Dancing Bread Rolls

Oh, how fun typing is when you’re sniffling every other word. Bah.

In a way, I felt like Miller’s Crossing was somewhere in between The Glass Key and Yojimbo. It didn’t hold as true to Ned’s personality in the book as Sanjuro in Yojimbo, but it wasn’t quite as far away as “Ed” in The Glass Key. Certain plot points were more identifiable as parallels to those in the book, while others were obviously constructed for the film alone. Miller’s Crossing has the same themes and character personalities as the book, but the actual events are altered slightly, and lines are invented. Granted, these invented plot twists and lines are occasionally brilliant. For example, Tom and Leo’s exchange: “You and I have faced worse odds.” “Never without reason. It helps to have one.” Also, Leo’s single-handed annihilation of the hit men iss spectacular.

These things were added for the same reason things were added in the old version of The Glass Key: audience appeal. However, the Coen brothers accomplish this much more successfully–not to mention with more style–than Heisler.

The most obvious deviation from the book–for me, at least–is the dramatic alteration of the relationship between the protagonist and femme fatale. Verna just seems too obvious, too unrefined. While Leo and Tom are fairly accurate versions of their literary counterparts, Verna’s personality and actions stray too far from Janet’s. However, the same end is accomplished (Leo’s break with Tom), so this is a fairly small complaint. Her involvement with Tom slightly changes the audience’s perception of him. In the novel, Ned has his faults, but is generally being kicked around by fate (or Jeff). In Miller’s Crossing, he’s not quite the martyr he is in The Glass Key. Tom has a fairly casual sexual relationship with Verna–despite his friendship with Leo. This betrayal of friendship changes his character subtly, making him just a little more responsible for resulting events. The audience tends more towards fascination and curiosity, rather than sympathy. This was an excellent film-making choice, because it forces the audience to focus more on the intricacies of the plots and characters by limiting emotional responses to Tom. This detachment is something that is not present (at least to the same degree) in The Glass Key or Yojimbo.

As far as the other characters go, Shad and Jeff’s personalities seem to be, in a way, reversed. Johnny Caspar is almost affectionate with Tom, and has the same reckless, violent impulses as Jeff, whereas Eddie Dane has Shad O’Rory’s intensity and astuteness.

The introduction of Bernie’s character lends a third element that, while missing in the book, works surprisingly well in the film, and further justifies Tom’s mistrust of everyone.

“Nobody knows anybody. Not that well.”

-opening shot: ice in glass, starts with just noise first (loud)

-similar lines, occasionally: “How far has she got her hooks into you?”

-conversations have same themes as Glass Key, different subjects

-beautiful shot sequence: dog –> boy –> dead man (reaction shot in reverse–drawn out eyeline match)

-”You and I have faced worse odds.” “Never without reason. It helps to have one.”

-powder room conflict between Tom and Verna–background music: “Runnin’ Wild” (This song also featured in Some Like It Hot)

“Running wild, lost control.
Running wild, mighty bold.
Feeling gay, reckless too,
carefree mind all the time, never blue.
Always going, don’t know where,
always showing..I don’t care!
Don’t love nobody, it’s not worthwhile.
All alone, running wild!”

-song creates a nice contrast with the tension between the two characters

-Caspar’s son seems almost like a caricature of himself, as do many of the characters

-”Would that be physically, or just a mental state?”

-”Nobody knows anybody. Not that well.”

-shot of feet going up stairs, tips of guns with silencers

-calm music throughout machine gun fire, Leo’s retaliation

-continuation of the use of cheerful music during violent scenes

-”It’s the kiss-off.” (same line)

-several second shot of Tom sitting in bed, shows his reaction to the noise of a person entering his house

-Miller’s Crossing: name of the place he was supposed to kill Bernie

-repeats the “nobody knows anybody” line

-film keeps showing the “Shenandoah Club” sign, perhaps paying homage to older movies of the same genre, which almost always showed the name of a building to establish setting between scenes

-backwards tracking shot of conversation between Tom and Leo (walking at Miller’s Crossing) (very simple shot construction, puts the emphasis on their dialogue

I finally managed to watch Yojimbo on Friday afternoon, which means that I’m about three class sessions behind with blog posts. Argh.

Aesthetically, this film is nearly perfect. Lots of attention was obviously given to shot composition and lighting. (As should be the case in any movie, but–sadly–isn’t always.) The music was also an element that immediately caught my attention. It was an interesting mix of dramatic movie soundtrack-type music and traditional Japanese musical elements and instruments.

