A typical movie at that time in Japan
585553
I have seen  this move when I was 13, the beautiness of starring MIWA didn't affect to me, sorry, she was so old to me at that time. Now ? ah, I don't  deny the beatuiness of her. The movie itself is not amazing level of art at that time, It was great years of Japanese movies.
3392244
a great movie that has some historical value. it dives deeply into the fabric of postwar japan and the ideals that lead to the arrest and trials of Japans government.
3654399
**1/2

A Japanese movie with a French title, "Caf Lumiere" is a desultory tale of a young pregnant woman and her friendship with a local bookstore proprietor.  As the movie is almost militantly anti-narrative in its stance, there really isn't much more one can provide in the way of helpful plot summary.

Director Hsiao-hsien Hou has opted for a Spartan style of filmmaking that harkens back to such early Japanese masters as Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi.  Each scene consists of a single medium or long shot with no close-ups or edits whatsoever.  The result is that we become so detached from the characters on screen that we find ourselves unengaged in their problems and their fates.  And this turns out to be a particularly serious problem in this case because the spare screenplay offers us so little of interest to start with.  The story consists mainly of Yoko wandering around the city or moping in her apartment as she goes about the tasks of her daily life.  She rides on trains, entertains her visiting parents, spends infrequent moments with her storeowner friend - and that's about it: no revelatory conversations, no insights into character, no point or purpose beyond the prosaic surface.  Admittedly, some of the compositions are stunning and the style is intriguing and hypnotic at first, but it soon loses its charm as the tedium of the narrative (or non-narrative) takes over.

The acting is consistently understated and naturalistic, but in a movie in which everybody just looks preoccupied and pensive, there really isn't much call for anything else.
891079
This movie was okay. It moved slowly which is good but in contrast to what is seen everyday, perhaps a bit too slow.
3079254
Classic Media's newest line of Godzilla DVD have been hit and miss, excelling in some areas, falling flat in others and this film is no exception. The film itself is a fairly decent movie but the DVD, even when compared to Classic Media's previous releases, feels slightly neglected.

The prints for the film (both Japanese and American versions) are in excellent shape. There was very little in the way of grain, hairs or other blemishes. Then again, this film unlike earlier Godzilla films was minimally altered during the "Americanization" process.

The problem is for me is with the audio. While technically there's nothing wrong with it, the Japanese version has Nick Adams dubbed in Japanese. Personally I would have liked to hear the international version (like Godzilla Final Wars) with Adams speaking in English (yes he was reading an English language script when he filmed his scenes) while everyone else speaks Japanese and is subtitled. The subtitles also have a flaw; in one scene a person notices the alien's flying saucer but the subtitles read "a fling saucer". This kind of carelessness should have be corrected before the release.

The special features are the same as the previous releases. The main flaws in my opinion are: the Japanese trailer and the audio commentary. The trailer is for the 1970's reissue of the film in Japan as it carries the reissued title Kaiju Daisensou: Kingu Gidora tai Gojira (Large Monster Wars: King Ghidorah vs. Godzilla [I hope I've got it right]), while the original film was simply called Kaiju Daisensou . The audio commentary is done by Stuart Galbraith. There are numerous moments of silence in the commentary and I find when he does speak he spends too much time talking about the actors: Character X was played by so-and-so, who stared in this film and that film and this other film and that other film. While some may find this interesting I'd like to hear more about the behind-the-scenes of the movie and not someone reading the casts various resumes.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the movie and recomend this to any Godzila fan, die hard or casual but Classic Media could have done a much better job with this film. As I said on other reviews of Godzilla DVDs, it seems like Classic Media thinks we want the Japanese cut of the film so badly that nothing else on the DVD will matter.
4044437
Good portrayal of the prejudice and animosity that Japanese women encountered when they came to America in the 1950's.
Shirley Yamaguchi (Japanese actress) with excellent command of English was able to express a very realistic and genuine feeling that many Japanese war brides must have experienced after leaving Japan and coming to America. In addition, the movie did not have any Hollywood stereotypes about inscrutable/exotic "oriental women" or have mispronounced English by Ms. Yamaguich as were typical of so many movies produced in 1950 - 1980s! which was amazing considering that it was produced in 1952.
166274
"Iron Angels" is a fairly run-of-the-mill Hong Kong action flick from the height of the "girls with guns" era, made slightly more noteworthy for being the first major role for many of the involved parties: Moon Lee, Alex Fong, Elaine Lui, and Yukari Oshima all got their first lead roles as action stars in this one, and for that alone, the movie's worth watching for enthusiasts. It's not quite special enough to warrant a purchase for me, but it does enough things right to be enjoyable.

