{"id":12997,"date":"2016-01-22T15:01:49","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T20:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=12997"},"modified":"2017-07-11T20:12:20","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T00:12:20","slug":"br-house-of-bamboo-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=12997","title":{"rendered":"BR: House of Bamboo (1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"HouseOfBamboo_BR\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>:\u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong> Twilight Time<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 August 11, 2015<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Film Noir \/ Crime<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0The loyalties of a tight-knit group of bank robbers are tested when a murder brings a treacherous thug into their trusting midst.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 Audio Commentary #1 (2015): film historian Julie Kirgo and producer Nick Redman \/\u00a0Audio Commentary #2 (2005): by Film Historians James Ursini and Alain Silver \/ Isolated Stereo Music Track \/ 2 Fox Movietone Newsreels: “Behind-the-scenes footage” (2:03) + “Landing In Japan” (1:03) \/ Theatrical Trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively from Screen Archives Entertainment<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although House of Bamboo<\/strong> is technically a remake of Harry Kleiner\u2019s superb noir script The Street with No Name<\/a><\/strong> (1948), it\u2019s really a re-imaging of the core story in which a government investigator infiltrates a gang to solve and put an end to a series of murders and robberies. Whereas Street<\/strong> was set in a seedy pocket of California and had an FBI agent assume the identity of a dead felon, Bamboo<\/strong> has a military detective gain acceptance of a weird gang of Americans who manage to live the high life and commit suave robberies without upsetting the local Yakuza in post-WWII Japan.<\/p>\n

According to Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo on the Blu-ray\u2019s newly recorded commentary track, Fox didn\u2019t like the idea of contract director Sam Fuller idling in Europe, so they teased him back to work with a colour widescreen remake of Kleiner\u2019s script, which Fuller could shoot in Japan.<\/p>\n

Fuller reworked Kleiner\u2019s material, and while there are key elements and plot points that remained in the final shooting script \u2013 the infiltration of an agent, the well-dressed gang who only bear arms when on a job, a mole on the police force, and the preposterous tactic of propping up the unconscious hero to be mistaken by the police and shot at the end \u2013 Fuller transformed a tough, taut classic docu-styled B&W noir into a tough colour noir with ugly Americans, culture clashes, and a homo-erotic relationship that may or may not have existed in Kleiner\u2019s Street<\/strong> script, but was unsubtly exploited by Fuller in his highly eccentric thriller.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually a relief to hear Kirgo and Redman concur Fuller was \u2018crazy\u2019 \u2013 I thought I was alone in believing Fuller was tough-as-nails screenwriter \/ director \/ auteur who would inject weird and bizarre behaviour in his nutty but never boring movies \u2013 but he was crazy in a good way<\/em>, not giving a damn what people (studio executives) thought, and blending genuine directorial artistry with his own bursts of extremism.<\/p>\n

In Street<\/strong>, gang leader Stiles (Richard Widmark) is a smiling, semi-cultured nut-job (he plays the piano while his fancily dressed goons play poker) who takes a shine to undercover FBI agent Gene (Mark Stevens), and although there\u2019s no overt leering between the actors, one could argue Stiles takes an interest in his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 after a boxing match, seeing him in action and being virile and agile on his feet. (In a follow-up scene, Stiles has a quiet meeting with Gene in the bedroom \u2013 Stiles lying smiling on the bed, and Gene looking boyishly giddy at working for a smooth operator.) Stiles\u2019 marriage also feels like a leftover from a prior life; a mistake that he wishes he could undo, but reluctantly retains for appearances because it covers the glee he gets in managing a band of archetypal tough guys.<\/p>\n

