Stray Dog

Starring:Shigeru Chiba, Eaching Sue, Takashi Matsuyama (II), Yoshikazu Fujiki
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Studio: Bandai
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
The Metropolitan Police's ultimate crime-fighting unit was an elite squad of men and women known as the Kerberos. A riot and uprising ensues when the unit refuses to acknowledge orders from government officials to disband. At the center of the riot is the leader of the Kerberos squad, Kouichi Todome who escapes after the fighting. Three years later, Inui is released from prison. A member of the Kerberos squad who served jail time for his participation in the riot, he wants nothing more to find his former master. However, the trail to Kouichi is a twisted one, involving a strange woman and a new and unimagined lifestyle. But when he finally finds him, he realizes that, instead of following his own path, he was following the orders of another. KEY SALES POINT

* From one of the premier directors of Japanese Cinema - Director Mamoru Oshii
* Live Action Theatrical Feature
* Anamorphic Widescreen
DVD Features:
Interactive Animated Menus

Dolby Digital Surround Sound

Japanese Language

English subtitles option

DVD Extras:

Theatrical Trailer

Amazon.com essential video

A classic crime film steeped in the vivid environs of postwar Tokyo, Stray Dog is arguably Akira Kurosawa's finest film preceding the international success of Rashomon. A classic theme--the identification between criminal and crime fighter--is presented here in one of its earliest incarnations, as a promising young detective (Toshiro Mifune) struggles to retrieve his stolen pistol. The missing gun is used in a robbery and murder, and Mifune's superior (Ikiru's Takashi Shimura) is caught in the case's volatile crossfire. As the detective closes in on his lethal alter ego, his own moral compass spins out of control, into a psychological tempest that inspires Mifune to give one of his best early performances. Using real locations and a sense of sweltering heat rivaled only by Do the Right Thing, Kurosawa (who first wrote this film as an unpublished novel inspired by an actual incident) maintains an atmosphere of lurid urgency perfectly suited to this riveting film noir scenario. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo's sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal's lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami's own dark side. Stray Dog goes beyond a crime thriller, probing the squalid world of postwar Japan and the nature of the criminal mind. The disc also includes an audio commentary by scholar Stephen Prince, a booklet of essays, and a 32-minute documentary on the making of the film.

Customer Reviews:

Stray Dog.......2007-06-25

Landmark, atmospheric Japanese noir helped cement Kurosawa's reputation as a director to watch. Not only is "Dog" a satisfying thriller, it exposes the thin line between a vengeful cop and his base and desperate prey. Superb film also fascinates in capturing a scarred Tokyo in the wake of the Second War.

could any other 'missing gun' movie better than this one?.......2007-05-18

we saw the rare and young toshiro mifune in this 1949 movie as a sentimental, blood-boiling, headstrong, moronic, almost witless rookie detective lost his colt and felt so guilty when that gun later incurred robbery and homicide case after case. we could also saw akira kurosawa as a young director who had already done a great movie before 1950. of course, the screenplay was not perfect, still a little bit dragged sometimes, but never failed to get you unfocused.
whew....the summer heat in tokyo in the '40s was so dense and so humid that made new orlean look like a pretty cool place. this movie also made 'in the heat of the night' like taking a lukewarm water shower.
it also told that choosing to become a stray dog or not is absolutely by one's own choice. choosing to take drugs and becoming an addict is nothing but your own choice, don't blame your parents, your unhappy childhood or anything as an excuse for you to become a stray dog. same as to choose a bad dog to feed, then dealing with the consequences are decisions that nobody else could do but you.

This should be hackneyed by now.......2007-03-27

I've seen many of Kurosawa's films and I'd have to say that this one is my favorite. You might think you've seen every permutation of the detective story that compares the cop to the criminal but this movie is surprisingly fresh and engaging. Cultural differences and the setting of post-war Japan add a little extra to a typical Noir story arc. The familiar themes make this one of Kurosawa's most approachable films even while it holds and rewards your attention.

To Make A Mends.......2006-11-03

In the post WWII environment of Japan, the line between becoming a criminal and a cop was a very thin one. The prospect of upholding any myths or nationalistic fervor must have been slim for soldiers returning home, after a brutal war, one which ended in the most barbaric of ways, and effectively castrated and humiliated a proud and rigid culture. A lifetime of pride in your homeland could evaporate as quickly as a backpack being stolen...
In Stray Dog, master Kurosawa wastes no time in setting up the film's one story line, that of rookie detective Murakami, who on a sweltering and packed bus loses his gun. For the new detective, a former soldier, the transition between war and domestic soldiering proves the mettle of the film, and the depth of it's story comes in that difficult place. Unfamiliar with procedure, departments, as well as the in's-and-out's of Tokyo's underworld, the search for his strength, his pride, his manhood, etc., will define him, make him or break him.
With the dogged leadership of veteran cop Sato, Murakami's mentor in this pursuit, he recognizes the significance of his position, seeing himself and perhaps allowing for hope in a fractured society.
Toshiro Mifune, legend, is Murakami, frazzled, humiliated, frequently an emotive wreck. Though an early sequence in which he goes undercover as a soldier to search out black market guns-a long sequence that is completely without speaking-is beautiful and powerful in it's exposure of the seamy world of desperate people, "stray dogs" who suffer the dregs of a crowded uncomfortable world. Takashi Shimura is Sato, the other lead, and his presence is a strong, calming one, as the knowing cop, the rudder perhaps, to Murakami's windy sail.
An interesting deep cop film, it is very stylish, naturalistically made and acted, though it's print is visibly aged, it's shadows seem to be less sharp than a noir, allowing for the light to get in.

