Stray Dog - Criterion Collection

Starring:ToshirÃ´ Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Fumiko Honma, Reikichi Kawamura, EijirÃ´ Tono, Yasushi Nagata, Katsuhei Matsumoto, Isao Kimura, Teruko Kishi, Minoru Chiaki, IchirÃ´ Sugai, Gen Shimizu, Hiroshi Yanagiya, Hajime Izu, Masao Shimizu, Kokuten Kodo, YÃ»nosuke ItÃ´
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

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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locations and a sense of sweltering heat rivaled only by Do the Right Thing, Kurosawa (who first wrote this film as an unpublished novel inspired by an actual incident) maintains an atmosphere of lurid urgency perfectly suited to this riveting film noir scenario.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.

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