Fuller may have read between the lines and felt echoes of longing should be more pronounced, and being Sam Fuller, naturally the shots have to linger a bit more to make it clear that the cultured (and unmarried) gang leader Sandy (a unisex name) really<\/em> likes new boy Eddie (Robert Stack). Kirgo and Redman point out a variety of shots where Fuller makes Sandy a dominant, elegant leader who within a short time pushes his number one lieutenant Griff (Cameron Mitchell) aside, which brings out increasing jealousy and \u2018spurned lover\u2019 exchanges. More overt, though, is Eddie recovering from a gunshot wound in a loose-fitting robe, and Sandy being quite pleased with his new toy\u2019s d\u00e9colletage. Fuller doesn\u2019t just linger on Stack, he has the actor sit in a demure, feminine pose with the actor\u2019s eyes beckoning Sandy to make a move.<\/p>\n

The homo-eroticism doesn\u2019t make Bamboo<\/strong> a better film, but it certainly makes the dynamics among the gang more interesting<\/em>, opening the door to tangential conflicts. The men can have flings with women, but they need to live in Sandy\u2019s sprawling hillside compound, where the dear leader can easily keep tabs on his men\u2019s activities, and perhaps listen in on bedtime activities through paper walls. Much of Sandy\u2019s sexual interests are left to the audience\u2019s richer imagination.<\/p>\n

Eddie strikes a friendship with Mariko (Shirley Yamaguchi), the widow of a murdered gang member, and while they do sleep in the same room on occasion, it\u2019s for appearances, and fits in with Fuller\u2019s script design where everyone is in fact wearing a mask, whether it\u2019s a policeman pretending to be a thug, unruly ex-G.I.\u2019s pretending to be sophisticated by wearing tailored suits, or leader Sandy using his calm demeanor to hide sexual frustrations and conning the local law into believing his band of good buddies are doing nothing nefarious.<\/p>\n

Kirgo and Redman also make note of the Fullerian absurdity where the transposed Kleiner story occurs in a kind of Japan where the Yakuza (or any Japanese criminals) don\u2019t exist<\/em>. However they\u2019ve managed to wrangle territory from native gangs isn\u2019t important; this is a weird mythic postwar Japan where ex-military Americans scarred with dishonorable discharges can form a nearly invincible, highly profitable mini-corporation.<\/p>\n

Sandy may have a greater awareness of Japanese culture, but it\u2019s murky as to whether he genuinely respects it, or respects its order rather than its people. A scene where Sandy\u2019s number one man beats the crap out of Mariko\u2019s uncle is especially nasty, and he seems to enjoy walking among locals knowing at any moment of his pleasing, he can have them snuffed out, or abscond with their hard-earned money and valuables.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Fuller retained Street<\/strong>\u2019s original cinematographer Joseph MacDonald, a truly gifted craftsman who proved equally adept in gorgeous colour and CinemaScope. (MacDonald also filmed another noir remake, Broken Lance<\/strong>, transposed to the western genre.) Bamboo<\/strong> is especially notable for its documentary-styled location footage of Tokyo as the city was rebuilding itself from the ashes of WWII, but prior to the heavy cluster of skyscrapers that would replace the more rustic, sprawling commercial districts.<\/p>\n

Street<\/strong> boasts tight editing and fluid camerawork and a striking finale in which characters run around the bowels of a factory; for Bamboo<\/strong>, Fuller literally upped the ante with some stunning tracking shots as the men race to escape after Eddie\u2019s first robbery with the gang, and the elaborate finale which could easily play out as a silent movie: with the police tipped off, Sandy changes plans and goes for an impromptu jewelry robbery housed in one of the city\u2019s first crop of skyscrapers, the Matsuya Department Store.<\/p>\n

Fuller actually hints at the chase location early in the film when Eddie moves around a Kabuki troupe on the roof of the Kokusai Theatre, with the Matsuya skyscraper and its planetary ride visible in the distance.<\/p>\n

That finale is as amazing as the location: a family playground with toy train, Ferris wheel, petting zoo, and a giant planet ride (!) seemingly hanging over the corner of the building. The shootout that determines Sandy\u2019s fate is extremely tense because the ride has low railings and is a bit wobbly, making that pass over the building\u2019s corner especially scary.<\/p>\n

