"Yojimbo is most definitely an adaptation of Red Harvest. But
with samurai. Pretty good movie, too. Leans a little more
towards the comedic than Hammett's novel does, but still
effective and fun. The sequel, Sanjuro, which is a reprise of
the character from Yojimbo but has no direct connection to
Hammett, is even more comic and considerably less
successful."
David, it sounds like you know a whole hell of a lot more
about Japanese films than I do (not that that takes much), so
since you just mentioned the second Yojimbo, have you seen
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo? Any good?
"But I think his samurai pictures are piffle in comparison
with his more explicit noirs like "Stray Dog" and "The Bad
Sleep Well". "High and Low" is pretty good too."
Bad Sleep Well. That's the title I couldn't remember in my
earlier post on Kurosawa films. Very good corporate noir. And
Kurosawa's use of B & W in that films rivals Orson
Welles.
Have you seen Blackmail is My Life? Sounds very, very noir.
Looks like I may have to get that Yakuza movie book you
recommended a while ago.
Bringing it back to lit, has anyone read The Ruined Map by
Kobo Abe
(author of Woman in the Dunes)? It involves a detective,
looks very stragne, but intriguing.
Mark
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