Branded to Kill
Original Japanese theatrical poster
Directed by	Seijun Suzuki
Produced by	Kaneo Iwai
Written by	Hachiro Guryu[1]
Starring	Joe Shishido Koji Nanbara Annu Mari Mariko Ogawa
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Cinematography	Kazue Nagatsuka
Editing by	Mutsuo Tanji
Distributed by	Nikkatsu
Release date(s)	June 15, 1967
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	JPY 20 million
Followed by	Pistol Opera
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Branded to Kill (殺しの烙印, Koroshi no rakuin^?) is a 1967 Japanese yakuza film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Joe Shishido, Koji Nanbara, Annu Mari and Mariko Ogawa. It was a low budget, production line number for the Nikkatsu Company. The story follows Goro Hanada in his life as a contract killer. He falls in love with a woman named Misako, who recruits him for a seemingly impossible mission. When the mission fails, he becomes hunted by the phantom Number One Killer, whose methods threaten his sanity as much as his life. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順 Suzuki Seijun, born 24 May 1923 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese film director. ... Joe Shishido , born December 6, 1933 in Osaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheeks. ... Koji Nanbara , June 7, 1927 – December 20, 2001) was a Japanese actor. ... Annu Mari , born May 20, 1948 in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan) is a Native American–Japanese actress. ... Mariko Ogawa ) is a Japanese actress. ... The Nikkatsu Company ) is Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... ISO 4217 Code JPY User(s) Japan Inflation -0. ... Pistol Opera (ピストルオペラ, Pisutoru opera) is a 2001 film by Japanese director Seijun Suzuki starring Makiko Esumi. ... Lauren steiger, born in 1992 at Royal Womens hospital started acting and modelling at the age of 2 and is now currently 15 working in Milan on the catwalks. ... The Yakuza are a popular subject in films Yakuza are a popular subject in Japanese cinema. ... Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順 Suzuki Seijun, born 24 May 1923 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese film director. ... Joe Shishido , born December 6, 1933 in Osaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheeks. ... Koji Nanbara , June 7, 1927 – December 20, 2001) was a Japanese actor. ... Annu Mari , born May 20, 1948 in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan) is a Native American–Japanese actress. ... Mariko Ogawa ) is a Japanese actress. ... The Nikkatsu Company ) is Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. ...

The studio was unhappy with the original script and called in Suzuki to rewrite and direct it at the last minute. Suzuki came up with many of his ideas the night before or on the set while filming, and welcomed ideas from his collaborators. He gave the film a satirical, anarchic and visually eclectic bent which the studio had previously warned him away from. After its release Suzuki was fired for making "movies that make no sense and no money".^[2] Suzuki successfully sued Nikkatsu with support from student groups, like-minded filmmakers and the general public and caused a major controversy through the Japanese film industry. Suzuki was blacklisted and did not make another feature film for 10 years but became a counterculture hero.^[3] A film being made in Warsaw, Bracka street Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission through scriptwriting, shooting, editing and finally distribution to an audience. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... Blacklisted redirects here. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ...

The film drew a strong following which expanded overseas through the 1980s and 1990s and has established itself as a cult classic. Film critics and enthusiasts now regard it as an absurdist masterpiece.^[4] It has been cited as an influence by filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch, John Woo, Chan-wook Park and Quentin Tarantino. Thirty-four years after Branded to Kill, Suzuki filmed Pistol Opera (2001) with Nikkatsu, a loose sequel to the former. The company has also hosted two major retrospectives spotlighting his career. A cult film is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. ... Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail (and, hence, are absurd) because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to humanity. ... For other uses, see Masterpiece (disambiguation). ... Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch (born January 22, 1953 in Akron, Ohio) is a noted American independent film director. ... For other uses, see John Woo (disambiguation). ... ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is a Palme dOr-winning American film director, actor, and an Oscar winning screenwriter. ... Pistol Opera (ピストルオペラ, Pisutoru opera) is a 2001 film by Japanese director Seijun Suzuki starring Makiko Esumi. ... Retrospective (from Latin retrospectare, look back) generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. ...

