This has a somewhat pulpy yet also impressive conventional film-noir story. Suzuki's flagrant mise en scène gives an acutely expressive experience to the farcical story.

Suzuki is definitely doing his own thing, but I'll be damned if he didn't have Yojimbo and The Bad Sleep Well in the forefront of his mind while making this. All the more reason to love it.

I'll have to admit, for the duration of this film, I kept waiting for one character to ask another character the whereabouts of the famous egg salad recipe. This is my first Seijun Suzuki film, and while it kept me entertained, it failed to wow me. I think part of the problem lies with the lead actor, Jô Shishido. Was this the best actor Nikkatsu studios had to offer at the time of this films production? He reminded me of a moody, badly postured version of Shintarô Katsu from the Zatoichi films.

The editing and cinematography is like being slapped in the face, which is enjoyable if you're into abuse. The plot feels entirely secondary, to the point where I had no idea what was actually happening in many scenes, simply enjoying the experience. The end twist still made sense to me, at least.

It's Yojimbo with a murder mystery thrown in to spice things up a bit, done by a more reserved but still stylish Suzuki. It's shot rather interestingly in that there's a lot of use of wide shots, and since it's mostly indoors in 2.35:1 they usually end up framing the ceiling as the top and floor as the bottom, often giving it a landscape feel.

Another exciting and dynamic Suzuki. Insane jump cuts, angles all over the place, jazzy score. But the story wasn't especially engaging. Nice twist ending, though.

style well over substance.

Probably not as outrageous as Suzuki's later films, but it's still a visual sensation and quite a blast. His detailed compositions and use of color lend the movie an aesthetic quality nothing short of mesmerizing. The plot doesn't seem quite as important to Suzuki as what he could do with the camera, and what could be a twisting gangster story is somewhat left behind. It's a fun movie, but even at 92 minutes it feels a bit overlong.

A fantastic lesser effort from Suzuki. The scene where the boss beats the prostitute, foregrounded by an isolated desert, is one of the absolute most memorable sequences in a Suzuki film.

Not having seen a lot of Yakuza movies and hence not having a lot to compare against, this seemed decent enough, and a good start. Loved the twist in the end, and that for me, alone, raised this from a so-so movie to a good one.

An incredibly fun movie that served as my introduction to the crazy and beautiful world of Seijun Suzuki.