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House of Bamboo (Fox Film Noir)

Robert Ryan (Actor), Robert Stack (Actor), Samuel Fuller (Director) Rated:

Unrated

Format: DVD

147 ratings

IMDb6.8/10.0

$24.99

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June 7, 2005

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Genre	Drama
Format	Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Contributor	Brad Dexter, Sessue Hayakawa, Robert Stack, Samuel Fuller, Robert Ryan, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Biff Elliot, Sandro Giglio See more
Language	English, Japanese
Runtime	1 hour and 42 minutes

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In Tokyo a ruthless gang holds up U.S. ammunition trains. Ex-serviceman Eddie Spannier arrives from the States apparently at the invitation of one such unfortunate. But, Eddie isn't quite what he seems.

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Samuel Fuller came up with one of his gutsiest "headline shots" for House of Bamboo: Mount Fuji, in CinemaScope, framed between the boots of a U.S. soldier lying murdered on a snowy Japanese embankment. Happily, the movie that follows is no letdown. This brutal gangster film was the first American production to shoot in Japan, and Fuller exploits his locations to the max, up to and including a climactic gun battle around a Tokyo rooftop facsimile of the turning Earth. Officially the screenplay is credited to Harry Kleiner, with Fuller cited for "additional dialogue"; in actuality, the 20th Century-Fox movie transplants the basic premise of the Kleiner-scripted Street with No Name (1948) from an American Midwest town to Tokyo, but otherwise the picture is unmistakably Fuller's own. A gang of American expatriates is robbing U.S. military ammunition and supply trains, and using military tactics to do it. They're a ruthless bunch, killing not only any troops and police that get in the way but also their own wounded. Robert Stack has a satisfyingly dark-edged role as an American drifter who's drafted into the gang, and Robert Ryan is mesmerizing as the psychotic crimelord. The action is tough--there's a genuinely shocking killing in a bathhouse--and Fuller's canny deployment of the newly widened screen is just as forceful. It's great to have this early-CinemaScope classic in widescreen DVD. --Richard T. Jameson

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.55:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.88 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2218569
Director ‏ : ‎ Samuel Fuller
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 42 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ June 7, 2005
Actors ‏ : ‎ Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Cameron Mitchell, Brad Dexter, Shirley Yamaguchi
Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 4.0), French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0006UEVVI
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #47,783 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #8,641 in Drama DVDs

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147 ratings

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4 star		30%
3 star		3%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Ronnie

Fun Movie

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 19, 2022

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Great movie. Good story and acting. You'll enjoy it.

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Terran

3 films for the price of 1

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 28, 2006

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There are three ways to examine this film: as a standard crime caper; as a cross-cultural examination; and finally as a takeoff on film noir, except in this case bad guy Robert Ryan has fallen for homme fatale Robert Stack.

In regards the first, you have a crime in post-war Japan and then Tokyo cops and U.S. Army work together to discover who the bad guys are and put in Stack, undercover, who quickly infiltrates the mob. Ryan is partial to ostentatiously rough-edged Stack and buys his fake ID and planted background data, and wants him as his new second-in-command. Ryan becomes busy subtly phasing Stack in as Cameron Mitchell - in a slick turn as "Ichiban" (boy #1) - steams his way towards a nervous breakdown as he is systematically undermined in favor of Stack. After Stack's life is saved by Ryan, all bets are off, it seems, though Ryan is unaware his new "Ichiban" is working undercover to get evidence against him.

In the cross-cultural class, you have Stack off the boat, the prototypical ugly American, but this one with an agenda to contact the gang that killed their own wounded man in the commitment of a crime. His first mission is to locate the fledgling widow of the dead soldier, then find out what she knows. Turns out she knows nothing, except she buys the fake ID he gives her, so she instantly trusts him. She turns out to be a convenient alibi for him, but eventually he softens towards her, just as she is falling for him, and their trust in each other and regard becomes mutual. Nothing overt sexually, perhaps because of the racial implications of the time (mid-50s film). However, his rough and awkward American ways soften and he becomes more acclimated because of his surroundings and the time spent with this woman. In this contrast, you can see the partaking of Japanese ways of Ryan and his boys is purely superficial, as they don't pay more than lip service to the people or their customs.

The deliberate director-initiated homosexual subtext is what draws most attention to the movie nowadays. Ryan is instantly attracted to Stack, invites him into his gang, comes up with an alibi for him when it looks as if Stack's alibi and therefore life is in jeopardy, saves his life when his own Code says wounded men are immediately executed, and has Stack move into his house on the pretext he's wounded, but this turns into an open-ended stay. (This great scene has been described by director Fuller as the moment Ryan is forcing Stack to address his attraction to him, but Ryan is also aware the other `boys' are in the room and has to back down.) There follows a wedding reception of sorts, as Ryan has Stack seated next to him at a banquet; at this party Mitchell forces a confrontation with Ryan over the preference of Stack to him. The tensions emanating from Mitchell's character (a great Cameron Mitchell turn as an actor) will climax in a later scene.