Plot

Goro Hanada, the Japanese underworld's third-ranked hitman, and his wife, Mami, fly into Tokyo and are met by Kasuga, a formerly ranked hitman turned taxi driver. Kasuga petitions Hanada to assist him in breaking back into the profession. Hanada agrees and the three go to a club owned by the yakuza boss Michihiko Yabuhara. The two men are hired to escort a client from Sagami Beach to Nagano. After the meeting, Yabuhara covertly seduces Hanada's wife. Hanada and Kasuga pick up a car designated for the job which unexpectedly has a corpse in the back seat. They dispose of the body, then meet the client and proceed towards their destination. En route Hanada spots an ambush. He dispatches a number of gunmen while Kasuga panics and flails about in hysterics. Foaming at the mouth, Kasuga charges an ambusher, Koh, the fourth-ranked hitman, and they kill each other. Hanada leaves the client to secure Koh's car but hears three gunshots and rushes back to find the client is safe and three additional ambushers have been shot cleanly through the forehead. At a second ambush, Hanada kills more gunmen and sets Sakura, the second-ranked hitman, on fire. Sakura madly rushes towards the client but is shot dead by him. On his way home Hanada's car breaks down. Misako, a mysterious woman with a deathwish, stops and gives him a ride. At home, he has rough sex with his wife, fueled by his obsession with sniffing boiling rice. For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Yakuza (disambiguation). ... Nagano (長野市, Nagano-shi) is the capital city of Nagano Prefecture, situated in the northern part of the prefecture near the junction of the Chikuma River and the Sai River, on the main island of Honshū, Japan. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Thanatos (Freud). ...

Hanada (right) demanding Misako buy him some rice. He uses the smell of boiling rice to achieve sexual arousal.^[5]

Yabuhara hires Hanada to kill four men, the first three being a customs officer, an ocularist and a jewellery dealer. Hanada snipes the first from behind a billboard's animatronic cigarette lighter, shoots the second from a basement up through a pipe drain when the latter leans over the sink and, ordered to finish quickly, blasts his way into the third's office and escapes on an advertising balloon. Misako then appears at his door and offers him a nearly impossible contract to kill a foreigner, which he cannot refuse having just been told the plan. During the job a butterfly lands on the barrel of his rifle causing him to miss his target and kill an innocent bystander. Misako tells him that he will now lose his rank and be killed. Hanada makes plans to leave the country but is shot by his wife who then sets fire to their apartment and flees. His belt buckle, however, stopped the bullet and he escapes the building. He finds Misako and they go to her apartment. After alternating failed attempts by him to seduce her and them to kill each other she succumbs to his advances when he promises to kill her. Afterwards, he finds he cannot as he has fallen in love with her. In a state of confusion he wanders the streets and passes out on the side of the road. The next day he finds his wife at Yabuhara's club. She tries to seduce him, then fakes hysteria and tells him Yabuhara paid her to kill him and that the three men he had killed had stolen from Yabuhara's diamond smuggling operation and the foreigner was an investigator sent by the supplier. Unmoved, Hanada kills her, gets drunk and waits for Yabuhara to return. Yabuhara arrives already dead with a bullet hole through the centre of his forehead. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Turn on redirects here. ... An ocularist is an eye care professional who specializes in the fabricating and fitting of ocular prostheses for people who have lost eyes due to trauma or illness. ... Superfamilies and families Superfamily Hedyloidea: Hedylidae Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. ...

Hanada returns to Misako's apartment where a film projector has been set up. It depicts Misako bound and tortured, then his former client who directs him to a breakwater the following day where he will be killed. Hanada submits to the demand but kills the killers instead. The former client arrives and announces himself as the legendary Number One Killer. He says he will kill Hanada but, in thanks for the work he has done, is only giving a warning at present. Hanada holds up in Misako's apartment and Number One begins an extended siege, taunting Hanada with threatening phone calls and forbidding him to leave the apartment. Eventually, Number One moves in with the now exhausted and inebriated Hanada under the pretext that he is deciding how to kill him. They agree to a temporary truce and set times to eat, sleep and, later, to link arms everywhere they go. Number One suggests they eat out one day and then disappears during the meal. At the apartment, Hanada finds a note and another film from Number One stating he will be waiting at a gymnasium with Misako. Hanada waits at the gymnasium but Number One does not show. As a bedraggled Hanada rises to leave, a tape recorder switches on explaining, "This is the way Number One works", he exhausts you and then kills you. Hanada puts a headband across his forehead and climbs into a boxing ring. Number One appears and shoots him. The headband stops the bullet and Hanada returns fire. Number One slumps to the ground but manages to shoot him a few times before dying. Hanada leaps and staggers around the ring declaring himself the new Number One. Misako enters the arena and, crazed, he instinctively shoots her dead then falls from the ring.^[6] Breakwaters create safe harbors, but can also trap sediment moving along the coast. ... Modern indoor gymnasium with pull-down basketball hoops. ...