The story: a special task force comprised of agents Moon (Lee,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Mr-Vampire/dp/B0002CR08Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Mr. Vampire</a>), Alex (Fong,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/One-Nite-in-Mongkok/dp/B000DN5VGM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">One Nite in Mongkok</a>), and Elaine (Lui,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Bride-with-White-Hair/dp/630502054X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Bride with White Hair</a>) takes on a sadistic female drug lord (Oshima,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Riki-Oh-The-Story-of-Ricky/dp/B00004TJM8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Riki-Oh - The Story of Ricky</a>).

In many ways, "Iron Angels" is overlookable. The Interpol-themed plot is old hat, none of the heroes really stand out as characters, and overall there's not quite as much action as I would have preferred. The film definitely falls under the heading of Sammo Hung's ire, when he claimed that "too many" action movies were produced in Hong Kong between the '80s and '90s. With that said, the movie has strengths which help set it apart from similar dreck of the same time. For one thing, "Iron Angels" feels a lot more focused than many a Hong Kong feature: the plot could still use some streamlining, but at least the film's not trying to simultaneously also be comedy and a romance like so many others. Additionally, Yukari Oshima's clearly having fun with her part as a sadistic villainess: constantly smacking around her henchmen and enjoying the sight of her prisoners being whipped, she's one of the few bad guys from this era who's actually halfway memorable.

The film doesn't really become a full-blown action flick until its second half, but it's worth waiting for. The fighting cast includes superkicker Hwang Jang Lee (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Snake-in-the-Eagle-s-Shadow/dp/B00006672Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Snake in the Eagle's Shadow</a>), who has a pretty good fight with Japanese pop star and unofficial fourth "Angel" Saijo Hideki (his second fight with Alex Fong, though, isn't that great). Other good fights include a two-on-one wherein Yukari beats up Alex and Elaine, a warehouse battle wherein Moon and Elaine use deadly feminine accessories to take out a horde of henchmen (exploding earrings!), and the finale wherein Yukari mostly fights Moon in a short but furious match. I'm genuinely impressed with everyone's moves and lack of doubling: these aren't the best fights you'll ever see, but fans of just about everybody mentioned will have reason to buy the movie just for the good fights, of which every main player gets at least one.

No other part of the movie is a chore to sit through but there are definite parts that aren't fun, where there's too much talking and plotting going on. If some of these parts were cut for an international release, I don't think too many people would mind. As it is, this one's a slightly above-average time-waster that ought to appeal to fans of lady action heroes, but could have been a lot better.
2479019
At Noon on August 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito took the unprecedented step of ordering his government to accept the Potsdam Declaration and surrender unconditionally to the Allies.  (Although regarded as divine, the emperor was little more than a figurehead, being too exalted to bother with politics.  Though recent historians have shown that Hirohito often worked behind the scenes to influence policy.)  Fearing that the populace might fight on anyway, the government took another unprecedented step and made a recording of Hirohito's voice that would be broadcast to the nation, confirming the surrender.  That broadcast was scheduled for 24 hours later -- hence the title of the movie.  In the meantime, a group of over-zealous officers attempted to stage a coup, capture the emperor and the recording, oust or kill any politicians or generals who stood in their way, and continue the war.  The subsequent events make for a story as tense and surprising as any fictional film.  As far as I can tell, the movie sticks pretty close to the facts.  The only major omission I noticed was that the film leaves out a U.S. air raid that caused a black-out, which in turn helped the emperor's staff hide the recording from the coup's leaders.

