#564: SHINODA, Masahiro: Pale Flower (1964)

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SHINODA, Masahiro (Japan)
Pale Flower [1964]
Spine #564
Blu-ray


In this cool, seductive jewel of the Japanese New Wave, a yakuza, fresh out of prison, becomes entangled with a beautiful and enigmatic gambling addict; what at first seems a redemptive relationship ends up leading him further down the criminal path. Bewitchingly shot and edited, and laced with a fever-dream-like score by Toru Takemitsu, this gangster romance was a breakthrough for the idiosyncratic filmmaking talent Masahiro Shinoda. The pitch-black Pale Flower is an unforgettable excursion into the underworld.

96 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in Japanese
2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers


From the original story by Shintarô Ishihara.
Screenplay by Ataru Baba and Masahiro Shinoda.
Shinoda was 33 when he directed Pale Flower.

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Chuck Stephens.
/
Commentary

Selected-scene audio commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli, coproducer of Music for the Movies: Toru Takemitsu.

Video interview

With director Shinoda.
Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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