PALE FLOWER (CRITERION)

Details

• Release Year: 1964
• Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller
• Plot: In this cool, seductive jewel of the Japanese New Wave, a yakuza, fresh out of prison, becomes entangled with a beautiful and enigmatic gambling addict; what at first seems a redemptive relationship ends up leading him further down the criminal path. Bewitchingly shot and edited, and laced with a fever-dream-like score by Toru Takemitsu, this gangster romance was a breakthrough for the idiosyncratic Masahiro Shinoda. The pitch-black Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) is an unforgettable excursion into the underworld.
• Cast: Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki, Chisako Hara, Eijirô Tôno, Seiji Miyaguchi, Mikizo Hirata, Keiko Kuni, Sôhei Kurata, Shinichirô Mikami, Shin'ya Mizushima, Koji Nakahara, Tomoko Saitô, Isao Sasaki, Kyû Sazanka, Naoki Sugiura, Muga Takewaki, Akio Tanaka, Masahiro Shinoda, Shintarô Ishihara, Masaru Baba
• Director: Masahiro Shinoda
• Runtime: 1:36
• Company: Shochiku Co. Ltd, The Criterion Collection, Janus Films
• Media Format: Movie