Tokyo Drifter
Encyclopedia
is a 1966 yakuza
action film
directed by Seijun Suzuki
. The story follows Tetsuya Watari
as the reformed yakuza hitman
"Phoenix" Tetsu who is forced to roam Japan avoiding execution by rival gangs.
gang. His boss, to which he holds absolute loyalty, Kurata, has given up the life of crime for himself and his syndicate. Otsuka, a rival gang boss, attempts to recruit Tetsu into his organization, but is turned down. After failing, Otsuka sends an assassin to neutralize Tetsu, fearing he will interfere with a real estate scam. Looking to profit from the scheme himself and fearing that his group is threatened by his presence, Kurata asks Tetsu to leave and live the life of a drifter
.
Otsuka and Kurata join forces, and assign the successful hitman, "Viper" Tatsuzo, to kill Tetsu. Tetsu evades Viper and his hit squad a number of times and arrives at the establishment of Umetani, an ally of boss Kurata. Tetsu returns to Tokyo, confronting his boss who betrayed him. He kills everyone in the room besides his boss and former girlfriend. At the end of the movie, Kurata kills himself, and Tetsu refuses his former girlfriend Chiharu's plea to accompany him on his travels. He exits down a pure white hallway, explaining that he has a new allegiance to the wanderer lifestyle, and cannot abandon it for the company of another.
Takeo Kimura pushed themselves to new heights of surrealism
and absurdity. The studio's next move was to impose the further restriction of filming in black and white on his next two films, which again Suzuki met with even greater bizarreness culminating in his dismissal for "incomprehensibility".
Because of budget limitations, Suzuki had to cut connecting shots out of many fights, leading to a need for more creative camera work.
Various shots of Tokyo
were used to establish the setting as the then-contemporary post-1964 Japan. Suzuki drew inspiration from a wide variety of sources in making Tokyo Drifter, including the musical film
s of the 1950s
, pop art
, absurdist comedy
, and surrealist film
.
s. He uses his depictions of Yakuza relationships to show the inherent weakness of the archetype, particularly the possible abuses of power that can arise from unquestioning allegiance. Further, the common theme of corporate corruption is also parodied in through exaggeration when the main character becomes an expendable retainer. The conventions in the film further parody the conformity of theme and structure apparent in all Japanese film, but most notably in Yakuza films of the time, particularly its excesses.
However, Donald Richie
theorizes that the only theme of the film is "delight in mayhem", and that it has no real meaning at all.
of Tokyo Drifter is highly stylized. Film reviewer Nikolaos Vryzidis claims that the film crosses over into a number of different genres, but most resembles the avant gard films occurring in the 1960s.
At times, the film draws a good deal of inspiration from westerns. The whistling of the main character Tetsu is reminiscent of cowboy heroes. Near the middle of the film, a large bar fight erupts; this scene is meant to directly parody western films, everyone in the saloon
joins in the brawl against United States Navy
sailors, and comical violence is used where no one is permanently injured, despite the large-scale violence of the scene.
, but portrays the city in a highly stylized manner. The opening sequence consists of a mash of images from metropolitan Tokyo, meant to condense the feeling of the city into one sequence.
.
Tetsu, the main character of the film, has also been well-received. One reviewer commented that he always looks "cool", even when he is not the toughest guy in the room.
Stephen Barber called the visualization in Tokyo Drifter "bizarre and individual". Douglass Pratt praised the film for its quirkiness and character. He further stated that the plot of the film does not matter so much as "the gorgeous Pop Art sets, the bizarre musical sequences, the confusing but ballistic action scenes and the film's gunbutt attitude."
Modern color aestheticism seen often in newer Japanese Japanese science fiction manga
and anime
grew in large part out of the Suzuki's films, with Tokyo Drifter being one of the most influential.
released the film outside of Japan in DVD
format in 1999.
Yakuza film
is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by Seijun Suzuki
Seijun Suzuki
, born Seitaro Suzuki on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility...
. The story follows Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuya Watari
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's .He is now the president of Ishihara Promotion.He has a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who is also an actor.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
as the reformed yakuza hitman
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
"Phoenix" Tetsu who is forced to roam Japan avoiding execution by rival gangs.
Plot
Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo is a member of a recently deactivated YakuzaYakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
gang. His boss, to which he holds absolute loyalty, Kurata, has given up the life of crime for himself and his syndicate. Otsuka, a rival gang boss, attempts to recruit Tetsu into his organization, but is turned down. After failing, Otsuka sends an assassin to neutralize Tetsu, fearing he will interfere with a real estate scam. Looking to profit from the scheme himself and fearing that his group is threatened by his presence, Kurata asks Tetsu to leave and live the life of a drifter
Vagabond (person)
A vagabond is a drifter and an itinerant wanderer who roams wherever they please, following the whim of the moment. Vagabonds may lack residence, a job, and even citizenship....
.
