Tokyo Drifter (1966), and: Branded to Kill (1967) (review)

The Criterion Collection’s recent rerelease of Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo nagaremono; 1966) and Branded to Kill (Koroshi no rakuin; 1967) significantly improves on its initial 1999 release of these titles that helped introduce director Suzuki Seijun to fans and aficionados outside Japan. Newly restored in high definition, these 2011 versions present a beautiful rendering of the director’s thought-provoking narratives. Supplemented with bonus features that include the original trailers, short interviews, and informative booklets, these are welcome additions to Criterion’s fine lineup of cinematic masterpieces.

Both films center on lone, fast-shooting men trapped in their professional worlds. In Drifter, that man is Tetsuya (Watari Tetsuya), a former hood who is stubbornly loyal to the yakuza’s code of honor. To help Kurata, his debt-shackled boss, the taciturn protagonist agrees to meet with the moneylender to ease the terms of the payment. But the head of the rival Otsuka clan kills the moneylender and seizes the deed to Kurata’s office building. Racked with guilt for making matters worse, Tetsuya becomes a wanderer sojourning across provincial Japan—a situation effectively expressed by the film’s theme song, “Tokyo Drifter.” Leaving Tokyo, however, does not liberate Tetsuya from his troubles with the Otsuka clan. Pursued by a tenacious group of henchmen in the snow-covered landscape of northern Japan, Tetsuya encounters Kenji (Nitani Hideaki), a former Otsuka hit man who now works for himself. Kenji is a mirror of what Tetsuya might become, and he warns him against blind obedience to Kurata, encouraging Tetsuya to take control of his own life. But owing to his loyalty to the code, Tetsuya cannot, until he learns that Kurata betrayed him to Otsuka. In disbelief, Tetsuya rushes back to Tokyo to confront Otsuka and his former boss in a nightclub. Pistol blazing, Tetsuya wipes out Otsuka’s clan, leaving the guilt-struck Kurata to commit suicide. Kurata’s death frees Tetsuya from any ties with the “old order” and causes him to set out alone into the night, leaving his lover behind.

Conversely, the protagonist of Branded is a professional killer, Hanada Goro (Shishido Joe), who, unlike Tetsuya, takes pride in his underworld job. Living in a modern city defined by American cars, jazz music, and concrete high rises, Hanada is the “No. 3” assassin in the hit man business. After successfully transporting a VIP client through fierce gunfire, Hanada effortlessly guns down three targets in an illegal diamond trade. His life starts to fall apart, however, with the appearance of a mysterious woman named Misako (Mari Annu), who hires him to kill a foreigner (also part of the diamond scam). Hanada bungles the mission, and the once-confident assassin begins to doubt himself. He falls in love with Misako and prevents her from committing suicide. Hanada questions the limits of his professionalism as he begins to discover his human side, and this identity crisis parallels his other problem—that the organization behind the diamond scam is hunting him. Their assassins include Hanada’s lustful wife as well as a group of gunmen who try to kill him at the harbor. He survives the attack only to confront the organization’s “No. 1” assassin, who challenges the protagonist to a bizarre array of duels. The climactic showdown between Hanada and the top hit man occurs in an empty boxing arena, where Hanada ultimately defeats his opponent but also inadvertently kills Misako. Hanada’s screams of “I am No. 1!” ring hollow as he falls out of the ring.

At first glance, both films seem to fit comfortably with established genres: the yakuza film in the case of Drifter and the hard-boiled crime drama for Branded. But Suzuki keeps them from being conventional by bending and defying our expectations. This is evidenced in the opening scene of Drifter, when Tetsuya is being roughed up at the pier. This is the only scene to be shot in monochrome, whereas the rest of the film radiates bright color. Indoor spaces in subsequent scenes...