Cast

• Joe Shishido as Goro Hanada, the Number Three Killer: a hitman with a fetish for the smell of boiling rice. He is gainfully employed by the yakuza until a butterfly lands on the barrel of his rifle during a "Devil's job". He misses his target and is marked for death—then descends into a world of alcohol and paranoia. Shishido has been called the face of Suzuki's films, owing in part to their frequent collaborations, this being among the most prominent. After middling success in Nikkatsu melodramas he underwent plastic surgery, enlarging his cheeks several sizes. He returned to tremendous success as a heavy and, soon thereafter, a star.^[7]
• Koji Nanbara as the Number One Killer: the legendary hitman whose existence remains a subject of debate. Incognito, he employs the yakuza to provide bodyguards. Later, he reappears with the intention of killing Hanada, first trapping him in an apartment, then moving in with him, before their final showdown in a public gymnasium.
• Isao Tamagawa as Michihiko Yabuhara: the yakuza boss that hires Hanada and seduces his wife. Upon the discovery that his diamond smuggling operation has been burgled, he employs Hanada to execute the guilty parties then adds him to the list when he flubs the job. His final appearance is with a bullet hole in his head.
• Annu Mari as Misako Nakajo: the femme fatale with a penchant for dead butterflies and birds. She picks Hanada up in her open top convertible when his car breaks down in the rain. Under Yabuhara's direction she enlists him to kill a foreigner. She attempts to kill Hanada but falls in love with him, which instigates her capture and use as bait by Number One. Mari has said she was experiencing suicidal urges at the time she first read the script and the character captivated her. "I loved her name, but it was her first line 'My dream is to die' that had a profound impact on me. It was like lightning."^[8]
• Mariko Ogawa as Mami Hanada: Hanada's wife who has a predilection towards walking around the house nude. Shortly after meeting Yabuhara she enters an affair with him. When her husband's career sours she attempts mariticide and flees—to be confronted later at Yabuhara's club.
• Hiroshi Minami as Gihei Kasuga: formerly a ranked hitman who lost his nerve and took to drinking. After introducing Hanada to Yabuhara he joins the former in a dangerous chauffeur mission. His nerves get the better of him and he experiences a short-lived mental breakdown.

Joe Shishido , born December 6, 1933 in Osaka, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheeks. ... Two women in handcuffs and latex miniskirts and tops - Latex and PVC fetishism Wikinews has related news: Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy Sexual fetishism is the sexual attraction for material and terrestrial objects while in reality the essence of the object is inanimate and sexless. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ... Cheek augmentation is a cosmetic surgical procedure that is intended to pronounce the cheekbones in a persons face. ... Bad guy redirects here. ... Koji Nanbara , June 7, 1927 – December 20, 2001) was a Japanese actor. ... Isao Tamagawa is a Japanese actor. ... Annu Mari , born May 20, 1948 in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan) is a Native American–Japanese actress. ... Convicted spy Mata Hari made her name synonymous with femme fatale during WWI. A femme fatale (plural: femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. ... Mariko Ogawa ) is a Japanese actress. ... Mariticide (not to be confused with matricide); from the Latin maritus (married) & cidium (killing), literally means the murder of ones married partner, but has become most associated with the murder of a husband by his wife. ... Hiroshi Minami is a Japanese actor. ... For the EP by Black Flag, a punk rock band, see Nervous Breakdown. ...

