Stray Dog (Subtitled) (DVD)

...a result.

Stray Dog (original name Nora Inu) grabs you from the moment the opening credits begin, with their distinctive background of a screen-filling close-up of a panting dog's face. A voiceover comes on to explain that it was a very hot day, and then we see a very young (and handsome!) Toshiro Mifune standing before a man at a desk, looking sweltering and highly upset. 'Someone stole your gun?' the man asks. 'Yes, I have no excuse,' ...
...of the building and a sign telling us that this is Police Headquarters, Homicide. We learn that Mifune is Detective Murakami and that some unknown pickpocket stole his gun while on a crowded bus. He explains to the man on the desk, his lieutenant, that the gun was a Colt revolver and that there were seven bullets in it. 'Sir, I'll accept any punishment you give me', he says humbly. To our relief, the lieutenant's reply is 'Cut out all that "sir" ... more

Starring:

Toshiro Mifune as Detective Murakami
Takashi Shimura as Detective Sato
Keiko Awaji as Harumi Namaki
Isao Kimura as Yusa

This is an impressive early film from 1949 by brilliant renowned Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, one of the first to star actor Toshiro Mifune with whom he would go on to make many more throughout the span of both their careers. As well as directing this film, he also co-wrote it, and has created a thoroughly gripping, suspenseful and immersive experience as a result.

Stray Dog (original name Nora Inu) grabs you from the moment the opening credits begin, with their distinctive background of a screen-filling close-up of a panting dog's face. A voiceover comes on to explain that it was a very hot day, and then we see a very young (and handsome!) Toshiro Mifune standing before a man at a desk, looking sweltering and highly upset. 'Someone stole your gun?' the man asks. 'Yes, I have no excuse,' Mifune replies ashamedly. We are shown an exterior shot of the building and a sign telling us that this is Police Headquarters, Homicide. We learn that Mifune is Detective Murakami and that some unknown pickpocket stole his gun while on a crowded bus. He explains to the man on the desk, his lieutenant, that the gun was a Colt revolver and that there were seven bullets in it. 'Sir, I'll accept any punishment you give me', he says humbly. To our relief, the lieutenant's reply is 'Cut out all that "sir" crap. This isn't the army.' He tells Murakami to ask the advice of the pickpocket experts in the Larceny department.

Murakami identifies a mug shot which a detective there shows him of a notorious woman pickpocket, as that of a woman standing next to him on the bus, and together they go to interview her. She, of course, proclaims her total innocence and leaves in a huff. Murakami tails her in the most unsubtle way possible - he chases her around all over town making his presence known, really obviously and in her face, everywhere she goes. This freaks her out and she finally gives in and gives him a hint: check the black market pistol dealers in the alleyways of the downtown area. But as a rookie he is out of his depth; his lieutenant tells him to partner with highly experienced Detective Sato, and together they begin their hunt.

Detectives Sato and Murakami are met with huge obstacles in finding their culprit, however, due to too much 'honour among thieves', and things take a turn for the much worse when they learn that the gun has just been used in an armed robbery. There then begins a grisly countdown as to how many bullets are left in the gun as they learn of a further shooting incident carried out with it. Murakami becomes progressively more guilt-ridden and ashamed, feeling dishonour for having allowed his gun to be stolen. Can they track down the killer before any more lives are lost?

This is one of my favourite Kurosawa films. Despite its age, it is still fresh and watchable, and highly atmospheric. The look and feel of the film is very like American film noir, with its depiction of the stark realism of the seamy underbelly of inner city society in 'the bad part of town' and its sleazy inhabitants, the tough hardboiled older cops, and in the middle of it all, the idealistic young hero out of his depth and struggling to accomplish his goal while also struggling with his shame.

The stark cinematography that sometimes borders between ultra-realism and surrealism, the powerful no-frills, almost documentary-like at times, direction, the convincing and 'natural' acting of all of the cast, all make the film seem much less dated than most of this age and holds up well today as a gripping detective story with a modern gritty feel and much human interest.

Although a bit long at two hours two minutes, I never felt it to drag or to feel slow - it gripped me from start to finish and I hardly noticed time passing as I felt so drawn into the underworld depicted and the two detectives' desperate chase to apprehend the killer.

If you are either a Kurosawa fan or a film noir fan, or just like a good gritty cop story that is a bit offbeat and different from the run of the mill, I highly recommend this. I realise that many people will be put off by it both being in black and white AND in Japanese with English subtitles, but if you can cope with this, you are in for a rewarding viewing experience.

As you may be aware, Japanese films made pre-1953 have fallen into public domain, so it is possible to download this plus other early Kurosawas from his first, Sugata Sanshiro/Judo Story (1943) through to They Who Step on Tiger's Tail (1945), Drunken Angel (1948), Rashomon (1950), and Ikuru (1952) free from public domain film websites. (Unfortunately, Seven Samurai is just a bit too late!) However, these downloads are often iffy quality, and pixellation may make it hard to read the English subtitles, so I recommend seeking out the DVD.

I am not familiar with the particular DVD depicted here, but my DVD is in crystal-clear resolution with easy-to-read subtitles, so it is definitely possible to obtain a high quality print of this film. Very worth splashing out for!

Also on dooyoo.co.uk as thereddragon and ciao.com as EsmeraldaDragon. 

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