Framed to Perfection XV

KOZURE OKAMI OYA NO KOKORO KO NO KOKORO (1972)

Director: Buichi Saitô

Cinematographer: Kazuo Miyagawa

Golly, they really did churn these out at great speed, didn’t they?! Our bloodthirsty father and son duo must’ve been pretty exhausted by the end of the shooting year. I dearly hope, for their sake, that they were eventually treated to a generous holiday at the end of it all.

Truly the adorable mental image of Tomisaburô Wakayama and Akihiro Tomikawa reclining on a beach somewhere, sipping cocktails and flirting with chicks, will amuse me to the end of my days.

Anyway, if the look of these Lone Wolf and Cub movies didn’t inspire Yoshiaki Kawajiri in crafting Ninja Scroll (1993), then I guess I just don’t know anything about the world at all. There’s apparently a Ninja Scroll sequel on the way, which I hope is just as joyfully obscene as the first. If it reflects dull modern sensitivities, then I officially give up.  

The above shot is a case in point regarding Kawajiri’s apparent-homage, as Ninja Scroll’s opening bridge confrontation certainly features strong echoes of these goings on.

There also appear to be areas of Japan, as in this scene, that disturbingly remind me of the floodplains of East Anglia. I’m so glad I got away from that desolate place. My soul requires an undulating landscape to exist, you see, otherwise it just begins to wither away. If a reporter on television is claiming to be speaking from here in Sheffield and they’re not stood on a hill, then I simply won’t believe them.

Bloody lying Londoners!

This fourth instalment in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Baby Cart in Peril, features another crazed lady assassin. I’m not sure why you couldn’t just be a murderous bitch in Feudal Japan without being a drooling nutcase too, but it seems to be a thing. It’s a shame the film also features another example of graphic 70s mock-assault, which is no fun for anyone.

Films should either entertain or inform or both, otherwise you’re just doing it wrong. Please remember that, aspiring young filmmakers out there!

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!

NOTE: We have entered another insufferable heatwave, here in South Yorkshire, so these brief Framed to Perfection posts are all I’ll be able to manage for awhile. If this is unacceptable to my horde of vengeful readers, they are free to complain directly to whomever is in charge of this damned weather.