Production

The Nikkatsu Company conceived Branded to Kill as a low-budget hitman film, a subgenre of the studio's yakuza-oriented movies.^[9] Their standard B movie shooting schedule was applied, one week for pre-production, 25 days to shoot and three days for post-production. The budget was set at approximately 20 million yen.^[10] Shortly before filming began, with the release date already set, the script was deemed "inappropriate" by the head office and contract director Seijun Suzuki was brought in to do a rewrite. Studio head Kyusaku Hori told Suzuki he had had to read it twice before he understood it. Suzuki suggested they drop the script but was ordered to proceed.^[11] The rewrite was done with his frequent collaborator Takeo Kimura and six assistant directors, including Atsushi Yamatoya (who also played Killer Number Four). The eight men had worked under the joint pen name Hachiro Guryu ("Group of Eight") since the mid 1960s.^[12] Nikkatsu was building leading man Joe Shishido into a star and assigned him to the film. They specified that the script was to be written with this aim. The film also marks Shishido's first nude scene. Suzuki originally wanted Kiwako Taichi, a new talent from the famous theatre troupe Bungakuza, for the female lead but she took a part in another film.^[2] Instead, Suzuki selected Annu Mari, another new actress who had been working in Nikkatsu's music halls.^[8] In casting the role of Hanada's wife, Suzuki selected Mariko Ogawa from outside of the studio as none of the contract actresses would do nude scenes.^[6] The Nikkatsu Company ) is Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. ... The King of the Bs, Roger Corman, produced and directed The Raven (1963) for American International Pictures. ... A shooting schedule is a project plan of each days shooting for a film production. ... Pre-production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance. ... A film being made in Warsaw, Bracka street Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission through scriptwriting, shooting, editing and finally distribution to an audience. ... Post production is the general term for the last stage of film production in which photographed scenes (also called footage) are put together into a complete film. ... ISO 4217 Code JPY User(s) Japan Inflation -0. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順 Suzuki Seijun, born 24 May 1923 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese film director. ... An assistant director (AD) is a person who helps the film director in the making of a movie. ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... Leading man or leading gentleman is an informal term for the actor who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actress in a film or play. ... Leading lady is an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead or supporting role, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play. ... Annu Mari , born May 20, 1948 in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan) is a Native American–Japanese actress. ... Mariko Ogawa ) is a Japanese actress. ...

Suzuki did not use storyboards and disliked pre-planning. He preferred to come up with ideas either the night before or on the set as he felt that the only person who should know what is going to happen is the director. He also felt that it was sudden inspiration that made the picture.^[10] An example is the addition of the Number Three Killer's rice-sniffing habit. Suzuki explained that he wanted to present a quintessentially "Japanese" killer, "If he were Italian, he'd get turned on by macaroni, right?"^[13] Suzuki has commended Shishido on his similar drive to make the action scenes as physical and interesting as possible.^[2] In directing his actors, Suzuki let them play their roles as they saw fit and only intervened when they went "off track".^[6] For nude scenes the actors wore maebari, or adhesive strips, over their genitals in accordance with censorship practices.^[8] The film was edited in one day, a task made easy by Suzuki's method of shooting only the necessary footage. He had picked up the habit during his years working as an assistant director for Shochiku when film stock remained sparse after the war.^[2] Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity. ... For other uses, see Censor. ... Shochiku Co. ... Film stock is the term for photographic film on which films are recorded. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Style

Like many of its yakuza film contemporaries, Branded to Kill shows the influence of the James Bond films and film noir,^[14][15] though the film's conventional genre basis was combined with satire, kabuki stylistics and a pop art aesthetic.^[16] It was further set apart from its peers, and Seijun Suzuki's previous films, through its gothic sensibilities, unusual atonal score and what artist and academic Philip Brophy called a "heightened otherness".^[17] The result has been alternately ascribed as a work of surrealism,^[18] absurdism,^[19] the avant garde^[17] and included in the Japanese New Wave movement,^[20] though not through any stated intention of its director. Suzuki employed a wide variety of techniques and claimed his singular focus was to make the film as entertaining as possible.^[2] The official film logo of James Bond (007) The James Bond films are adaptations of most of Ian Flemings novels based on the fictional British Secret Service Agent Commander James Bond. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... The oldest Kabuki theatre in Japan: the Minamiza in Kyoto The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ... Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ... Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole Gothic fiction is an important genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. ... Philip Brophy, born in Reservoir, Melbourne 1959 is an Australian musician, composer, sound designer, filmmaker, writer, graphic designer, educator and academic. ... Max Ernst. ... Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail (and, hence, are absurd) because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to humanity. ... For other uses, see Avant-garde (disambiguation). ... The Japanese New Wave, or Nuberu bagu  ; from the French nouvelle vague), is the term for a group of Japanese film directors emerging from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. ...