"Japan's Longest Day" is a cross between political thrillers like "Seven Days in May" and "Thirteen Days" and spot-the-stars WWII epics like "The Longest Day" and "Tora Tora Tora."  It was designed to celebrate Toho Studio's 35th anniversary, and just about every major male star who worked at Toho in the 1960s makes an appearance.  Most notable are Kurosawa-regulars Toshiro Mifune as war minister, Takashi Shimura as information minister, and Tatsuya Nakadai as narrator, as well as Ozu-favorite Chishu Ryu as prime minister.  Most of the actors are excellent, and anyone who thinks Mifune was a ham should see his subdued but intense performance here.

For western audiences unfamiliar with the events, the movie can be a little confusing.  It helps to see recognizable faces in the major roles, and director Kihachi Okamoto (who was an heir to Kurosawa at Toho) keeps a fast pace by filming in a documentary style.  His approach isn't as kinetic as Kurosawa's, but he injects some stylishness here and there -- like the exaggerated spurts of blood that samurai movies use.  Although I think Okamoto could have cut a few unnecessary characters (like two air force commanders who don't do much) and used more music to increase the tension, the movie is good at revealing the characters' motivations, especially how they rationalized their actions when caught in a paradox:  receiving an imperial order that went against their sense of military honor.

AnimEigo's anamorphic DVD is good but not superlative.  The print looks fine, though as lovers of Japanese films probably know, a 40-year-old Toho film can always benefit from the sort of loving care that only Criterion provides.  It just doesn't glow like the rerelease of "Seven Samurai," and I think the transfer is interlaced, too.  However, AnimEigo obviously cares about the movie, and their subtitling is thorough.  They also include the movie's trailer, a photo gallery, and some liner notes that contextualize the events.  I only wish that the DVD also included some sort of non-fictional documentary.  The History Channel made a superb documentary on this topic, and it could have been a fantastic extra.

If you're a WWII history buff, an afficionado of Japanese cinema, or a fan of real-life political thrillers, then "Japan's Longest Day" is well worth your time.  It's an absorbing recreation of an event that too few western audiences know anything about.  And it's a movie that virtually every Japanese person has seen at least once.  (It's shown on Japanese TV every August 15.)
2855103
The title for this film was very similiar to another Japanese movie made some time back.  Live and learn, we tryed to watch it none the less, but it was BAD...
2921939
Suzuki Seijun's "Taisho Trilogy" marked his return to active film making after being blackballed by the Japanese industry for years.

The films themselves are a loosely-connected trio of surreal happenings during the Taisho period, with bizarre plots and Suzuki's astonishing imagery.

The DVDs themselves are well produced, finally including English subtitles. However, the quality of the video transfer, though acceptable, is not as good as the Japanese versions that I also have. Odd, since I am fairly sure that they are taken from the same source?
3183807
Pretty decent samurai ghost story, it's a tragic love story that has a rather unusual ending, and to be honest it might have been a better and more challenging film with a different ending.  Still, it's fairly decent for what it is.  If this had been made in the 80s or 90s with practical SFX, then this film would have really shined.  Fortunately it was made before the big CGI revolution in SFX technology, so although we see some primitive effects we still get some first class film making.

I don't know what it is about the Japanese and the Samurai genre, as I've yet to see a bad one (save maybe a few of the Lone Wolf and Cub films).  And this one is no different, but, like I say, the story could have taken a better turn and made this film a five star affair instead of the pretty good film that it already is.

Give it a shot.  It's got some mild black and white violence, but should be okay for most audiences.
2291529
Jigoku (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960)

Imagine hell, Matt Helm-style. That's what you get in Nobuo Nakagawa's stylish, hallucinatory 1960 thriller Jigoku, a cautionary tale/morality play about the decisions ordinary people make, and the extraordinary consequences of those decisions.

