![]() Kurosawa also provides the audience with a far greater feeling of realism throughout the film. The film delves into the psyche of both criminal and cop, and because of this the characters seem to have much more depth than any characters in previous Kurosawa films. Stray Dog, more than any Kurosawa film before it, is very character driven. With the help of contacts in the black market, and a young dancer who is in a relationship with the thief, the two officers begin to zero in on their man.Īs their search nears its end, Murakami finds he has more in common with the thief than he thought. ![]() This increases both Murakami's eagerness to get the gun back, and his guilt over losing it. While they search, the man who stole the gun begins to use the gun to commit crimes, even going to far as murder. Murakami, with the help of another officer, the veteran Detective Sato, played by Takashi Shimura, begin to track down the weapon. Mifune plays Murakami, a rookie police detective who has his gun stolen on a scorching summer day. In Stray Dog, Kurosawa would place Mifune on the other side of the law. Prior to the film Kurosawa made immediately before Stray Dog, The Quiet Duel, in which Toshiro Mifune played a doctor, he had been type-cast as a gangster. The footage from these black markets would be provided by the second unit crew led by Kurosawa's longtime friend Ishiro Honda, a director who would go on to make the original Godzilla. Much of the film showcases real Japanese black market locations. He wrote the script to match the style of Simenon's novels.īecause of a third strike at Toho, Kurosawa sought out Shin Toho to produce the film. Kurosawa was very much influenced by the detective stories of Georges Simenon. The film's script is also unique among Kurosawa films, as it was the only one that Kurosawa would first write as a novel and then adapt to a screenplay. Noir would continue to influence several of Kurosawa's films in the future. Stray Dog might also be considered a cousin to the American noir films of the 40s and 50s.Īlthough significantly less dark than traditional film noir, the film's detective story, mixed with classic voice-over narration from the main character, show that Kurosawa was definitely influenced by noir. The film created the police drama film in Japan as well as the suspense film. Stray Dog might have been used as direct evidence of Kurosawa's Western influences, as it helped introduce Japan to themes already explored for many years in Western cinema. Kurosawa was often called the most Western of the Japanese directors of his day (a title he frequently disagreed with). Akira Kurosawa became world famous for introducing Japanese film to a worldwide audience, but his domestic achievements often go unnoticed.
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