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Stray Dog (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 1949 film noir
police procedural
directed by Akira Kurosawa
and starring frequent collaborators Toshirō Mifune
and Takashi Shimura
.
Action takes place during a heatwave in a bombed-out, post-war Tokyo. Rookie homicide detective Murakami (Toshirō Mifune
) has his Colt pistol stolen during a trolley ride and gives chase to the pickpocket, but when he fails to capture him he reports back to headquarters filled with guilt and shame. He goes on to prowl the city backstreets undercover, looking for suspects and picking up leads. He eventually picks up the trail of a gun racket. When the stolen gun is used in a crime, Murakami partners up with the veteran detective Sato (Takashi Shimura
).
After questioning a suspect, Sato and Murakami end up at a baseball game
looking for a gun dealer named Honda. They locate him and he points to Yusa, a disenchanted war veteran who's fallen to crime after the war. They investigate Yusa's sister's house and his sweetheart, showgirl Harumi Namiki, but to no avail.
Murakami's gun is used in another crime, this time as the murder weapon. They question Namiki at her mother's house. The girl is still reticent to talk, so Sato leaves off to investigate Yusa's trail while Murakami remains behind. Sato comes across Yusa's last hideout. He places a call for Murakami, but just as he is about to reveal Yusa's location, the criminal makes a run for it. Sato attempts to give chase, but is shot in the rain and left for dead. A desperate Murakami arrives soon enough to donate blood to his friend at the hospital.
The following morning, Namiki has a change of heart and informs Murakami at the hospital that she had an appointment with Yusa at a train station nearby. Murakami races to the meeting and deduces who Yusa from his mud spattered clothing. He gives chase into a forest and is wounded in the arm. After a chase, Murakami manages to cuff Yusa, taking him into custody. Back at the hospital, Sato has recovered and congratulates Murakami on his first citation. Murakami reflects on Yusa's plight, reflecting on the parallels between him and the criminal. Sato tells him to forget about Yusa, and get ready for the cases he will have to solve in the future.
’s The Naked City
and the works of Georges Simenon
. Kurosawa wrote the script with Ryuzo Kikushima, a writer who had never written a script before.
During the opening credits, there is footage of a panting dog. However, when American censors saw the footage, they assumed that the dog had been harmed. This run-in with American censors caused Kurosawa to remark that this was the only time he wished Japan had not lost WWII.. The film released in the U.S in 1963.
Despite being noted as one of Akira Kurosawa's most critically renowned postwar films, Nora Inu was once not held in such high regard by the director himself. Kurosawa has been quoted as saying that he thinks little of the film, calling it “too technical” while also remarking that it contains “all that technique and not one real thought in it.” His attitude had changed by 1982, when he wrote in his autobiography that “no shooting ever went as smoothly,” and that “the excellent pace of the shooting and the good feeling of the crew can be sensed in the finished film.”
) and Best Art Direction (So Matsuyama
).
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
directed by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
and starring frequent collaborators Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
and Takashi Shimura
Takashi Shimura
was a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
.
Plot
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
) has his Colt pistol stolen during a trolley ride and gives chase to the pickpocket, but when he fails to capture him he reports back to headquarters filled with guilt and shame. He goes on to prowl the city backstreets undercover, looking for suspects and picking up leads. He eventually picks up the trail of a gun racket. When the stolen gun is used in a crime, Murakami partners up with the veteran detective Sato (Takashi Shimura
Takashi Shimura
was a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
).
After questioning a suspect, Sato and Murakami end up at a baseball game
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
looking for a gun dealer named Honda. They locate him and he points to Yusa, a disenchanted war veteran who's fallen to crime after the war. They investigate Yusa's sister's house and his sweetheart, showgirl Harumi Namiki, but to no avail.
Murakami's gun is used in another crime, this time as the murder weapon. They question Namiki at her mother's house. The girl is still reticent to talk, so Sato leaves off to investigate Yusa's trail while Murakami remains behind. Sato comes across Yusa's last hideout. He places a call for Murakami, but just as he is about to reveal Yusa's location, the criminal makes a run for it. Sato attempts to give chase, but is shot in the rain and left for dead. A desperate Murakami arrives soon enough to donate blood to his friend at the hospital.