Some really inventive uses of staging are the military-planning style Ryan uses for briefing his men, and the fun use of a pool table for replicating streets with pool cues and toy cars for the ones they'll use, etc. The long shots and hidden camera techniques also make for some fabulous cinematography and moments, especially as the Stack character is taken for a real criminal on the streets. Also fun for director Fuller, was turning American film convention on its ear, when he had Stack stripping to bathe, etc., rather than the usual film cliché of the woman as the object of beauty.

But the overall screenplay seems lacking, with not enough scenes of Ryan and Stack together to display/explain Ryan's fondness for Stack, besides the obvious - Stack was a handsome man. After all, it's several weeks these characters are together, yet we don't see much interaction between them, yet it is their relationship pushing the film. Stack's performance overall is one of a (deliberately) clumsy tough-guy imitation in the first part of the film, then he softens and is quite animated in his scenes with Yamaguchi. But he maintains a steadfast silence in the Ryan and gang related scenes, appropriate to when he's there to learn and not give anything away himself. It's like he's living a double-life along with a dual personality. Yamaguchi is lovely, and acts well, but there are a few moments I was unaware if she was mimicking geisha clichés or if this would have been an honest representation. Ryan steals the film with his icy, elegant determination - a sophistication homosexual characters of 40s and 50s films always seem to have, making it a time period cliche. Mitchell is so spot-on perfect with his character's suspicion, discernment, and rise in seething rage, he is a joy to watch all on his own.

9 people found this helpful

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telecaster62

A Surprisingly Good Lost Treasure

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 25, 2008

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Robert Ryan & Robert Stack (yep, the guy from "Unsolved Mysteries") vie for control of Tokyo's underworld. In reality, it was the Yakuza that ruled the black-markets and pachinko parlors, and the more realistic tales of this plague are told by director Kinji Fukasaku with his "Yakuza Papers" series, or "Street Mobster", "Graveyard of Honor", etc.

But this movie is worth the price for a number of reasons: Principally, for what it gets RIGHT, the scenery (exteriors were shot on location in post-war Tokyo!), the behavior codes. It amazingly doesn't overstep its bounds in presenting something that pretty much couldn't have happened. Sure, you can smile at Robert Ryan's swank Tokyo bachelor pad, where men wear shoes inside (aurgh!) among the awesome mid-century design furnishings, and ignore the geographically-impossible views of Mount Fuji. But marvel at RARE views of post-war Tokyo and rarer glimpses of the Japanese countryside.. at a time when Japan was just starting to pick itself up following being nearly annihilated. Not to mention the exciting climax and money-shot atop what was then Tokyo's greatest modern landmark.

And above all, enjoy a good script, crisp direction and fine performances from Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Cameron Mitchell and Shirley Yamaguchi. It's as brutal as mainstream American Movies could be at the time.

Dang! Good script, good acting, good visuals: That's a good movie!

Another note about the script: When the Americans mispronounce certain Japanese words and misunderstand culture, I don't think it's a flaw of the script, it's the writers' attempt to reflect how the crude men didn't quite get the local lingo.

Do yourself a greater favor and see "House of Bamboo" in your own living room double-feature with Kurosawa's "Stray Dog", another Tokyo crime story from the same general time-frame. Compare and contrast the depictions of the Tokyoites, the approach to police work, etc. See semi-related stories from the POV of Americans who've maybe been to Ginza, and from the people in the places that Americans just didn't go to.

8 people found this helpful

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Ken Hof

Anything with Robert Ryan is worth a look.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 7, 2022

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Tight crime film directed by Sam Fuller. It takes place in post-war Japan. And Robert Ryan, who John Houseman thought was the finest actor in America, is, as usual, outstanding.

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A. W. Wilson

THE HOUSE OF BAMBOO from EUREKA BLURAY "MASTERS OF CINEMA"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 11, 2021

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The BLURAY from Eureka is very good quality. Good colour, picture, sound and subtitles. Plus a booklet with cast and credits. I wish I found Fuller's films as satisfieing (!!!) as many other reviewers whose opinions I respect. But, I do find an element of boredom and bad plotting creeping in (Hell and High Water being a good example). This film benefits greatly from another, as ever, excellent performence from Ryan, even if there are only a couple of "Ryan explosions of fury", terrific, interesting locations, and a plot, which though highly unlikely concerning American gangsters ruling the Tokyo underworld - where were the dreaded "Yakusa"? I digress - the plot is gripping, and the climax well staged, even if Ryan's actions are completely out of character! The violence is pretty strong for the 50's but not offensive. Stack is almost somnambulistic (wanted to use that word for a while), and his relationship with Shirley Yamaguchi does tend to slow the plot and doesn't convincs. However I give the BLURAY and booklet 5 stars, and the film, sadly 3. Hence FOUR stars. It's not cheap, but for Fuller/Ryan fans it is well worth a go, and I am glad I bought it.