Genre conventions are satirized and mocked throughout the film.^[5] In American noirs, heroes, or anti-heroes, typically strive to be the best in their field. Here the process was formalized into a rankings system obsessed over by its players.^[21] The femme fatale—a noir staple—Misako, does not simply entice the protagonist and bring the threat of death but obsesses him and is obsessed with all things death herself. She tries to kill him, wants to kill herself and surrounds herself with dead things.^[16][22] Hanada's libido is as present as that of the protagonists of similar films of the period, such as James Bond, though perversely exaggerated. Reviewer Rumsey Taylor likened Hanada's boiled rice sniffing fetish to Bond's "shaken, not stirred" martini order.^[21] The film also deviates from the opening killer-for-hire scenario to touch on such varied subgenres as psychosexual romance, American Gothic thriller and Odd Couple slapstick.^[17][23] In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also have enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. ... Convicted spy Mata Hari made her name synonymous with femme fatale during WWI. A femme fatale (plural: femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. ... 007 redirects here. ... Shaken, not stirred is a famous catch phrase of Ian Flemings fictional British Secret Service agent, James Bond and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. ... The concept of psychosexual development, as envisioned by Sigmund Freud at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, is a central element in the theory of psychology. ... Walter Matthau and Art Carney in the 1965 Broadway production The Odd Couple was a hit 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spinoffs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. ... For other uses, see Slapstick (disambiguation). ...

After discovering he cannot bring himself to kill Misako, a dazed Hanada wanders the streets. Animated starlings, rain and butterflies mask the screen, accompanied by corresponding sound effects.

The film industry is a subject of satire as well. For example, Japanese censorship often involved masking prohibited sections of the screen. Here Suzuki preemptively masked his own compositions but animated them and incorporated them into the film's design.^[5] In the story, after Hanada finds he is unable to kill Misako he wanders the streets in a state of confusion. The screen is obscured by animated images with accompanying sounds associated to her. The effects contributed to the eclectic visual and sound design while signifying his obsessive love. Author Stephen Teo proposed that the antagonistic relationship between Hanada and Number One may have been analogous of Suzuki's relationship with studio president Kyusaku Hori. He compared Hanada's antagonizers to those who had been pressuring Suzuki to rein in his style over the previous two years. Teo cited Number One's sleeping with his eyes open and urinating where he sits, which the character explains as techniques one must master to become a "top professional."^[24] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the bird family. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... For other uses, see Censor. ...

The film was shot in black and white Nikkatsuscope (synonymous with CinemaScope at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio). Due to the wide frame, moving a character forward did not produce the dynamic effect Suzuki desired. Instead, he relied on spotlighting and chiaroscuro imagery to create excitement and suspense. Conventional framing and film grammar were disregarded in favour of spontaneous inspiration. In editing, Suzuki frequently abandoned continuity, favouring abstract jumps in time and space as he found it made the film more interesting.^[2] Critic David Chute suggested that Suzuki's stylistics had intensified—in seeming congruence with the studio's demands that he conform: A Fox logo used to promote the CinemaScope process. ... For other uses, see Aspect ratio. ... For other use of the term, see Chiaroscuro (disambiguation). ... In film, film grammar is defined as follows: A shot is a single continuous recording made by a camera. ...

You can see the director reusing specific effects and pointedly cranking them up a notch. In Our Blood Will Not Allow It, the two battling brothers had a heart-to-heart in a car that was enveloped, just for the hell of it, in gorgeous blue moiré patterns of drenching rain. This 'lost at sea' effect is revived in Branded to Kill but there's no sound at all in this version of the scene, except for the gangsters' hushed voices, echoless, plotting some fresh betrayal in a movie-movie isolation chamber.^[25] Our Blood Will Not Forgive , also known as Our Blood Will Not Allow It) is a 1964 Japanese film by the noted filmmaker Seijun Suzuki. ... It has been suggested that Line moiré be merged into this article or section. ...

