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eureka125
Reviews
Da hong denglong gaogao gua (1991)
disappointed
I really liked Huozhe, To Live. THis movie is much less involving. It was his breakthough movie in the US but his skills improved dramatically in later films. Action is slow. Photography is too static. The DVD has lots of scratches in the print. Poor DVD quality. Print of the film is fuzzy. The subtiles are erroneous and poorly done. i. e. they have quite when they meant 'quit' No extras. No commentary.
I recommend Huozhe strongly. He learned a lot by 1994. It has a much richer production values, which is his calling card, better script etc.
I saw Iriku by Kurosawa recently. It was also a film made early in his career but by comparison it is much better even though it is in black and white. Check it out.R
Unagi (1997)
Drama with humor and a little sex and violence.
I would compare this to Talk to Her and Heaven. The protagonist commits a terrible crime but turns out to be a likable guy. The murder is over and done with quickly.
After that, I laughed a lot. This is more of a romantic comedy than a drama. The characters are somewhat over the top, especially Keiko's mother. The weird thing is the chaste romance story. The lack of PDAs and kissing in a movie with sex and nudity is disorienting. High contrast between a reserved, traditional Japanese culture and frank subject matter. Not for kids. Beaultifully shot. The director is world famous for good reason.