Word: samurais
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Dersu Uzalu. A very fine film, but a regression, albeit in color, to Akira Kurosawa's early days of static, pictorial movie-making. I prefer the raging, audacious Kurosawa of "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo," but this simple piece, a memoir about a little old hunter, has undeniable charm, pathos, and humor. The rich colors and meticulous compositions become frustrating after awhile--we want Kurosawa to shake off his awe of the wilderness and plunge into it with the old daring and fervor--but there's something heartwarming about a touch this sure, and the wisdom and taste to know when...
Putting the heat on the sons of samurai bandits...
...industrialized nation in the world (violent crime actually decreased by one-third in Japan over the past 15 years). But unlike mobsters of the West, Japan's yakuza (good-for-nothings) are part of a chivalric tradition that dates back to the 17th century, when unemployed samurai turned to Robin Hood-style banditry. Even today the yakuza like to think of themselves as romantic outlaws, bound together by a blood oath of loyalty, who never harm the innocent...
What turned the heat on the sons of the samurai bandits was an unprecedented outbreak of warfare among the gangs. Six yakuza have been killed and 34 wounded since the first of the year in gun battles that terrorized whole communities. Worse, one innocent bystander and two police officers were wounded in gross violation of the ancient code. According to police undercover agents, the warfare erupted because of the waning health and authority of Crime Czar Kazuo Taoka, 64, leader of the 11,000-member Yamaguchi-gumi, the biggest yakuza gang in the country...
Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo swings from a chandelier, escapes from menacing samurai and dresses up as a gorilla-all in the line of duty. He plays a professional stunt man in the French film L 'Animal and performs all his feats himself. Co-Star Raquel Welch, 36, portrays his daredevil partner, but relied on a stand-in stunt woman. Awed by Belmondo, Welch says: "He's the embodiment of all the best qualities of the French male...