Directed by Yoshitaro Nomura • 1958 • Japan
Starring Minoru Oki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Hideko Takamine
When a pair of a detectives lose the trail of a murder suspect, they camp out across the street from his ex-lover (Hideko Takamine) in hopes that she will lead them to their man. It’s the beginning of an extended surveillance operation that gradually reveals as much about the woman they are watching—and the oppressive marriage she is trapped in—as the case they are investigating. Adapted by regular Kurosawa screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto (RASHOMON, SEVEN SAMURAI) from a story by Seicho Matsumoto and directed with cool precision by noir specialist Yoshitaro Nomura, this slow-burn procedural blends a Hitchcockian study of voyeurism with an empathetic look at the circumstances of women in postwar Japan.
Up Next in Japanese Noir
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Rusty Knife
Directed by Toshio Masuda • 1958 • Japan
Rusty Knife was the first smash for director Toshio Masuda, who would go on to become one of Japanese cinema's major hit makers. In the film, Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life o...
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Take Aim at the Police Van
Directed by Seijun Suzuki • 1960 • Japan
At the beginning of Seijun Suzuki's taut and twisty whodunit, a prison truck is attacked and a convict inside murdered. The penitentiary guard on duty, Daijiro (Michitaro Mizushima), is accused of negligence and suspended, only to take it upon himself to ...
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The Bad Sleep Well
Directed by Akira Kurosawa • 1960 • Japan
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Tatsuya MihashiA young executive hunts down his father’s killer in director Akira Kurosawa’s scathing THE BAD SLEEP WELL. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa combines element...
