I just saw the film on HD cable TV the other night. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a darn good movie. I had wondered if they were gonna have any fake Japanese actors and I was glad they didn't. Heck, Memoirs of a Geisha had Gong Li and Ziyi Zhang acting as Japanese. How twisted is that with so many fine Japanese actors and actresses.
giri=responsibility=burden. Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura had one heck of a friendship plus that complicated relationship with Keiko Kishi (the revealed relationship was quite a surprise to me). I can't ever imagine an American/Westerner sacrificing his pinky. Richard Jordan sure didn't get it. He had asked, like, why bother with the obligation, just forget about it.
I sure wish there were more films like this made in collaboration with Japan. That swordfight at the Yakuza house was very well choreographed. None of that ultra-slick "Ichi, the Blind Masseur" stuff. It's a shame that Ken Takakura couldn't have made some films in America. He was one cool dude.
giri=responsibility=burden. Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura had one heck of a friendship plus that complicated relationship with Keiko Kishi (the revealed relationship was quite a surprise to me). I can't ever imagine an American/Westerner sacrificing his pinky. Richard Jordan sure didn't get it. He had asked, like, why bother with the obligation, just forget about it.
I sure wish there were more films like this made in collaboration with Japan. That swordfight at the Yakuza house was very well choreographed. None of that ultra-slick "Ichi, the Blind Masseur" stuff. It's a shame that Ken Takakura couldn't have made some films in America. He was one cool dude.