The first third of this film follow Shiro (Shigeru Amachi), a guy who's just trying to get along in life. While a passenger in a car driven by his classmate Tamura (Yoichi Numata, recently of Ring), the two of them hit, and kill, a man, then leave the scene of the crime. He's not just some guy, though, and his death begins a complex, and quite unbelievable, tale of revenge, destruction, and depravity, both in the world we know (the second third of the film) and in hell itself (the final third). The first portion of the film often seems as if it's going to drag, but don't let that fool you; Nakagawa's just building up steam so that when everything gets going, he can take his foot off the brake and you'll go flying forward (rather like Tamura's driving early in the film, come to think of it).

It's an odd little film, but a very pretty (in the strictest sense; the subject matter is anything but) one; if I had more faith in various Western directors, I'd tab Jigoku as a hefty influence on everything from Performance to the Girl in Gold Boots. (I feel a lot more comfortable saying Nakagawa was an influence on the manga of Hideshi Hino, but even there, I can't be completely certain.) Whether it was the progenitor of the psychedelic films of the sixties or evolved independently of what the West was on about at the time, however, is utterly irrelevant to the average viewer's enjoyment of Jigoku as an absurdist classic. Fun stuff, highly recommended. ****
2254106
This is a historical film that I have been wanting to see for years.  It fudged the story a bit ..... she was executed..... but it was fascinating how the filmmakers dealt with is very anti-Japanese story in the post-war era.
3876447
"The Machine Girl" follows the story of bloody revenge of Ami, an ordinary Japanese high school girl whose brother is killed by a spoiled son of a ninja clan. Or was that yakuza, Japanese mafia? Never mind. One-armed Ami fights ferociously with a machinegun attached to the left arm. She kills like Rambo (of the newest film), fighting the evil crime syndicate Hattori. The resourceful Hattori clan fights back with flying daggers and a flying guillotine. Oh, and don't forget a bra. Yes, a bra can be very dangerous.

Some may think director Noboru Iguchi's film "Kataude Mashin Garu" (literally translated "One-Armed Machine Girl") is Japan's answer to "Kill Bill" or "Grindhouse" and numerous exploitation films that have inspired the Tarantino-Rodriguez film, especially Rodriguez segment of "Grindhouse." However, "The Machine Girl" (which is actually produced by an American company, shot with all-Japanese cast in Japan) lacks the high-octane energy and crazy fun Rodriguez is known for. "The Machine Girl" is funny and entertaining, but only sporadically.

I think I know what the director is trying to do. He is obviously more attracted to old-fashioned Japanese films and TV shows. The ruthless wife of the Hattori Clan's boss is a nod to Japanese yakuza films; the three ninja-like assassins in red suit are parody of Japanese "sentai" (fighters) actions, still popular genre in Japan; and the heroine's story (and tortures) is probably inspired by the Japanese revenge drama in the 70s like "The Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion" (starring Meiko Kaji, inspiration of the Uma Thurman character in "Kill Bill"). Some of the cast are good, some just amateurs. Minase Yashiro, known as gravure idol (model), did a fine job as the cute heroine that tunes into a killing machine. But something is missing here.

The film's biggest problem for me is not its excessive gores; it is the way they are used. As the film provides lots of blood, body count rises, but the pace is sluggish and deaths look repetitious. Except some nice gadgets, the film offers nothing new. Sloppy editing sometimes ruins the action scenes that could have been better with faster pace. Also, dialogues are not the best kind even in original Japanese and jokes including sushi and tempura are not very funny.

Perhaps "The Machine Girl" could be better with shorter running time. Not a big success, not a big disappointment either.
4410774
the total time of this "movie" is more like a TV show.  Although the box cover says it is 96 min long, it is only about 60 min long.  The subtitles are decent although at times the translation is erroneous as with many of the Japanese movies translated in Hong Kong or Taiwan.  In general, I've noticed that newer movies have better translations (those sold by 3-Monkey).  This is a cute story and the scenery is a nice travelogue of NY.  Pretty pricey for a short "movie".
1272870
Unless you were around and aware of things in 1943 - I wasn't - watching DESTINATION: TOKYO is going to be a bit like taking a trip to a foreign country.  It's a war flick made at the mid-point of America's involvement in World War Two.  Like a lot of in-war (1941-1945) Hollywood war movies it takes place in the Pacific theater.  America is planning a bombing raid on the Japanese mainland, and they need to land a meteorologist on the outskirts of Tokyo - into the heart of Enemyland, in other words - to take weather readings, gather information on shore installations, etc.  The submarine USS Copperfin, commanded by Cary Grant, is ordered to transport the meteorologist to Tokyo and, hopefully, bring him back alive.