Yamaguchi may not have a meaty role in Mariko \u2013 she\u2019s a slight love interest, more cultural ambassador for American audiences, explaining cultural differences to Eddie (and us) \u2013 but it\u2019s a more integral role than her Street<\/strong> counterpart, Stiles\u2019 wife Judy (Barbara Lawrence), who gets yelled at and brutally smacked around before disappearing from the narrative.<\/p>\n

Fuller\u2019s cast is filled with some of the period\u2019s best character actors, including always underrated Mitchell as jilted Griff, former singer \/ actress Yamaguchi (whose prior career in Chinese anti-Japanese propaganda films provides some interesting commentary discussion), Sessue Hayakawa (Bridge on the River Kwai<\/strong>), and unbilled DeForest Kelley (Star Trek<\/strong>) as one of Sandy\u2019s smiling, slimy goons. John Ford stock company veteran Harry Carey Jr. has a tiny role as a munitions seller.<\/p>\n

Stack is fine as Eddie; the actor\u2019s tough guy persona works well for the character, especially the early scenes where Eddie is the walking, talking embodiment of the ugly American, a rumpled English-only goon who stomps into street shops to extract protection money. It\u2019s a comportment the character uses to attract the attention of Sandy in one of several key plot points from Kleiner\u2019s original story.<\/p>\n

The real star is Robert Ryan, and it\u2019s not surprising Kirgo rhapsodizes about the actor\u2019s skilled, often subdued acting style that always fitted trouble characters consistently struggling with violence and a faint sense of human decency. Ryan was one of Hollywood\u2019s greatest character actors, and he never pushes Sandy\u2019s quiet sleekness into caricature; he remains a believable and compelling villain for whom you feel a bit of regret in the finale.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s remarkable is how Fuller\u2019s reworking of a formal noir still works when transplanted to Japan; one can theorize that the resettling may not have been so fluid had Fuller not injected the film with his own eccentricities.<\/p>\n

\"HouseOfBamboo\"<\/a>Twilight Time\u2019s Blu sports the new 2015 commentary track, plus the equally engaging James Ursini-Alain Silver track from Fox\u2019s prior 2005 DVD which further details the making of this film. (The pair also recorded a detailed and similarly conversational commentary for Fox\u2019s Street<\/strong> DVD.) Two vintage Fox newsreels have Yamaguchi signing autographs before entering a soundstage, and the silent second shows Stack, Yamaguchi, and Fuller \u2018deplaning\u2019 in Japan.<\/p>\n

The 4K transfer from which this Blu was derived is gorgeous, showing the brilliance of MacDonald\u2019s stellar camerawork and the striking Japanese locations shot in the wider 2.55:1 ratio of early CinemaScope productions. The uncompressed DTS sound mix is clean, and the score by Leigh Harline (who also scored Broken Lance<\/strong>) sounds great, especially in the isolated stereo music track.<\/p>\n

Fuller\u2019s quirky (and sometimes batshit crazy) canon isn\u2019t for all tastes \u2013 the prior\u00a0Hell and High Water<\/strong><\/a> (1954) is a ‘colourful cartoon’ Cold War thriller, and his next films, China Gate<\/strong> (1957) and Forty Guns<\/a><\/strong> (1957) are precursors to masterworks Shock Corrider<\/strong> (1963) and The Naked Kiss<\/strong> (1964) \u2013 but for connoisseurs, this is an underrated gem that also honors the tropes of the noir genre, keeping a substantive level of action on location to give the drama needed grit.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2016 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB<\/a> \u00a0— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although House of Bamboo is technically a remake of Harry Kleiner\u2019s superb noir script The Street with No Name (1948), it\u2019s really a re-imaging of the core story in which a government investigator infiltrates a gang to solve and put an end to a series of murders and robberies…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[4206,4207,1517,244,2962,4209,4210,4203],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/HouseOfBamboo_BR.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-3nD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12997"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16373,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12997\/revisions\/16373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}