EARLY KUROSAWA: FORETELLS HIS CINEMATIC TALENT .......2006-08-15

This early Akira Kurosawa film is outstanding. What captivated me about this early Kurosawa film was the way in which he allows us to see post-war Japan. It is truly remarkable that we are seeing the streets that just a few years before were being laid to waste by massive bombings.

The character played by Toshiro Mifune is also a great glimpse into what will become one of the greatest actors ever to come out of Japan. And there is the presence of my favorite Japanese actor, Takashi Shimura.

And with Shimura guiding the young Mifune through the maze of police work, and suggestions on how to proceed with his obsession in finding his missing, stolen handgun: we see a wonderful study in character development in this early Kurosawa classic.

Criterion did a wonderful transfer with this film. This is a truly great classic. Just looking at post-war Japan itself is a cinematic masterpiece. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Not what I was expecting.

Stray Dog
Starring: Shigeru Chiba , Eaching Sue , Takashi Matsuyama (II) , and Yoshikazu Fujiki
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Manufacturer: Bandai
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The Red Spectacles
Mamoru Oshii's Talking Head

ASIN: B0001BMMA4
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Customer Reviews:

Not what I was expecting........2004-11-10

Mamoru Oshii has put out pretty impressive videos, this is not one of them.
The main character pursues his old master (like a Stray Dog.. ) who left his unit behind. Throughout the entire movie all he does is walk down streets (they even walk the same streets over pointlessly ) , occasionally bumping into a guy that feels life can be summed up in his "Stray Dog philosophy", then eating, then walking around some more. All the while a horrible piano tune plays.

Don't let the cover fool you, there really isn't many kerberos panzer cops in this movie. It's not until the very end does the main character put on his nifty leather armor and mow through baddies, which was about the only exciting part of the movie (no cheesy piano music either!).

Not much of a plot, predictable, and boring. If you're interested in Mamoru's live action movies Avalon is better. If you absolutely have to have something with kerberos cops in it try Jin-Roh The Wolf Brigade.

Stray Dog [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

Stray Dog [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Manufacturer: Eastern Eye
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Japanese (Mono), English (Subtitles), SYNOPSIS: Akira Kurosawa directs the black-and-white 1949 film noir Nora Inu (released in the U.S. in 1963 as Stray Dog). In his third film with Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune plays young police detective Murakami. One summer day on a crowded bus in Tokyo, his gun is stolen by a pickpocket. Rather than face the shame of reporting his gun missing, he chooses to go out and find it himself (there were not many weapons on the streets of Tokyo immediately following WWII). While trying to locate the gun, he discovers an entire criminal underworld. He is eventually helped on his journey by superior officer Sato (Takashi Shimura), who seems to suggest that the young detective is indulging in his own criminal desires. The search becomes even more desperate when Murakami finds out that his gun has been used in several crimes, including murder. He then develops an obsession with finding both the gun and the killer. SPECIAL FEATURES: Photo Gallery, Interactive Menu,

Average customer rating:

Not what I was expecting.

Stray Dog
Starring: Shigeru Chiba , Eaching Sue , Takashi Matsuyama (II) , and Yoshikazu Fujiki
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Manufacturer: Bandai
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Red Spectacles
Mamoru Oshii's Talking Head

ASIN: B0000CG8AX
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Description

The Metropolitan Police's ultimate crime-fighting unit was an elite squad of men and women known as the Kerberos. A riot and uprising ensues when the unit refuses to acknowledge orders from government officials to disband. At the center of the riot is the leader of the Kerberos squad, Kouichi Todome who escapes after the fighting. Three years later, Inui is released from prison. A member of the Kerberos squad who served jail time for his participation in the riot, he wants nothing more to find his former master. However, the trail to Kouichi is a twisted one, involving a strange woman and a new and unimagined lifestyle. But when he finally finds him, he realizes that, instead of following his own path, he was following the orders of another. KEY SALES POINT

* From one of the premier directors of Japanese Cinema - Director Mamoru Oshii
* Live Action Theatrical Feature
* Anamorphic Widescreen
DVD Features:
Interactive Animated Menus

Dolby Digital Surround Sound

Japanese Language

English subtitles option

DVD Extras:

Theatrical Trailer

Mamoru Oshii's Stray Dog Text

Customer Reviews:

Not what I was expecting........2004-11-10

Average customer rating:

Stray Dog [Region 2]
Starring: Kim Landry , Lindsay Felton , Tank the Bear , and Patrick Fugit
Director: Shawn Levy
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000060NZ9

Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress (Kakushi toride no san akunin) Japanese with English Subtitles

Average customer rating:

Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress (Kakushi toride no san akunin) Japanese with English Subtitles
Director: Akira Kurosawa
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Frequently compared to George Lucas' Star Wars, this 1958 film earned its director the Silver Bear award at the 1959 Berlin Film Festival. PLOT OUTLINE: Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general. SUMMARY: Princess Yuki Akizuki ("Yukihime" in Japanese) is to be led through enemy territory, where she may rebuild her kingdom with gold that she has in her caravan. She is assisted by her trusted general, Rokurota Makabe, who insists that she masquarades as a mute farmer. Two minions, Tahei and Matashichi help unknowingly, as they believe they will get a piece of the gold if they help the princess attain her goals. [IMDB - Joel Kirk] ++++ DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed South Korean release is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (playable world-wide). Anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen display, original Black & White, with Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Sound in JAPANESE with optional (removable) English and Korean subtitles. Nearly all the writing on the case is in Korean.

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