One person found this helpful

Sanjay Kumar

House Of Bamboo (Masters of Cinema) Blu-ray

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 24, 2020

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Received this gem well packed and promptly after ordering it.
The quality of picture and sound is truly magnificent, and a highly entertaining film featuring Robert Ryan in a role that is played superbly.
The story line is kept tight and cinematic images of Tokyo back in 1950's. This film was made possible due to cooperation from many authorities to make film authentic as it turned out to be.
This one is going to be watched again, in-case I've missed something from old Tokyo.
A must buy.!

3 people found this helpful

Möchtegernkäufer

Forgettable but the only film with Shirley Yamaguchi in HD

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 12, 2021

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Definitely forgettable. The story implausible. Outdoor shots were Japan but the interior shots must be all in Hollywood, designed by people who never saw real Japan. Even one exterior scene is a sort of fake - that of a steam locomotive in front of Mt Fuji. No SL ever ran on that line, and one had been specially brought in for the shot. That was clearly to accommodate a western-style train robbery - transplanted 1 to 1 from the wild west to the 1955 Japan, albeit with measly number of cattle to stop the train. An electric train with closed driver's cabin would have been inconvenient for the purpose. The dullest train robbery I've ever seen. The guarding soldiers just stood there waiting to be killed by sluggish robbers. Indicative of what is to follow.

I bought this because it is currently the only film available in HD of the legendary singer/actress Yoshiko (Shirley) Yamaguchi. Unfortunately not much of a role, which could have been done by any one. Her talent was utterly wasted. The same can be said of Sesshue Hayakawa.

Pocket Satire

A Visual Treat

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 28, 2021

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One of the pleasures of this film is seeing 1950s Tokyo in rich colour. The sophisticated direction and cinematography take full advantage of the locale. Robert Ryan is reliably good as the Mr. Nasty, but the story generally takes a back seat to the visuals. Further, a romance between an American man and a Japanese woman was probably very daring for an American movie at that time. It would probably still be a bit unusual today.

One person found this helpful

Spike Owen

You know what the army do with an agent found behind enemy lines.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2011

Verified Purchase

House of Bamboo is directed by Sam Fuller who also co-writes with Harry Kleiner. It stars Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi and Cameron Mitchell. It's a CinemaScope production with colour by De Luxe, with photography by Joseph MacDonald. Leigh Harline scores the music and the film is a loose remake of The Street with No Name (1948), where Kleiner & MacDonald were also involved. The film is exclusively shot on location in Japan.

Tokyo, 1954, and an underworld outfit of American ex-servicemen are thriving on criminal activity. Their newest recruit is Eddie Spanier (Stack), in town to hook up with an old friend, his plans go awry on the news that his pal was killed during a robbery. But he catches the eye of the mob leader, Sandy Dawson (Ryan), and so begins a relationship that will have far reaching consequences for everyone involved with the two men.

A train draws to a halt on a bridge in snowy Tokyo, at its point of stopping the train is perfectly overlooked by a snow capped Mount Fuji. It's a moment of beauty, quite serene, then violence explodes as the train is robbed and death shatters the moment. And so Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo begins. One of the first Hollywood movies to be shot in Japan post World War II, it's a film that's as gritty as it is surprisingly violent. Yet the film is very beautiful in texture, courtesy of the location photography by the talented MacDonald who utilises the Scope format to capture some incredible visual treats. For this "noir-a-like" picture there's no shadows and fog, or off kilter angle plays, what there is is a beauty beset by ugly criminal things. Add in some Fuller oddity tones, terse dialogue in the script and some memorable moments of anger, and you get a film that can now be viewed as influential. Even if it's a picture that's hard to confidently recommend to serious fans of gangland type thrillers.

Expectation, as most film lovers know, can be a burden that's capable of spoiling many a nights viewing, with that in mind, House of Bamboo comes with a warning. For in spite of the synopsis lending one to think this is a brooding nasty picture about underworld crims, it's actually more comic book than hard boiled, and a massive dose of belief suspension is needed to run with the flow. There's also an issue with some flabby filler scenes involving the relationship between Stack & Yamaguchi, so much of an issue that were it not for a great smoke bomb based escape sequence leading up to the middle third, and some splendid homo-erotic subtext in the gang, the film would find it hard to fight off charges of being melodramatic for potential romance's sake. But Fuller manages to overcome the narratives problems to finish with a most intriguing and interesting film.

His cast are very efficient, where Stack is a nice fit for his character (can't say no more because of spoilers), Ryan is ominously coiled spring like and Mitchell is a chunky ball of menace. Then there is of course the director enjoying dallying with themes of duality, betrayal and racial indifference, all captured by his wonderfully fluid camera work. And thankfully the film is crowned off by an excellent finale set on a spinning rooftop amusement park viewer, one minute a stunning view across Tokyo, the next gunshots rattling the air like intruders invading your home. Beginning with stark violence and ending in much the same way, the overriding feeling seems to be that beauty can quite quickly become ugly.

The positives far outweigh the negatives in the House of Bamboo. 7/10

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House of Bamboo (Fox Film Noir)

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