Reception

Further information: Suzuki v. Nikkatsu

Branded to Kill was released to Japanese theatres on June 15, 1967.^[26] The film was popularly received, especially among college students, but did not return a major audience. Nikkatsu Studios had been criticized for catering to rebellious youth audiences, a specialty of contract director Seijun Suzuki,^[13] whose films had grown increasing anarchic through the 1960s. This had earned him a large following but it had also drawn the ire of studio head Kyusaku Hori.^[3][27] On April 25, 1968, Suzuki received a telephone call from a company secretary informing him that he would not be receiving his salary that month. Two of Suzuki's friends met with Hori the next day and were told, "Suzuki's films were incomprehensible, that they did not make any money and that Suzuki might as well give up his career as a director as he would not be making films for any other companies."^[11] Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順 Suzuki Seijun, born 24 May 1923 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese film director. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... The Nikkatsu Company ) is Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A student film society run by Kazuko Kawakita, the Cineclub Study Group,^[28] was planning to include Branded to Kill in a retrospective honouring Suzuki's works but Hori refused them and withdrew all of his films from circulation. With support from the Cineclub, similar student groups, fellow filmmakers and the general public—which included the picketing of the company's Hibiya offices and the formation of the Seijun Suzuki Joint Struggle Committee^[13][28]—Suzuki sued Nikkatsu for wrongful dismissal. During the three-and-a-half year trial the circumstances under which the film was made and Suzuki was fired came to light. He had been made into a scapegoat for the company's dire financial straits and was meant to serve as an example on the outset of an attempted company-wide restructuring. A settlement was reached on December 24, 1971, in the amount of one million yen, a fraction of his original claim, as well as a public apology from Hori. In a separate agreement Branded to Kill and his previous film, Fighting Elegy, were donated to the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art's Film Centre.^[11] The events turned Suzuki into a legend and shook the film world.^[3][11] Branded to Kill, along with other of his films, played to "packed audiences who wildly applauded"^[29] at all-night revivals in and around Tokyo.^[3] However, Suzuki was blacklisted by the major studios and did not make another feature film until A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (1977) ten years after Branded to Kill. In the meantime, he subsisted on commercial and television work and writing books of essays.^[30][21] A film society is a membership club where people can watch Private screenings of films which would otherwise not be shown in mainstream cinemas. ... Employees of the BBC form a picket line during a strike in May 2005. ... The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854. ... In law there are two main meanings of the word settlement. ... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Fighting Elegy is a 1966 film directed by Seijun Suzuki. ... The Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art ) is the foremost collecting and exhibiting museum of contemporary Japanese art. ... Blacklisted redirects here. ... A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness ) is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki. ...

Branded to Kill reached international audiences through the 1980s and 1990s, featuring in various film festivals and retrospectives dedicated wholly or partially to Suzuki,^[30][19] and receiving home video releases in the late 1990s.^[31] It garnered a reputation as one of his most unconventional, revered Nikkatsu films and an international cult classic.^[32][33] It has been declared a masterpiece by the likes of film critic Chuck Stephens,^[34] writer and musician Chris D.,^[9] composer John Zorn^[35] and film director Quentin Tarantino.^[36] Writer and critic Tony Rayns noted, "Suzuki mocks everything from the clichés of yakuza fiction to the conventions of Japanese censorship in this extraordinary thriller, which rivals Orson Welles' Lady from Shanghai in its harsh eroticism, not to mention its visual fireworks."^[5] Modified comparisons to the films of a "gonzo Sam Fuller",^[25] or Jean-Luc Godard, assuming one "factor[s] out Godard's politics and self-consciousness",^[25][19] are not uncommon.^[18] In a 1992 Rolling Stone magazine article, Jim Jarmusch affectionately recommended it as, "Probably the strangest and most perverse 'hit man' story in cinema."^[37] Jasper Sharp of the Midnight Eye wrote, "[It] is a bloody marvellous looking film and arguably the pinnacle of the director's strikingly eclectic style."^[16] A film festival is the presentation or showcasing of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues. ... A cult film is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. ... For other uses, see Masterpiece (disambiguation). ... Chris D. (Desjardins) - (born 1950) - punk poet, rock critic, singer, writer, filmmaker. ... John Zorn (born September 2, 1953 in Queens, New York) is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is a Palme dOr-winning American film director, actor, and an Oscar winning screenwriter. ... Tony Rayns is a British writer, film critic, commentator, film festival programmer and screenwriter. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Lady from Shanghai is a black-and-white film noir directed by and starring Orson Welles. ... Samuel Fuller (1987) Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director. ... Jean-Luc Godard (French IPA: ) (born 3 December 1930) is a French filmmaker and one of the most influential members of the Nouvelle Vague, or French New Wave. Born to Franco-Swiss parents in Paris, he was educated in Nyon, Switzerland, later studying at the Lycée Rohmer, and the... This article is about the magazine. ...