The comical aspects of this film seemed much more intentional than those in The Glass Key. It was fairly clear when Kurosawa was trying to get a laugh out of the audience and when he wanted it to be taken seriously. This wasn’t nearly as clear in the earlier version of The Glass Key that we watched. (Half the time we were laughing, it was at the unbelievable corniness of the film.) These observations can probably be extended to the film in general–Yojimbo was far more polished than its earlier counterpart. This is the difference between “classic film” and “genre film” as discussed in class on Friday. Yojimbo takes its role as a film and a work of creative expression more seriously than The Glass Key, which seemed mainly a conglomeration of elements geared towards attracting the indiscriminating masses.

 The only criticism I have of Yojimbo (and it’s a very small one) is its occasional inconsistency with Japanese culture and behavioral and speech conventions. Of course, I’m not claiming to be an authority on Japanese history and customs, but I speak the language *relatively* fluently, having studied Japanese language and culture for four years in high school. The thing that struck me most about the characters in this movie was that they seemed a little too Americanized. Yes, it is essentially a western, but that doesn’t mean that they had to pick up the conventions of American film acting. Many of the characters were rude or tactless in a way that would be culturally unacceptable in Japan, especially at that point in history. The fact that most of these characters are outlaws may explain some of this disregard for subtlety, but I think it was exaggerated to an unncecessary degree. It was just a little too dramatic, and one thing that I really admire about Japanese cinema in general is the deftness with which meaning is delivered–not much is said, and facial expressions tend to be relatively closed. However, even this attribute (which we would consider lack of emotion) can in itself provide the viewer with far more–and deeper–insight into the characters. Perhaps Kurosawa, catering to both the artistically-minded and the masses, expected that the majority of his audience would have lacked the patience for this kind of observation and analysis. Or maybe he simply wanted to shock Japanese audiences with the brutality and social roughness of his characters.

After all, he is the only director I know who can get away with at least seven wipe transitions in one film without it seeming even slightly corny.

As far as its value as an adaptation goes, Yojimbo is a fairly loose version of The Glass Key. There is no clear Paul Madvig character. Kurosawa seems to have infused Sanjuro with nearly every aspect of Ned Beaumont’s personality without copying any of the other plot details, with the exception of the kidnapping and beating scene. He’s thrust Sanjuro/Ned into various situations, then had him act according to his literary personality. Kurosawa did a much better job of capturing Ned in Sanjuro than in the older version of The Glass Key. So while the earlier version is slightly more faithful to the book’s original plot, Sanjuro in Yojimbo is a more accurate portrayal of Ned Beaumont.

Finally, I’m afraid I have to agree with several of the class members on the issue of Inokichi and Sanjuro. He obviously has a bit of a crush on Sanjuro. But do we blame him? ;)

-opening shot: head framed by mountains

-music: combination of western/traditional

-shot of feet

-howling wind (used several times)…emphasizes isolation

-fork in the road; represents indecision, lack of ties/commitments

-fast-paced conflict of the men contracts with the woman’s slow, steady weaving and speech

-wipe transition (total wipes in film: 7)

-isolation again…camera focused on Sanjuro rather than background, which is slightly out of focus

-dog with hand, cut to reaction shot

-”Business is booming. Can’t make coffins fast enough.”

-corrupt lawmen (just like traditional westerns!)

-leaves blowing, other characters at a distance (isolation again)

-”I’ve broken every law.”

-”Cooper, two coffins.        No, maybe three.”

-”There is no honor amongst gamblers.”

-shot composition: Sanjuro on platform just watching fight, amused.

-shot composition: two rivals with protagonist in between

-effective use of shadow against wall when Sanjuro approaches

-dog tattoo on criminal’s back matches dog earlier in the film (with the hand)

-(and then Elvis walks in)

-frequent use of the word “idiot”

-night scene: Sanjuro walking in between isolated fire circles, between dark and light (never with others)

-acts scornful and uncaring, is actually decent but doesn’t want others to know

-”Stop it! I hate pathetic people. I’ll kill you if you cry!”

-town is gradually destroyed by attack/retaliation (setting silk on fire –> destroying supply of sake)

-”No, when a fight gets too big they don’t bother with coffins.”

-”You’re all right. You just act like you’re bad.” (goes along with earlier statement about Sanjuro’s contradictory nature)

-shot of hand playing with bottle, covering up thank-you note

-kidnapping scene almost exactly mirrors the one in The Glass Key

-”Where am I?” “The gate to hell.”

-”Where are you going? That’s a shortcut to hell.”

-light reflecting on Sanjuro’s face…highlighting it, his expression

-light and shadows under floorboards, then crawling along the edge of the shadows (between life and death)

-”It’s worse when you smile.”

-shot composition: hanging man in foreground, facing camera with action behind (he can’t see what’s going on behind him)

-”Go home. A long life eating porridge is best.”