A classic crime film steeped in the vivid environs of post-war Tokyo, 1949's Stray Dog is arguably Akira Kurosawa's finest film prior to the international success of Rashomon, which was released two years later. A classic theme--the identification between criminal and crimefighter--is presented here as a promising young detective (Toshiro Mifune) struggles to retrieve his pistol, stolen from him by a pickpocket on a hot, crowded bus, and later used in a robbery and murder. Mifune's superior (played by the great Takashi Shimura, leader of Kuroswawa's The Seven Samurai and star of his Ikiru) is caught in the case's volatile crossfire, as the detective--closing in on his lethal alter-ego--finds his own moral compass spinning out of control into a psychological tempest. Using real locations and sizzling up the compelling plot with an almost palpable sense of sweltering heat, Kurosawa (who first wrote this film as an unpublished novel inspired by an actual incident) maintains an atmosphere of lurid urgency perfectly suited to the riveting film noir scenario. The sharp-looking Criterion Collection DVD release includes a variety of excellent supplemental materials, including an informative full-length audio commentary by Stephen Prince (author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa), a 32-minute documentary on the making of Stray Dog culled from the Japanese TV series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, and a booklet featuring an excerpt from Kurosawa's autobiography. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)
Stray Dog
Criterion, 122 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.95 Volume 19, Issue 5
Stray Dog
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