Otsuka and Kurata join forces, and assign the successful hitman, "Viper" Tatsuzo, to kill Tetsu. Tetsu evades Viper and his hit squad a number of times and arrives at the establishment of Umetani, an ally of boss Kurata. Tetsu returns to Tokyo, confronting his boss who betrayed him. He kills everyone in the room besides his boss and former girlfriend. At the end of the movie, Kurata kills himself, and Tetsu refuses his former girlfriend Chiharu's plea to accompany him on his travels. He exits down a pure white hallway, explaining that he has a new allegiance to the wanderer lifestyle, and cannot abandon it for the company of another.
Cast
- Tetsuya Watari as Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo
- Chieko Matsubara as Chiharu
- Hideaki Nitani as Kenji Aizawa
- Tamio Kawaji as Tatsuzo The Viper
- Tsuyoshi Yoshida as Keiichi
- Ryuji Kita as Kurata
- Hideaki Esumi as Otsuka
- Eiji Go as Tanaka
Production
Nikkatsu bosses had been warning Suzuki to tone down his bizarre visual style for years and drastically reduced Tokyo Drifters budget in hopes of getting results. This had the opposite effect in that Suzuki and art directorArt director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
Takeo Kimura pushed themselves to new heights of surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and absurdity. The studio's next move was to impose the further restriction of filming in black and white on his next two films, which again Suzuki met with even greater bizarreness culminating in his dismissal for "incomprehensibility".
Because of budget limitations, Suzuki had to cut connecting shots out of many fights, leading to a need for more creative camera work.
Various shots of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
were used to establish the setting as the then-contemporary post-1964 Japan. Suzuki drew inspiration from a wide variety of sources in making Tokyo Drifter, including the musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s of the 1950s
1950s in film
The decade of the 1950s in film involved many significant films.----Contents1 Events2 List of films: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.-Events:...
, pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, absurdist comedy
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
, and surrealist film
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
Themes
Suzuki displays common themes found in Yakuza films, particularly the theme of loyalty, to parody the message and presentation of traditional Yakuza filmYakuza film
is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...
s. He uses his depictions of Yakuza relationships to show the inherent weakness of the archetype, particularly the possible abuses of power that can arise from unquestioning allegiance. Further, the common theme of corporate corruption is also parodied in through exaggeration when the main character becomes an expendable retainer. The conventions in the film further parody the conformity of theme and structure apparent in all Japanese film, but most notably in Yakuza films of the time, particularly its excesses.
However, Donald Richie
Donald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
theorizes that the only theme of the film is "delight in mayhem", and that it has no real meaning at all.
Style
The mise en scèneMise en scène
Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction...
of Tokyo Drifter is highly stylized. Film reviewer Nikolaos Vryzidis claims that the film crosses over into a number of different genres, but most resembles the avant gard films occurring in the 1960s.
At times, the film draws a good deal of inspiration from westerns. The whistling of the main character Tetsu is reminiscent of cowboy heroes. Near the middle of the film, a large bar fight erupts; this scene is meant to directly parody western films, everyone in the saloon
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
joins in the brawl against United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sailors, and comical violence is used where no one is permanently injured, despite the large-scale violence of the scene.
Setting
The majority of the film takes place in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, but portrays the city in a highly stylized manner. The opening sequence consists of a mash of images from metropolitan Tokyo, meant to condense the feeling of the city into one sequence.
Color symbolism
Color provides major symbolism throughout the film. The main character Tetsu wears white and light colored outfits throughout the film, and in the final scene, the color changes as each new person dies. These splashes of bright color contrast with the pure white of the costumes and surroundings. The film opens in stylized black and white, which becomes vibrant color in all subsequent scenes. This served to represent Tokyo post-1964 Summer Olympics1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
.
Reception
Richie denounced the film as "just another Yakuza film" with more style than most, but an overall lack of substance. Vryzidis claims that Suzuki's later films, once the studio gave him more freedom, never reached the same level of artistic quality as Tokyo Drifter, where the studio attempted to impose a large amount of control over the project.Tetsu, the main character of the film, has also been well-received. One reviewer commented that he always looks "cool", even when he is not the toughest guy in the room.
Stephen Barber called the visualization in Tokyo Drifter "bizarre and individual". Douglass Pratt praised the film for its quirkiness and character. He further stated that the plot of the film does not matter so much as "the gorgeous Pop Art sets, the bizarre musical sequences, the confusing but ballistic action scenes and the film's gunbutt attitude."
Legacy
The film is considered ahead of its time, as it abandoned the themes of the Ninkyo eiga films popular at the time, and combines with themes from the later Jitsuroku eiga Yakuza films, which disavowed the romantic and nostalgic views of the Yakuza in favor of social criticism.Modern color aestheticism seen often in newer Japanese Japanese science fiction manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
grew in large part out of the Suzuki's films, with Tokyo Drifter being one of the most influential.
Home video
The Criterion CollectionThe Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
released the film outside of Japan in DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format in 1999.
External links
.- Tokyo Drifter essay at the Criterion Collection by Manohla Dargis.
- Tokyo Drifter 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...
.