Sometime in school, I recorded Tokyo Drifter onto my cable I watched some of the movie in the morning. I didn't know that I loved it so much until after school I decided to finish off the rest of the movie and I was amazed. The song still stands out in my mind even though in an interview by Suzuki that Testuya Watari wasn't a good singer so they had him saying his lines several times and pick the best version of it for each phrase. This was one of Suzuki's last films before getting fired from Nikkatsu with his cult classic, "Branded to Kill" (1967). Something seemed to really stand out to me about this film and everyone could of course tell you that it would be the colors.
When watching this film, understand that Suzuki uses what we call associative color. Associative color is the use of color that reappears every time to a certain character or idea so it's easier for the audience to identify with the character more easily. In this film, white is good guy or safe and red is bad guy or danger. He used basic colors for the audience to easily understand. If you see a red mailbox in one scene, you know there is evil lurking around. Tokyo Drifter was one of the earliest films to use colors seriously in a form of art other than films like Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1962).
Tokyo Drifter may be weak on it's story once you've seen 4 to 5 Nikkatsu films in the 60s, but the art film style that Suzuki chooses for his films make this and his other classics more separate and more visually fun than other films of that time. It may have no meaning or make no sense for some viewers but, it's one hell of a film and that's a fact.
When watching this film, understand that Suzuki uses what we call associative color. Associative color is the use of color that reappears every time to a certain character or idea so it's easier for the audience to identify with the character more easily. In this film, white is good guy or safe and red is bad guy or danger. He used basic colors for the audience to easily understand. If you see a red mailbox in one scene, you know there is evil lurking around. Tokyo Drifter was one of the earliest films to use colors seriously in a form of art other than films like Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1962).
Tokyo Drifter may be weak on it's story once you've seen 4 to 5 Nikkatsu films in the 60s, but the art film style that Suzuki chooses for his films make this and his other classics more separate and more visually fun than other films of that time. It may have no meaning or make no sense for some viewers but, it's one hell of a film and that's a fact.