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Zatoichi's Cane Sword, a review by Antares

Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967) 84/100 - Ichi has just had a windfall in a crooked dice game, and he decides to celebrate his luck with a bowl of noodles and hot sake. Sitting next to him is an old man who appears to be drowning his sorrows. Ichi offers the man a drink and the two begin a conversation. As is typical in Zatoichi fare, he is then attacked by yakuza members who ran the crooked game. He dispatches them with ease and pays the restaurant owner for the damage and he leaves. The old man he was talking to asks him to come to his home for a brief moment. As they enter the old man's home, Ichi surmises that the old man is a blacksmith, due to the foundry type smells associated with that profession. The old man tells Ichi he used to be a swordsmith of great reputation and he asks Ichi if he can take a look at his cane sword. At first Ichi is apprehensive, especially after the ambush he just endured, but he senses that the old man is honorable, and he hands over his sword. The old man inspects it and then tells Ichi that his sword has wrought a lot of death and that it was forged by his old mentor. He then informs Ichi that his trusted sword, has a small, unnoticeable crack near the base, and has reached the end of its life and will shatter the next time he kills with it. Ichi is visually shocked and then a sense of foreboding doom comes across his face as he realizes that with out his trusty weapon, his rogue lifestyle could be his downfall. He decides to give up his life as a roving yakuza gambler and settle down in this village as a masseur at a local inn. Before he leaves, he grants the old man's request of keeping his mentor's crafted sword as a memento of his one time sensei.

This was probably the boldest screenplay so far in this series, as it places Ichi in the most vulnerable situation he has had to face. Aside from the earlier scuffle at the noodle bar, there would be no action pieces for the next hour and twenty minutes. But during that duration, the story sets up a situation involving the old man creating one last great sword, that will eventually be stolen by the yakuza boss of the village as a bribe for a corrupt local magistrate. Ichi, while working at the inn, overhears the magistrate and the yakuza boss plotting to take over the entire region. He now realizes that he must return to his old lifestyle to right the wrongs about to be inflicted upon the village, well knowing that he will probably be killed when his sword fails him. What follows is one of the best plot twists I've ever seen in a chanbara film, and elevates this film to the top of list when comparing the entries in this canon. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. The final action scene, almost an hour and a half into the film, is easily one of the best in the series. As I've written before when it comes to Zatoichi movies, a little patience makes for a better payoff when the final showdown arrives. This will definitely be a repeat viewing experience for me in the future.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on May 8th, 2014)

Hell's Angels, a review by GSyren

Hell's Angels (025192-593321)

United States 1930 | Released 2004-12-07 on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

132 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.33:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono

Directed by Howard Hughes and starring Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival

Billionaire HOWARD HUGHES produced and directed Hell's Angels, the most expensive film ever made of its time. Hughes spared no expense in capturing an exciting dogfight between R.A.F. and German fighter planes, using 137 pilots in all. Hell's Angels is perhaps more notable for introducing JEAN HARLOW to the screen in her first major film role. Set during World War I, Hell's Angels is the story of three Oxford buddies: two brothers (BEN LYON and JAMES HALL) and one German (JOHN DARROW). When all three are conscripted to fight on opposing sides of the war, each is torn between obedience to his country and that of his conscience. Jean Harlow is the woman who comes between the three men in this lavish period adventure.

My thoughts about Hell's Angels:

Hell's Angels is a remarkable film in many ways. For one thing, it was filmed twice. Howard Hughes had filmed it silent back in 1928. When sound equipment became available, Hughes scrapped the silent film and reshot it with sound. One sequence is shot in an early color process, and some other sequences are tinted. Also remarkable are the flying sequences. While there is some model work, most of the flying was done for real, and three pilots were killed during filming. The zeppelin is a model, but the crash looks very good. The story is interesting, but the film drags a bit in some sequences. Jean Harlow looks cute as hell. Hard to believe that she's still a teenager, though. She was 19 at the time. It's interesting that they had Rittmeister von Richthofen shoot down the brothers' plane. Unfortunately Snoopy was not there to save them. It's hard to rate this film without taking into account its historical value. You can't really compare it to modern films when it comes to story and acting. If you have no interest at all in film history, then this is possibly not the film for you. Otherwise, watch this and then watch Scorsese's The Aviator as sort of a docudrama making-of feature.

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on February 19th, 2016)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

4.07 Mountie Sings the Blues (1998-11-18)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Gail Collins (Writer), David Cole (Writer)
Director: Larry McLean
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), Callum Keith Rennie (Stanley "Ray" Kowalski), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Camilla Scott (Inspector Margaret Thatcher), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Tom Melissis (Detective Dewey), Ramona Milano (Francesca Vecchio), Gordon Pinsent (Fraser Sr.), Dean McDermott (Constable Turnbull), Michael Hogan (George), Ronnie Hawkins (Muddy Johnson), Shawn Doyle (Dwight Jones), David Keeley (Earl Jeffers), Dan Lett (Carver Dunn), Michelle Wright (Tracy Jenkins), Lynne Deragon (Desk Sergeant), Susan Hamann (MacAfferty), Jamie Williams (Mick), Brad Borbridge (Smith), Justine Campbell (Arlene), Reagan Pasternak (Waitress)

Now that was a fun episode. Also the Turnball courting Francesca is nice.
Even though Gordon Pinsent is in the opening credits, I don't remember seeing him once in this season so far. Though I remember him appearing a lot at the end of this series. So the best episodes should be coming up soon.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on January 1st, 2011)