As directors go, Seijun Suzuki should be remembered for providing memorable movies of style with substance.
Like his follow up movie, Branded to Kill (an absolute classic). this has many of the trademarks of a Seijun Suzuki movie. The sparse environments, the stylish sets, the minimal script. His movies have often been described as a cross between pop art and noir. A fair description.
Nikkatsu preferred it when Suzuki was creating movies that they wanted. When he broke the mold with this movie, Tokyo Drifter, his bosses were furious; they couldn’t cancel the release of the movie, as back then anything that was made was released for better or for worse.
A commercial failure at the time, Nikkatsu warned Suzuki to make his next production a more successful one and adhere to the rules of generic pap they had made him produce before. Although even then, he was able to experiment to an extent with subtle undertones in the movies he produced for Nikkatsu.
His follow up was Branded to Kill, again , another commercial failure for Nikkatsu, but Suzuki’s second proud achievement – and also his last movie for Nikkatsu as he was fired.
His first proud achievement was this: Tokyo Drifter. Unlike Branded to Kill, this was made mostly in colour (perhaps when the bosses were trusting in providing money for colour!), with only the first 5 minutes being in Black & White.
The tale itself is an almost improvised script – he’s quite exciting to watch in as much it is not predictable. The story begins with Tetsu (the lead character) and Kurata (his boss). Kurata has disbanded his gang, and wishes to live a straight and narrow life and expects those that were gangsters wit h him to follow the same path.
Of these people, Tetsu his rock, his body and soul. Tetsu is the belief Kurata has in walking form – like a metaphor for change. Having been beaten up by the rival gang to join them, Tetsu does not fight back saying that he was now a normal guy – no longer willing to kill or extort.
But any movie with a bad guy, and a group of people trying to follow the right path will not allow this to be. And so, throughout the movie the loyalty and trust of Tetsu is tested to the brink of boiling point.
Whenever faced with death, he does not kill – instead he beats the opposition, or runs away – until he is pushed, then he is almost an invincible killer – nicknamed the “Charmed Man” for having escaped death so many times.
Due to troubles, Tetsu decides to leave Tokyo, his love found, his boss, and everything else behind for the sake of settling the dispute between his boss and the rival gang leader – aware that his death is the only other solution, or the death of his Boss. So he decides to leave, hence the title.
As we travel with Testu on his journey, we find out the betrayals he wil l face, and follow his tests of endurance against the opposition. Being hunted down like a rabid animal, with psychotic, unrelenting killers who – like Tetsu – will do anything for their boss.
Upon his journey he meets Shooting Star aka a man named Ken. Previously his rival, but now like Tetsu a drifter. And happier for it. Ken tries to warn Tetsu about the reality of not being his own person, and not following his own path. Tetsu fails to listen and pays as a consequence.
From start the finish, the movie is quite different to what you will have seen. Sure it has the kitsch 60s atmosphere. The soundtrack is a cool Jazz, blues repertoire. Talking of which, there are only two vocal tracks that are played through the entirety of the movie, on several occasions. At first this grated at me, but it became par t of the movie – and I wanted the vocals to come up for “That scene” or “This scene”. It becomes one with the movie and a requirement for the enjoyment.
The colours are striking, contrasting and vivid. The balance is out of tune, which gives the movie a living, breathing feel about it. There are dark walls, no dull concrete surrounded by gray bricks, housed under a dull ceiling. The movie has a very interesting colour theme running through it. Tetsu attacks another guy, the background was red, as the attack is over, it turns from red to white. Signaling the end of bloodshed perhaps.
In another scene, Tetsu, dressed in a white suit, enters a room which was dark, and then it lights up the entire room – like a shining beacon. The pop art and noir coming together – and amazingly so. In this sense, it’s quite a beautiful looking movie. It’s a joy to look at, the variety and contrast of colours against a gangster setting – bizarre, yet wonderfully realised.
Although Branded to Kill was for me in every way superior to this, Tokyo Drifter nevertheless has many elements later seen in Branded to Kill, and stands well on its own two feet – and was an amazing feat for Suzuki, a production he can be proud of making. A cult classic in the absolute sense, and genre that has never been approached in this way before, and with such success.
The DVD features are very basic. Chapter selection; start movie, subtitles on/off. That’s it.
Another thing about the movie was the really strange AR (aspect ratio), watching it on a widescreen TV, or even on your monitor, you will find the sides have small side bars, but it is still presented in the letterboxed anamorphic widescreen mode. Strange, perhaps purposeful of the director in his approach to shooting it? I don’t know, it felt weird at first but I soon got used to it.
For media students this is a must, for those into art, cool music and 60s hip again this would be suitable. For those with open minds and love gangster flicks, and appreciated Branded to Kill and the like, a must see. For me, this is a quality movie with a distinctness and coolness that has rarely been matched.
Verdict: Was considered a flop, now a cult classic. Fantastic .