Yakuza hitman Hanada (Joe Shishido) is number three on the organization’s list of killers. He is hired for a series of jobs, all of which are successful. But when he encounters a beautiful woman obsessed with butterflies, when he is contracted to off a notable foreigner, things go horribly wrong and an innocent bystander is killed. Now he is a target himself, his bosses sending out the best of their best to do him in, including the infamous (and nameless) number one.

CRITIQUE

There’s quite a lot to make of Seijun Suzuki’s notorious and highly influential Japanese New Wave gangster drama Branded to Kill. The movie makes little sense, rarely fits together and plays with continuity in a way that kept me unhinged and uncomfortable all the way through. It is a visual and sonic symphony that is bewildering and fascinating in almost equal measure, and if a person admits to being able to actually make sense out of the entirety of it (and I mean the whole thing, every bit, every note) than they simply must be lying.

Not that any of this is a bad thing. I get why directors like Quentin Tarantino are smitten with Suzuki (influences on Pulp Fiction and especially Kill Bill are undeniable), the filmmaker’s sense of visual composition and pacing as unique as they are exhilarating. Like so many examples of various ‘60s New Wave productions (French and Japanese, most notably), the plot comes secondary to what is being thrown up on the screen, the motion picture an example of cinema at its most raw and unrefined.

But that doesn’t mean the plot isn’t important. While Hanada’s story doesn’t follow anything close to a normal narrative path, while the women he encounters (one his perplexing, nymph-like and enigmatic wife, the other the aforementioned ethereal butterfly beauty who holds thrall over the protagonist) are harbingers of sex and death almost in equal measure, there are central themes about honor, courage, timidity, envy and respect that echo throughout.

Does it all add up? Do the various eccentricities mean anything as far as the greater goals are concerned? What does it mean that Hanada has an extreme fetish for cooking rice that makes him get an erection? Why is it important that the mysterious butterfly woman has a penchant for killing small birds with even tinier needles? What does it say about the film’s central themes to have Number One cordially announce his intentions to bring Hanada to an end?

I’m not entirely sure these questions need answering. Even more, I’m not positive I’d want to try and do so in the first place. Part of Branded to Kill’s charm is its refusal to embrace convention, its utter disdain for the commonplace or the routine. When everything finally does come together during the requisitely bleak and ironic climax, the shocking nature of denouement is somewhat surprising. There is an emotional element to what happens that is far more devastating and effective than you expect it to be, punches one in the mouth a bit more fully than you’re prepared for. This is, in the end, a movie that begs for multiple viewings, and I fully imagine each one will produce an entirely different interpretation more outlandish and complex than the last.

THE VIDEO

Branded to Kill is presented on a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video with a 2.35:1/1080p transfer. As stated in the included booklet: “This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS and Pixel Farm’s PFClean, while Image Systems’ DVNR was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.”

THE AUDIO

Branded to Kill comes to Blu-ray in Japanese LPCM Mono Master Audio and includes optional English SDH subtitles. Again, from the included booklet: “The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AuidoCube’s integrated workstation.”

THE EXTRAS

Extras here include:

·         Interview with Seijun Suzuki and Masami Kuzuu (12 minutes) – 2011 interview recorded by the Criterion Collection, both director Suzuki and assistant director Kuzuu having incredibly clear recollections about what it was like to make Branded to Kill and the effect it ended up having – especially upon Suzuki – upon their careers for both good and bad.

·         Interview with actor Joe Shishido (10 minutes) – Another fresh interview recorded by the Criterion Collection, actor Shishido is every bit as playful and as eccentric during his questioning as he always seemed to be on film. His recounting of the cosmetic surgery that helped him craft his signature chipmunk-cheeked looks is especially interesting.

·         Archival Interview with Seijun Suzuki (15 minutes) – 1997 interview recorded during a retrospective of his films by the Japanese Film Foundation and the Los Angeles Filmforum staged at the Nuart Theatre.

·         Original Theatrical Trailer (3 minutes)

The Blu-ray also comes with a 16-page Illustrated Booklet featuring an essay by critic, filmmaker and festival programmer Tony Rayns.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Branded to Kill is a hallucinatory mind trip that in many ways is the very essence of what the Japanese New Wave was all about and showcases director Seijun Suzuki at his absolute wildest. Not very every taste, to be sure, but adventurous cinephiles would be doing themselves a favor if they were to make the effort to check this one out.