A Colt Is My Passport

While watching a large variety and volume of titles allows one to better appreciate all that cinema has to offer, sometimes the other side of the coin is that a title can do everything right and still struggle to make a major impression out of everything one has seen. I feel that this counts among the latter.

The stunts and effects result contribute to sharp bursts of violence, and Nomura Takashi's direction is impeccably tight. Mine Shigeyoshi's cinematography is smartly dynamic, and crisp and vivid, making the viewing experience a real pleasure. The cast give strong performances. Ibe Harumi's score is a minor joy as it blends flavors of the spaghetti western with those more typical of contemporary crime flicks. With rich, terrific writing, even each scene in turn is a blast, so complete, vibrant, and fulfilling from one to the next that it's almost like we're getting a long series of short films. Characterizations are just as splendid, with the result that supporting character Mina, brought to life with welcome vitality by Kobayashi Chitose, threatens to upstage the hard-boiled, cool-headed yakuza protagonists. The story at large is firmly compelling and engrossing as hit men Kamimura and Shiozaki flee from their enemies following a successful assassination. Some bits and bobs throughout are rather brilliant, really, and the viewing experience is a great time all around.

From front to back 'A Colt is my passport' is an excellent picture. The thing is, even as I'm in the midst of watching, I'm fully aware that I'm unlikely to remember anything about it even two hours from now. Even the costume design, hair and makeup, production design and art direction, and filming locations are lovely, yes, and the climax and ending are exciting. I genuinely have no criticism to level. It's through no fault of anyone involved that the sum total doesn't specifically resonate with me; no doubt other viewers will find it altogether revelatory, and I'm glad for them. This is absolutely worth checking out if one has the opportunity, and anyway, there's nothing particularly wrong with a feature that comes and goes just as easily in our purview. It just means that the lasting value is up in the air. The long and short of it is that if you're in the mood for a fine crime movie regardless of whether or not it sticks in your memory, 'A Colt is my passport' earns a solid recommendation, and let's just leave it at that.

CHIPMUNK. The lead actor looks like a chipmunk. It needs too be said because that's all you see initially. Apparently it was a result of cheek surgery.

Once you get past that this movie is a little treat. A Noir/Yakuza/Spaghetti Western mash-up that actually works.

Like "The Killers" we are in the company of a two-man hit team. With a tricked-out car complete with a massive two-way radio they are much in demand from the Yakuza. Then the job goes wrong and it's time to get out of town. However there's a gal at the motel who complicates matters.

The music is a combination of cool jazz (which could be in a contemporary Caine movie ) and a touch of the Morricones for the cowboy-like action sequences. It shouldn't work but it is really effective.

A Colt Is My Passport, originally released as Koruto wa ore no pasupoto, is a Japanese film noir that mixes action thriller elements with melodramatic drama sections. This film was directed by Nomura Takashi who has worked as an actor throughout the fifties, sixties and seventies and who has also directed forty-four different films from the sixties until the nineties. This film is often considered one of the greatest accomplishments of his versatile career. This movie stars legendary actor Shishido Jo who should be known to anyone interested in Japanese cinema since he has participated in a whopping two hundred fifty-eight films. His gritty acting skills and unique facial features are certainly quite memorable.

This film revolves around an experienced contract killer and his driver who are hired by a mobster to assassinate a rival. After successfully completing said task, the two men are however not only tracked down by the gang of the victim and police forces but also by their employer who turns against them for strategical reasons. The two outcasts are now fighting for survival and aiming for revenge. They get some unexpected support from a young waitress who wants to organize some changes in her life.

This movie convinces on almost all levels. The plot is filled with enough tense moments to keep viewers watching until the very last scene. Regarding the latter element, this movie ends in a most explosive way that still feels spectacular to this day. The acting performances are great throughout and show the desolate lives of characters involved in organized crime. The locations have been chosen with great care and show the contrast of the luxurious mansions of accomplished criminals and the shabby hotel rooms in which poorly treated hired guns are expected to spend their time. This film has been shot with great care in form of precise camera work, fitting lighting techniques and sound elements that were quite impressive in their time.

Few minor downsides can be mentioned. The script is overall rather predictable and won't win any awards for creativity. One can also note that lead actor Shishido Jo keeps being typecast as gangster facing several opponents and getting involved with a beautiful lady. Even though you won't find much novelty when watching this film, everything has been executed with such great care that this movie can be considered a genre highlight of its time.

To keep it short and simple, A Colt Is My Passport, originally titled Koruto wa ore no pasupoto, is an entertaining gangster drama from the late sixties that impresses with wonderful acting, precise camera work, excellent lighting techniques, fitting locations, gripping plot and wonderful sound. Genre fans should certainly watch and enjoy this wonderful film that has both stood the test of time and preserved its unique charm from the sixties.

As many have noted, the ending confrontation s terrific. And the opening set-up --a hit man and his sidekick getting double-crossed by their boss, and having to hide out while they try to come up with an alternative getaway plan -- is also promising. But the long muddled middle drags the movie down to a non-classic level; the plot moves dutifully from point-to-point without generating much tension or interest in the mostly stoic characters. If you're a Jo Shishido aficionado, be aware that there were better vehicles for him -- in particular, this is not up to the level of Cruel Gun Story, Branded to Kill, or Youth of the Beast. Not a bad film, but from clips of the (admittedly great) ending and the cool title some have tried to portray this as the summit of Japanese noir, which it definitely is not.

(1967) A Colt is My Passport/ Koruto wa ore no pasupooto (In Japanese with English subtitles) ACTION THRILLER

Consist of remnants of "Yojimbo" and "For A Few Dollars More" Japanese gangland style. Adapted from a crime novel by Shinji Fujiwara, starring Jo Shishido as hired hit man Shûji ordered along with his partner, Shun (Jerry Fujio) to take out a former rival of another syndicate. And upon leaving, they are then get themselves double crossed for the purpose of money to capture and then execute the hit man responsible. Who are then stranded in a seedy hotel until further orders. It is their he builds a rapport with a young female worker of the Nagisakan hotel, Mina (Chitose Kobayashi). The last of 5 of the Nakkatsu Noir Criterion box set.