 with better scripts - transplanted to 18th century Japan. Just when you think Gosha's script writers can't add another twist it happens again another reason for murder, revenge and mayhem.
Unless you speak Japanese - you must love reading English subtitles. The action Gosha's directing - the swordsmanship surpasses anything from Kurasawa with much better editing & technical skill - certainly no big technical editing slips like Akira's great 50's flix showing "the source - a rubber hose?" used to squirt enormous quantities of fake blood out from antagonist's apparently severed chest cavity.

This film is beautiful, gritty, sexy and deadly!! The music in the opening scene is amazing and sounds like the beginning to a James Bond film, only better. The women in this film are strong, interesting and sometimes crazy! Gosha Hideo's treatment of violence and swordsmanship has none of the gracefull choreography of other japanese films. The swordplay is skillfull yet the bloodshed and suffering is crude and disturbing to see. You can actually feel the horrible wounds inflicted as they happen on screen. I cant tell you how much I admire this film! I own the VHS version and highly reccomend it. The DVD version (Korean Print)has paraphrased much of the diologue. Its a crime against art I tell ya! Amazon has the Vhs thru independent sellers for a little under 20 bucks. ITs a total deal! Get it today. My next Gosha Hideo film will be "Gangsters vs Samurai Sqaudron" I cant wait.