However, the workings of the plot remain elusive to most. Sharp digressed, "[T]o be honest it isn't the most accessible of films and for those unfamiliar with Suzuki's unorthodox and seemingly disjointed style it will probably take a couple of viewings before the bare bones of the plot begin to emerge."^[16] As Zorn has put it, "plot and narrative devices take a back seat to mood, music, and the sensuality of visual images."^[35] Japanese film historian Donald Richie encapsulated the film thusly, "An inventive and ultimately anarchic take on gangster thrillers. [The] script flounders midway and Suzuki tries on the bizarre for its own sake."^[38] David Chute conceded that in labeling the film incomprehensible, "[i]f you consider the movie soberly, it's hard to deny the bosses had a point".^[25] On a conciliatory note, Rayns commented, "Maybe the break with Nikkatsu was inevitable; it's hard to see how Suzuki could have gone further in the genre than this."^[5] Donald Richie (born 1924) is an American-born author who has written a number of books about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. ...

After another unrelated 10 year hiatus, Suzuki and Nikkatsu reunited for the Style to Kill retrospective, held in April, 2001, at Theatre Shinjuku in Tokyo. It featured 28 films by Suzuki, including Branded to Kill.^[4][39] Suzuki appeared at the gala opening with star Annu Mari.^[40] Joe Shishido appeared for a talk session at an all-night, four-film screening.^[4] An accompanying Branded to Kill visual directory was published.^[41] The following year, the Tanomi Company produced a limited edition 1/6 scale "Joe the Ace"^[42] action figure based on Shishido's character in the film, complete with a miniature rice cooker.^[43][44] In 2006, Nikkatsu celebrated the 50th anniversary of Suzuki's directorial debut by hosting the Seijun Suzuki 48 Film Challenge retrospective at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival. It showcased all of his films. He and Mari were again in attendance.^[8][45][46] Zarbon action figure from Dragon Ball Z made by Bandai An action figure is a posable plastic figurine of a character, often from a movie, comic book, video game, or television program. ... Electric rice cooker including scoop, before cooking For the car modification term, see Rice burner. ... TIFF was established in 1985, and celebrates its 18th anniversary this year. ...

Legacy

As one of Seijun Suzuki's most influential films, Branded to Kill has been acknowledged as a source of inspiration by such internationally renowned directors as Hong Kong's John Woo, South Korea's Chan-wook Park and America's Jim Jarmusch and Quentin Tarantino.^[47] Jarmusch listed it as his favourite hitman film, alongside Le Samouraï (also 1967),^[48] and thanked Suzuki in the screen credits of his own hitman film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). Most notably, Jarmusch mirrored a scene in which the protagonist kills a target by shooting up from a basement through a sink drain. He went so far as to screen the film for Suzuki when the two met in Tokyo.^[49][50] Critics have noted Branded to Kill's influence on the films of Wong Kar-wai, such as his hitman film Fallen Angels (1995),^[51] as well as Johnnie To's Fulltime Killer (2001).^[52] However, Branded to Kill was most influential in its native Japan. The film's premise, in which hitmen try to kill each other in competition for the Number One rank, is spoofed in films such as Takeshi Kitano's Getting Any? (1995) and Sabu's Postman Blues (1997), which features a character named Hitman Joe.^[53] Branded to Kill played a role in the development of the long-running Lupin III franchise.^[54] It also had a profound impact, through Suzuki's firing and the resulting student uprising, in the beginnings of the movement film, usually underground or anti-establishment films which focused on issues of import to audiences, as opposed to production line genre pictures.^[28] For other uses, see John Woo (disambiguation). ... ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch (born January 22, 1953 in Akron, Ohio) is a noted American independent film director. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is a Palme dOr-winning American film director, actor, and an Oscar winning screenwriter. ... Le Samouraï (English title The Samurai) is a French crime/drama/thriller directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville in 1967. ... Wong Kar-wai (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gà Waih; Shanghainese Latin method: Wan Kawe; born July 17, 1958) is a Hong Kong film director known for his visually unique, highly stylized art films. ... Fallen Angels (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a 1995 Hong Kong movie written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok. ... Johnnie To Kei-fung (杜琪峰) (born April 22, 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. ... Fulltime Killer is a 2001 movie directed by Johnny To and Ka-Fai Wai . ... Takeshi Kitano , born January 18, 1947 in Umeshima, Adachi, Tokyo) is a Japanese comedian, actor, presenter, author, poet, painter, one-time video game designer, and film director who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. ... Getting Any? is the official international title for みんな～やってるか！ (Minnā yatteru ka!; literally: is everyone doing it?), a 1995 film by, and starring, Japanese film maker Takeshi Kitano. ... Sabu , born November 18, 1964, in Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka ). He began his career as an actor but quickly moved into directing. ... Lupin the 3rd and Lupin the third redirect here. ... The first use of the term underground film occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, Underground Films. ... Not to be confused with antidisestablishmentarianism. ...

