Tokyo Drifter and Number 76

On Turner Classic Movies, I recently watched Tokyo Drifter which is a Japanese film made in the 60's. The movie told the story (or saga it seemed like) of Tetsu the Phoenix, a hitman who loves his boss that is trying to go straight. But, the old mob gangs won't leave Tetsu and his boss alone and rival gangs claim Tetsu is the reason why. So, Tetsu goes on the run across country to make his boss safer and still try to go straight. Tetsu gives up his lifestyle and girlfriend in the name of honor and duty, which are the guiding principles of his life. The mob still pursues Tetsu while he is running led by Tatsu the Viper. Fortunately, he receives help from a former rival hitman named Shooting Star who has become disillusioned with honor and duty in the gangster life. Tetsu's principles are put to the test by what happens afterward.

It's an interesting story, but the actual story isn't quite the point of this movie. Tokyo Drifter is a visual flambe' of eyepopping technicolor, arty set design and stylistic direction. The use of color and set design was reminiscent of the Batman tv series, garish loud colors on the sets and clothing. Tetsu spends much of the movie in a bright light blue suit walking into nightclubs that with Purple walls and plexiglass floors. A different nightclub has a set of stairs, a piano, about four roman pillars and a table with two chairs.

What's both engaging and offputting about Tokyo Drifter is the direction. The camera framing is incredible, with excellently composed wide shots to capture character movements and dialogue. Great use of lighting alternately keeps the characters in the shadows or in bright day light. An amusing choice is to make the movie into a one song musical, the theme song is played, sung or whistled repeatedly by the soundtrack, Tetsu's girlfriend or Tetsu himself. The offputting parts were the action sequences. Drifter is a violent movie in terms of story, but much of the actual violence takes place off screen. Outside of fistcuffs, just when you expect someone to be shot or killed the scene will end and a different one will begin.

In the end, the movie is about the importance of honor and duty to oneself versus another person, group or collective. It uses brilliantly staged visuals from director Seijun Suzuki to get its point across about the loneliness and cost of it's story in an effective fashion. I can't say this is the greatest movie in the world, but I found it original and intriguing.

While not quite original, an intriguing album comes in at Number 76:

The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

When I first heard about the Strokes, I didn't quite know what to expect. They had a huge buzz about them as the band that would bring back rock n' roll, saving us from the repetitive rap rock that permeated the late 90's. When I first heard Is This It, I was amazed. There were...songs! And guitars!! And guitar solos!!! While the influence was obvious (if Lou Reed had recorded the album and let other people take the credit for it, the sound would be the same) it came at a time when rock was just so dead it hurt.

Still, I couldn't stop playing the disc no matter how guilty it seemed of musical theivery. Low slung bass lines , angular guitarwork and mumbly, tired vocals marked this debut album. The highlight, "Last Nite" aped Tom Petty with slash and burn rhythm guitar and enervated singing. "Hard To Explain" and "Take It Or Leave It" post punked things up a bit. "Someday" had a basic midtempo rock sound while the title track and "The Modern Age" captured the post modern ennui.

Is This It is careful not to go on too long (it's about a half hour) and hits hard and fast with its 21st century take on the classic Velvet Underground sound with Television style guitars. The Strokes followed up with a strong second album (Rooms On Fire 2003) and a solid but unspectacular third album (First Impressions Of Earth 2006). Is This It may be the definitive moment for The Strokes, an effortless piece of New York attitude and hipster rock ingenuity.