Branded to Kill (1967)

Branded to Kill: Directed by Seijun Suzuki. With Jô Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari, Kôji Nanbara. After a badly done assignment, a hitman finds himself in conflict with his organisation, and one mysterious and dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.

“Seijun Suzuki refers to his films as u0026quot;entertainmentu0026quot; and without critical merit. Yet, this was somewhat tongue in cheek as he stated that critics feel a movie must have a u0026quot;moral or some social commentaryu0026quot; to be worthy of attention. Be that as it may, u0026quot;Branded to Killu0026quot; is simply a fantastic achievement. Suzuki was working with both a lead man and a script provided to him by the Nikkatsu Corporation. As such, when you evaluate his films, you do so by focusing on the technical merits. Personally, I find his disconnected editing, and surreal lighting styles to be amazing. Suzukiu0026#39;s skill turns what is otherwise a laughable boiler plate film noir into something more. The lighting and editing make the exclamations that the script doesnu0026#39;t, and the decision to shoot the final scene in a boxing ring is brilliant.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt was entertaining to watch person after person jump up and down about the originality of u0026quot;Ghost Dogu0026quot; with no mention of the fact that Jarmusch lifted one of the assassination sequences unchanged from u0026quot;Branded to Killu0026quot;. Hopefully as more of Suzukiu0026#39;s work comes to DVD, people and critics alike will recognize a blatant tribute when it is given. Suzuki deserves them all.”