Thirty-four years after Branded to Kill, Suzuki directed Pistol Opera (2001), a loose sequel co-produced by Shochiku and filmed at Nikkatsu.^[55] The character Goro Hanada returns as a mentor figure to the new Number Three, played by Makiko Esumi. However, Joe Shishido was replaced by Mikijiro Hira in the role of Hanada. Suzuki has said that the original intention was for Shishido to play the character again but that the film's producer, Satoru Ogura, wanted Hira for the role.^[56] Reviews were of a favourable nature on par with its predecessor. Jonathan Rosenbaum supposed, "Can I call a film a masterpiece without being sure that I understand it? I think so ..."^[57] Although some, such as Elvis Mitchell for The Village Voice, felt its zeal fell slightly short of the original.^[58] Pistol Opera (ピストルオペラ, Pisutoru opera) is a 2001 film by Japanese director Seijun Suzuki starring Makiko Esumi. ... Shochiku Co. ... Makiko Esumi (江角マキコ Esumi Makiko), née Makiko Hirano (平野真紀子 Hirano Makiko, born 18 December 1966 in Shimane, Japan) is a Japanese model and actress. ... Jonathan Rosenbaum is a prominent American film critic. ... Elvis Mitchell is a former film critic for the newspaper The New York Times. ... This article is about a New York newspaper. ...

Home video

Branded to Kill was initially made available in Japan by Nikkatsu in VHS format, first on February 10, 1987,^[59] then a second version on June 10, 1994.^[60] A Nikkatsu DVD was released on October 26, 2001 in a series linked to the Style to Kill retrospective.^[61][62] In conjunction with the Seijun Suzuki 48 Film Challenge, the film was included in the first of two six-film box sets which was released October 26, 2006.^[63] Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... DVD-Video format logo DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM) discs, and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The first North American copies surfaced in the early 1990s at Kim's Video in New York in a video series titled Dark of the Sun devoted to obscure Asian cinema, assembled by John Zorn,^[64] albeit without English subtitles.^[65] The Criterion Collection released the film on laserdisc in 1998,^[66] followed by a DVD on February 23, 1999, both containing a 15-minute interview with Suzuki, poster gallery of Joe Shishido films and liner notes by Zorn.^[22] Home Vision Cinema release a VHS version on June 16, 2000.^[67] Both companies conjunctively released Tokyo Drifter in all three formats in addition to a VHS collection packaging the two films together.^[68] North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... This article is about the state. ... Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia. ... For other uses, see Subtitle. ... The Criterion Collection logo The Criterion Collection is a privately held company that distributes authoritative consumer versions of important classic and contemporary films on DVD. It was established in 1984 as a joint venture between Janus Films and the Voyager Company. ... Not to be confused with disk laser, a type of solid-state laser in a flat configuration. ... is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

In the United Kingdom, Second Sight Films released a DVD on February 25, 2002 and a VHS on March 11, 2002.^[69][70] Yume Pictures released a new DVD on February 26, 2007 as a part of their Suzuki collection, featuring a 36-minute interview with the director, trailer gallery and liner notes by Tony Rayns.^[23] is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Movie trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ...

Soundtrack

Branded to Kill
Soundtrack by Naozumi Yamamoto
Released	February 23, 2007
Genre	Soundtrack, Jazz
Label	Think

Forty years after the film's original release, on February 23, 2007, the Japanese record label Think reissued the soundtrack on Compact Disc through its Cine Jazz series, which focused on 1960s Nikkatsu action films. The music was culled from Naozumi Yamamoto's score. Atsushi Yamatoya, of the Group of Eight, sang the "Killing Blues" themes. Listings 27 through 29 are bonus karaoke tracks.^[71][72] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Look up Action film in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses see Karaoke (disambiguation) A karaoke machine Karaoke from Japanese kara, empty or void, and ōkesutora, orchestra) (pronounced IPA: or ; in Japanese IPA: ;  ) is a form of entertainment in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and a PA system. ...

Track listing

References