 Hollywood movies made while the war was raging, and still in doubt, provided information, inspiration, and a more or less accurate reflection of the national spirit.  If not complete feel-good movies - the war wasn't going that good for the Allieds in 1943 - they generally reflected a gritty determination to get the job done and, all too often, depicted heroism in defeat.  There's a reason these movies are packed with clichd characters - the fast-talking kid from the big city, the slow-talking kid from the small town in Iowa, or Wisconsin, or Montana, the wise old vet who just wanted to get home to his wife and kids and easy chair.  Those were the men who were Over There, the sons and uncles, brothers and fathers of the audience.  John Garfield plays the fast-talker in DESTINATION: TOKYO, appropriately named Wolf, who has a swell dish in every port and a long, elaborate, and filmable story about each (plenty of flashback action in this one.)  Alan Hale plays `Cookie,' the gruff mess cook who has a soft side he shows when it's most needed.  William Prince is the agnostic pharmacy attendant named `Pills' who finds his doubts about the existence of a higher being evaporating when a higher power is most needed.  Unlike later war movies, the characters can be abrasive at times, but none are pushed to the margins.

  So, if a movie like DESTINATION: TOKYO wants to fill its roster with generally likeable characters and spend a slightly mawkish Christmas with them - the Copperfin sets sail on December 24th, and most of the first act is spent trailing on-board carolers and partaking in a makeshift Christmas party - more power to it.  It slows down the action, but it gives the major players a chance to introduce themselves, and it's so sentimentally treated it probably boosted the morale of the stateside audience.  The weirdest aspect of this picture is listening to the men discuss the `Japanese character.'  It'd take a couple of decades for Americans to become enamored with the Way of the Warrior.  As best I can make it out, we were in that war because the 8-year-old Japanese child was dis- and re-assembling machine guns blindfolded while the 8-year-old American child was getting a pair of roller skates on their birthday.  If you can wade through the shallow social science and the casual racism in these explanatory scenes there's a message of real value, which can be distilled down to "The enemy isn't inherently bad, but their culture is." Yeah, I know, that kind of talk can lead to bad results, but in 1943 it was progressive (the enemy weren't subhuman animals after all) and oddly optimistic (let's talk about peaceful co-existence with the up-to-now invincible enemy we're destined to beat the stuffing out of.)

  Don't get me wrong, though.  DESTINATION: TOKYO is a still-exciting action movie with minimal philosophizing - the social science stuff caught my ear because I watch too many of these kind of movies.  Cary Grant is now-to-earth and sincere as the ship captain, and the underwater scenes hold up well.  Strong recommendation.
1934101
The acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa wrote the screenplay for this lyrical portrayal of the lives of prostitutes in 19th century Edo Japan. Too bad he died before making the movie, leaving it to be made by Kei Kumai. And it shows, for the results are somewhat milder.

The story follows the trials and tribulations of two village prostitutes who ply their trade in a brothel by the sea, O-shin and Kikuno. O-shin is the sentimental one, falling in love with her customers even though her trade itself warns against it. One particular young samurai captures her heart and with him, O-shin dares to dream of a different, more respectable life. Yet, tragedy lies ahead.

Kikuno, on the other hand, is a born cynic - she has two steady customers who are as different as night and day - the older gentleman being kind and generous, and the gangster-type being a jerk who uses Kikuno for his own gain. Yet despite her own troubles, Kikuno is steadfast and dependable, proving her mettle when she subs for her madam.

If you love period movies especially those that focus on other cultures and history, then you'll love this - one truly gains valuable insights into the Japanese culture of the period, and of how women were treated more like commodities, with little worth. Gritty, yet beautiful and powerful.