Recently watching Sanshiro Sugata (1943-also reviewed) ,I was interested to find a sequel to the title in the Criterion AK 100 box set, leading to me meeting Sugata again.
View on the film:
Kicking off his loose adaptation of Tsuneo Tomita's novel with Sugata beating up an American sailor, the screenplay by editor /writer/directing auteur Akira Kurosawa dodges the coming of age sports drama of the first film, to instead deliver full-on propaganda punches, unleashed in quick-fire dialogue about how boxing is a dirty American invention, and that Sugata must protect the purity of his judo mastery.
Completed just 18 days before he got married to Yoko Yaguchi, (co-star of his earlier film The Most Beautiful (1944-also reviewed) and later stating he only made the movie because the studio were demanding a sequel, (some parts of the film industry never change!) Kurosawa reunites with cinematographer of this era Takeo Ito, and slices pass a surprising lack of screen-wipes, with lively action set-pieces.
Continuing to expand of his eye for shooting in real locations, Kurosawa & Ito give the boxer V judo match a fight night atmosphere of whip-pans round the ring,and swift wide-shots of the crowd on their feet watching the match.
Kurosawa spills out this white-hot mood to the great frosty final duel against a snow-covered back-drop,where Sugata's screams cut through the cold air like a knife, ( Susumu Fujita did the fight under mountains of real snow barefooted, leading to his feet going numb during filming) as Kurosawa closes his first sequel.
View on the film:
Kicking off his loose adaptation of Tsuneo Tomita's novel with Sugata beating up an American sailor, the screenplay by editor /writer/directing auteur Akira Kurosawa dodges the coming of age sports drama of the first film, to instead deliver full-on propaganda punches, unleashed in quick-fire dialogue about how boxing is a dirty American invention, and that Sugata must protect the purity of his judo mastery.
Completed just 18 days before he got married to Yoko Yaguchi, (co-star of his earlier film The Most Beautiful (1944-also reviewed) and later stating he only made the movie because the studio were demanding a sequel, (some parts of the film industry never change!) Kurosawa reunites with cinematographer of this era Takeo Ito, and slices pass a surprising lack of screen-wipes, with lively action set-pieces.
Continuing to expand of his eye for shooting in real locations, Kurosawa & Ito give the boxer V judo match a fight night atmosphere of whip-pans round the ring,and swift wide-shots of the crowd on their feet watching the match.
Kurosawa spills out this white-hot mood to the great frosty final duel against a snow-covered back-drop,where Sugata's screams cut through the cold air like a knife, ( Susumu Fujita did the fight under mountains of real snow barefooted, leading to his feet going numb during filming) as Kurosawa closes his first sequel.