The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

I have watched this several times and enjoyed each viewing. It's a very early Kurosawa, apparently done on a shoestring of a budget. However, we can already see Kurosawa's talents in pacing and setting up shots. Kenichi Enomoto as the porter appears out of place at first with his over the top mannerisms and broad comedy, but he fits into the story and breaks up the slower pace of some of the scenes. For Kurosawa and samurai fans, I think this will be more than just a curiosity. This has an early appearance of Masayuki Mori (the murdered husband in Roshomon) and a fairly early appearance of Takashi Shimura (leader of the seven samurai). I recommend this for the usual suspects.

This film is just less than an hour long and tells a simple tale about a warrior with his six followers (one is a "driver" who almost reminds me of a Japanese Stan Laurel) and their quest to move on. They disguise themselves as monks. The film is set in the year 1195. The second half of the film is better, where they have to prove to others that they indeed are monks. The tension, including facing otherwise certain death, is extremely well done. I labeled the film curious due to its simplicity in telling the story. Kurosawa is rarely this straightforward, usually there are interesting twists and turns. That said, this watchable, there is a little comic relief, but it is not A list Kurosawa. Thats fine in and of itself.

I chose to watch this on the way home from a trip where Japanese heritage was central. I have saved this early Kurosawa for such a special occasion, knowing that it would be heavily stylized. I thought that would detract from the effect; surely that is what most commentors say.

Cinematically, this has the essential Kurosawa: layered staging, profound cosmic forces testing human resources and strong character extremes.

The central character is disowned royalty, determined to set things right. We see little of him, and not even his face until things are nearly over.

I believe that it is Kurosawa's intention that he be the watcher and motivator both. As our on screen surrogate, this places us as both the watcher and the governing truths. It is a very clever reversal of the tradition, strong even then and even in Japan. The reversal is overt: he/we displace a comic porter, a simpleton that in a slightly less modern story would be the watcher.

He does watch, but as the thing evolves, he becomes more and more a featured act. Coming at the beginning of Kurosawa's career, it is tempting to think of this as paired with "Ran," the fool of the beginning to the King Lear of the end. This fool is not wise, but he is present in a way that no one else is, allowing us to carry the film.

The "film within" in this case is an impromptu prospectus for a rebuilt temple. I know of no more dramatically effective sequence than this, witnessed by an honorable man who takes the blessing seriously, and a foppish villain who creeps around during the speech. These are the fundamentals. As time would go, he could work with something better than a two-layered sound stage, and more complex narratives than this simple vignette. But I think the soul and sound of this is every bit as good as his best.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

So, seven outlawed noblemen are.... here we see the roots of THE SEVEN SAMURAI. Except that in an hour and writing by himself, Kurosawa winds up concentrating solely on one of them, Denjirô Ôkôchi.

Kurosawa would later note that he preferred to work with other writers, so that other characters could come to the fore. Anyway, they're trying to get past a barrier and to safety in a time of war. Sounds a bit like THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, doesn't it? According to my reading, all of Toho's actresses had been sent out of Tokyo because of bombing. Otherwise he might have made the other movie in 1945. There's surely a hint of it, when the noblemen they are trying to keep safe is said to look like a girl.

Akira Kurosawa was, well, a genius.

This early film is only further proof.

Before he made Rashomon, the Seven Samurai and Ran he made this and it's great.

The cast is fantastic. Kenichi Enomoto is especially great as the porter. That character is brilliant comic relief, which is especially evident in the scene where he attempts to dance.

Jason Biggs doing a stupid dance in American Pie is not funny. Kenichi Enomoto doing a stupid dance in Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi is.

The rest of the cast is great, too.

The characters are wonderful. There's of course the cowardly porter, and the clever character who, pretending to be a monk, has to think quickly and it's fun to watch.

Not only that, there is some very fine music and dialogue in this.

Only problem: Too short. . . but then again, I could say the same about the Seven Samurai and Ran. A great movie is always too short.

Highly recommended.