The following morning, Namiki has a change of heart and informs Murakami at the hospital that she had an appointment with Yusa at a train station nearby. Murakami races to the meeting and deduces who Yusa from his mud spattered clothing. He gives chase into a forest and is wounded in the arm. After a chase, Murakami manages to cuff Yusa, taking him into custody. Back at the hospital, Sato has recovered and congratulates Murakami on his first citation. Murakami reflects on Yusa's plight, reflecting on the parallels between him and the criminal. Sato tells him to forget about Yusa, and get ready for the cases he will have to solve in the future.
Production Notes
Kurosawa mentioned in several interviews that his script was inspired by Jules DassinJules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
’s The Naked City
The Naked City
The Naked City is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The movie, shot partially in documentary style, was filmed on location on the streets of New York City, featuring landmarks such as the Williamsburg Bridge the Whitehall Building and an apartment building on West 83rd...
and the works of Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 200 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known for the creation of the fictional detective Maigret.-Early life and education:...
. Kurosawa wrote the script with Ryuzo Kikushima, a writer who had never written a script before.
During the opening credits, there is footage of a panting dog. However, when American censors saw the footage, they assumed that the dog had been harmed. This run-in with American censors caused Kurosawa to remark that this was the only time he wished Japan had not lost WWII.. The film released in the U.S in 1963.
Despite being noted as one of Akira Kurosawa's most critically renowned postwar films, Nora Inu was once not held in such high regard by the director himself. Kurosawa has been quoted as saying that he thinks little of the film, calling it “too technical” while also remarking that it contains “all that technique and not one real thought in it.” His attitude had changed by 1982, when he wrote in his autobiography that “no shooting ever went as smoothly,” and that “the excellent pace of the shooting and the good feeling of the crew can be sensed in the finished film.”
Remake
The film was remade in 1973 as Nora Inu, starring Tetsuya Watari as Murakami and Shinsuke Ashida as Sato. The location was changed from Tokyo to Okinawa.Awards
At the 1950 Mainichi Film Concours it won awards for Best Actor (Takashi Shimura), Best Film Score (Fumio Hayasaka), Best Cinematography (Asakazu NakaiAsakazu Nakai
Asakazu Nakai was a Japanese cinematographer. He worked several times with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work in the film Ran ....
) and Best Art Direction (So Matsuyama
So Matsuyama
, a.k.a. So Matsuda and So Matsuyama, was a Japanese production designer and art director. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction: the first time for his work in Rashomon , and the second time for his work in Seven Samurai .-External links:...
).
Partial cast
- Toshirō MifuneToshiro MifuneToshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
as Detective Murakami - Takashi ShimuraTakashi Shimurawas a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
as Detective Sato - Keiko AwajiKeiko Awajiis a Japanese film actress.Notable highlights of her career were an appearance in Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog, and a role as Kimiko in The Bridges at Toko-Ri, where she appeared alongside William Holden and Mickey Rooney....
as Harumi Namiki: showgirl - Eiko Miyoshi as Harumi's mother
- Fumiko HonmaFumiko HonmaFumiko Honma is a Japanese actress whose film work occurred primarily during the 1950s. She was born in Hokkaido...
as Wooden Tub Shop woman - Isao KimuraIsao Kimura, also known as Ko Kimura, was a Japanese actor. He appeared in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa. The first was Stray Dog as Yusa the criminal...
as Yusa - Minoru ChiakiMinoru Chiakiwas a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress.In Seven Samurai, he was the good-natured samurai Heihachi, and he was the first of the samurai to be killed. Ironically, in real life, he turned out to be the last of the seven actors to...
as Girlie Show director - Ichirô Sugai as Yayoi Hotel owner
- Gen Shimizu as Police Inspector Nakajima
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Chris Fujiwara
- Stray Dog at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...