Viewed on DVD. Restoration = ten (10) stars; cinematography/editing = nine (9) stars; subtitles =five (5) stars. Director Ko Nakahira delivers the first of and defines the template for what would become a new Japanese film niche--contemporary tales of juvenile delinquency. The movie plays exclusively to a teenage audience (another Japanese first) and serves up nontraditional role models for those who aspired to the lives pictured in the film--that of privileged youth idling away the summer at a semi-tropical seaside resort (Hayama which is now a bedroom community for Tokyo and Yokohana) free from the confines of family traditions/obligations and cultural taboos. (For starters, they have sail boats, speed boats, water skis, cars, lots of expensive booze, and plenty of casual sex at their disposal.) Acting is across-the-board excellent with actress Mie Kitahara delivering a stunning performance which is mostly visual (and cryptic), since the script provides very little of substance for her to say. The male-oriented script is especially wordy, line readings are super fast, and contemporary slang dominates (as one would expect in a youth-oriented photo play). Subtitles are indispensable to catch things, but also suffer from being a bit too wordy (there are also instances where a subtitle precedes a line delivery). Costumes and set designs are strictly Western. The real stars of this movie, however, are cinematography and editing. Aside from instances of obviously phony rear projections and a studio "exterior," real exterior action scenes occur on open water (in Sagami Bay) where the camera is as fluid as the ocean itself (there is also one stunning shot apparently made from a helicopter toward the film's end). Editing is jump-cut city and especially dynamic, constantly fluctuating from one type of scene construction to another. This makes for a movie that still looks fresh and modern despite being almost 60 years old! Film score takes a bit of getting used to (a jazz saxophone and Hawaiian guitar predominate!), but adds dramatic punch to most scenes. One of a kind, the first of its kind, and highly recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.
Review of Crazed Fruit
