{"id":11508,"date":"2010-07-27T13:58:24","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T20:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11508"},"modified":"2024-05-28T23:07:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T06:07:25","slug":"stray-dog-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11508","title":{"rendered":"Stray Dog (1949)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Bad luck can either make a man or destroy him.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-64526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-750x1024.jpg 750w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-94x128.jpg 94w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-768x1048.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster-198x270.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Stray-Dog-Poster.jpg 879w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn post-WWII Tokyo, a rookie police detective (Toshiro Mifune) determined to track down his stolen pistol is accompanied by an older, wiser colleague (Takashi Shimura).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Akira Kurosawa Films<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Japanese Films<\/li>\n<li>Search<\/li>\n<li>Toshiro Mifune Films<\/li>\n<li>Veterans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAkira Kurosawa&#8217;s <em>noir<\/em>-inflected detective flick remains one of the most enduring films in his early oeuvre. Haunted by the fact that his stolen pistol has been used by a desperate thief to kill innocent people, Mifune&#8217;s rookie detective (a recent WWII veteran) becomes the embodiment of guilt-ridden determination as he doggedly pursues his leads through the sweltering streets of Tokyo &#8212; accompanied by his older, wiser colleague (the always excellent Shimura). Throughout Mifune and Shimura&#8217;s hunt, we&#8217;re introduced to a host of interesting characters struggling to survive in a post-war environment &#8212; most notably Keiko Awaji&#8217;s pitiable showgirl &#8220;Harumi&#8221;, who may be the key link to the murderous pickpocket Mifune is so desperate to capture. Many critics have noted that <em>Stray Dog<\/em>&#8216;s narrative possesses two strategically contrasting pairs: Mifune and Shimura, of course, form a classic rookie-veteran cop duo, while Mifune and his elusive nemesis &#8220;Yusa&#8221; (Isao Kimura) are both young veterans whose lives have taken divergent paths after the war &#8212; one towards crime, the other towards fighting it. At a little over two hours, <em>Stray Dogs<\/em>&#8216;s pacing lags occasionally, but Kurosawa infuses his narrative with plenty of exciting sequences (including a particularly memorable, time capsule-worthy baseball game) and strategically frames every shot for maximum effect. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Takashi Shimura as Detective Sato<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-shimura-mifune.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-shimura-mifune.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11515\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Stunning cinematography and framing<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11516\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effective location shooting (by Inoshiro Honda) in post-war Tokyo<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-location.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/stray-dog-location.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11518\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Keiko Awaji as Harumi\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Kurosawa&#8217;s early classics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign Gem<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0041699\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/straydog.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=1337\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/91683\/stray-dog#articles-reviews?articleId=80847\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/stray-dog-2\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Bad luck can either make a man or destroy him.&#8221; Synopsis: In post-WWII Tokyo, a rookie police detective (Toshiro Mifune) determined to track down his stolen pistol is accompanied by an older, wiser colleague (Takashi Shimura). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Akira Kurosawa Films Detectives and Private Eyes Japanese Films Search Toshiro Mifune Films Veterans Review: Akira Kurosawa&#8217;s noir-inflected detective flick remains one of the most enduring films in his early oeuvre. Haunted by the fact that his stolen pistol&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11508\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97182,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11508\/revisions\/97182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}