tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post7177442178703008522..comments2023-11-05T04:31:48.615-05:00Comments on Elusive Lucidity: Recent ViewingZChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-12214965443690139482008-07-31T00:35:00.000-04:002008-07-31T00:35:00.000-04:00"Ryan & Stack are unattractive characters..."Ryan & Stack are unattractive characters, true, but they're also portrayed I think as natural, powerful and forceful amidst the effete aestheticism of a wrecked culture (one that, maybe deep deep down, the film suggests "deserves it"? - but I wouldn't stress that point too much)."<BR/><BR/>There is something to that, you're right, but the effete Japanese characters are somewhat counteracted by Fuller's repeated interest in the vitality of Japan - he doesn't show this through characters but more through the kabuki show on the department store roof, the interest he shows in the wild amusement park ride in the finale, etc.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16615199937354749817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-68672006558707362252008-07-29T21:15:00.000-04:002008-07-29T21:15:00.000-04:00It's certainly an unwieldy film, and to the extent...It's certainly an unwieldy film, and to the extent that an "unstable" experience disrupts a smooth (ideological) operation, you have a point I wouldn't dream of disputing. But I'm not so sure that ideology (in this case an imperialist/racist one) is exactly <I>harmed</I> by the instability. <BR/><BR/>The images of the Japanese are weird caricatures of "Japan"; the actors in Japanese roles perform a "Japan," as well, except for Shirley Yamaguchi, who acts (naturally) like a Westerner in a kimono, once one breaks through the veneer of Nipponese politesse. Ryan & Stack are unattractive characters, true, but they're also portrayed I think as <I>natural</I>, powerful and forceful amidst the effete aestheticism of a wrecked culture (one that, maybe deep deep down, the film suggests "deserves it"? - but I wouldn't stress that point too much).ZChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-26780099117187671902008-07-26T23:58:00.000-04:002008-07-26T23:58:00.000-04:00Hm, I disagree with your characterizaton of House ...Hm, I disagree with your characterizaton of House of Bamboo as imperialist racist lunacy. It's not really a "stable" movie - the performances are so grossly uneven (Robert Ryan putting in an excellent performance; Robert Stack apparently being unable to act and seeming to be asleep at multiple points, the rest of the cast phoning it in); the pacing often strange (weird lulls and meditative sequences mixed with frantic action) that I'm not certain that all that wasn't intentional by Fuller.<BR/><BR/>Though I would say that, insofar as the mess that resulted has any coherence, it's anti-imperialist. The Americans are uniformly (including the theoretically good undercover cop) unattractive and vicious. The brutal and nasty organization that Ryan leads is explicitly linked to the US military's example. Look at how the movie positively portrays the wise Hayakawa (Inspector Kito) versus the seemingly idiotic thug Stack (Eddie Kenner). <BR/><BR/>I won't deny the movie's ideology is quite clumsy (even for 1955), but I do think it's a more balanced picture than you're arguing.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16615199937354749817noreply@blogger.com