Only a year after "Drunken Angel" (1948), Kurosawa continues his collaborations with Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, for what could arguably be the first "buddy cop" movie. Though Kurosawa himself considered the film "too technical", in his autobiography he warmly remembers "no shooting ever went as smoothly".
Right after the opening credits of a dog panting due to the blistering heat wave our story begins. Whilst riding a tram a detective's gun is stolen and after giving chase he loses the thief, setting in motion a hunt into bombed-out post-war Tokyo and various sinister trades.
As the story progresses, the situation becomes dire. While there is plenty to enjoy from the movies bustling crowds, locations and banter between Mifune and Shimura, I believe that the film is too lengthy for its narrative. The acting is consistently strong and the payoff in the final act was worth the wait, even though I found it rushed within the final 10 minutes or so. The characters get by on a vague optimism that things can get better or worse now or in the given future, which is a seldom point that I took from my experience with this movie.
Final Verdict: The suspense is a little lacking, but definitely come for the dialogue and acting. 8/10.
Right after the opening credits of a dog panting due to the blistering heat wave our story begins. Whilst riding a tram a detective's gun is stolen and after giving chase he loses the thief, setting in motion a hunt into bombed-out post-war Tokyo and various sinister trades.
As the story progresses, the situation becomes dire. While there is plenty to enjoy from the movies bustling crowds, locations and banter between Mifune and Shimura, I believe that the film is too lengthy for its narrative. The acting is consistently strong and the payoff in the final act was worth the wait, even though I found it rushed within the final 10 minutes or so. The characters get by on a vague optimism that things can get better or worse now or in the given future, which is a seldom point that I took from my experience with this movie.
Final Verdict: The suspense is a little lacking, but definitely come for the dialogue and acting. 8/10.