拳銃は俺のパスポート

I def. watched this while wearing my snuggie.

So, I've finally finished the Nikkatsu noir boxset & A Colt is my Passport (cool title, eh?) was my hands-down favorite.  If you watch one movie from this boxset, watch this.  The other movies are really only of niche interest...the boxset is a great gift for any hardcore Japanese film fans or noir fans, but otherwise they're not of general interest.  

Anyway, this movie is one of Jo Shishido's best.  The film has a lot of beautiful shots.  I also liked the music--kind of a lonely Spanish/western sort of soundtrack with a lot of horns.  The final shoot out is great and shot in an empty landscape so the action speaks for itself.  It's a nice change of pace from the usual shootouts where people are hiding behind things and it's just bullets ricocheting everywhere.

main theme:

poster:

Cruel Gun Story

Watching more of the  Nikkatsu noir box set.  Cruel Gun Story was my favorite thus far (I have one movie left to watch).  I really liked the film's ending.  It starred Jo Shishido, who is a personal favorite.  He's the guy who got the cheek implants to make his face more interesting:

And interesting it was!  Also interesting:  Jo Shishido's official website, DIRTY JOKER (in Japanese).

This t-shirt is for sale on his website.  I need to figure out a way to buy it!!

錆びたナイフ

Rusty Knife.  Another one from the Nikkatsu noir box set.  My complaint about the box set is that the stories kind of all have the same ending...bad guy who you thought was a good guy that gets killed by some deus ex machina device.  Yujiro Ishihara has some fucked up teeth and sometimes it makes it hard to understand his facial expressions...is that a smile? A snarl? Hrm.  There are some cool scenes in this.  Worth a watch for noir fans.

その護送車を狙え

Take Aim at the Police Van was directed by Seijun Suzuki, my favorite direct of all time.  ALL TIME.  It's a lot more straightforward than his other works (read: it makes sense).  It's just a standard noir story, but Japanese.  If you like noir and you like Japanese cinema, this is the flick for you!  I own the DVD--got it with the Nikkatsu noir box set when Criterion was having one of their sales.  Now to watch the rest of the set!