Branded To Kill (1967) Koroshi No Rakuin

Movie Rating NR Contains: Strong Language Violence Sex Nudity Mature Situations

Director: Seijun Suzuki Movie Genre: Action, Yakuza Country: Japan Branded To Kill Score Card The following scores are based on a 0.0 to 10.0 rating scale Hover your mouse pointer over the name of each scoring category below for a description Direction: 7.0 Writing: 5.5 Acting: 6.4 Cinematography: 6.8 Sound and Score: 6.5 Functionality: 6.0 Presentation: 5.8 Genre Comparison: 6.7 General Comparison: 6.5 Overall: 6.4 Reviewed 2005-11-28 12:49:51

Branded to Kill is the story of Tetsu, the number three killer in the yakuza and his arduous journey to become killer number one. Along the way, Tetsu gets mixed up with several characters who want him dead, including both his wife and his mistress. All the while, the number one killer is stalking and taunting him.

The screenplay is this movie’s main weakness. The story is rather mundane for the yakuza genre. Yakuza movies with a quirky, womanizing, lead character, who has to kill everyone he comes in contact with, were being mass produced by the major Japanese studios in the 1960s. Since these movies were so popular, Nikkatsu Studios decided to release Branded to Kill to further the leading man status of Joe Shishido. In addition, the popularity of yakuza movies usually guaranteed a large profit. With this being a studio engineered genre piece, the standards for the screenplay were set rather low.

The substandard script forced Suzuki to look elsewhere for ways to entertain the audience. This decision gave Branded to Kill its madcap style, which increased its entertainment value immensely. Suzuki’s stylistic choices aggravated his already tumultuous relationship with Nikkatsu Studios and ultimately led to his termination and later blacklisting.

There are certain scenes in the movie that serve only to fuel the overall lunacy. The playful cinematography by Kazue Nagatsuka makes the movie feel more like a cartoon than a story about cold-blooded killers. The music in the movie has style to spare. The soundtrack is very hip and contributes significantly to the overall experience of the film.

Branded to Kill is a very entertaining movie. Both fans of Suzuki’s work and fans of yakuza movies will not be disappointed. Though the absurd style and mediocre story will likely turn off some viewers, this movie is an excellent introduction to the ridiculous world of Seijun Suzuki.