I’ve said before that one of the joys of movies on disc is
that movie fans now have access to so many movies they might never have had the
opportunity to before. Sometimes that is a joy and a treat and sometimes
they’re as terrible as the worst we have to offer in the states. For the most
part they usually end up somewhere in the middle. The fact is that the
difference in cultures becomes greatly apparent in the storytelling from one
country to another. Still, it allows us the opportunity to open our eyes to new
things, to experience films from a different perspective.
That being said there is DOBERMAN COP, a starring vehicle
for Japanese actor Sonny Chiba whose claim to fame in the states comes from his
starring roles in the Streetfighter movies. Based on the Manga of the same name
he stars as a fish out of water, a police detective from the “backwoods” city
of Okinawa. Backwoods at least to those who live in Tokyo where he is now,
searching for a missing girl who was supposed to have traveled here. He has a
personal motivation to find her as a psychic back home told him the two of them
were to be married.
Of course the local police laugh him off and suggest he
return home to let the “real” police solve this missing persons case. Instead
he remains in town, makes friends with a few shady characters and searches for
the girl on his own. It takes little time to realize that the girl has been
taken under the wing of a local yakuza boss who has plans for her to be a new
pop singing sensation that he will control and manage. Kept in line with a
steady flow of drugs, she is a total addict and has no plans on leaving.
Chiba eventually finds her and tries to rescue her but is
stopped by the boss and his gang. Deals and double crosses, never knowing who
to trust, it seems that every side has someone working both sides of the
street. Whether or not he succeeds in his task is eventually solved by the end
of the film.
While watching this I couldn’t help but think back to the
movie COOGAN’S BLUFF starring Clint Eastwood in a similar vein as an AZ sheriff
sent to New York to extradite a captured criminal and the TV series MCCLOUD
which starred Dennis Weaver in a role based on that film. The fish out of water
backwater lawman who teaches the city cops a thing or two ran through both of
those items just as it does here. What makes it interesting to watch is Chiba
in the role. For the most part his films had him as more urban and violent than
this one where he has a somewhat country bumpkin persona he uses to help people
underestimate his abilities.
The movie isn’t quite Hollywood clean but the print is very
good considering the source. Japan in the seventies in on display here and
reminds one more of Times Square at the time than the serene images most garner
from Tokyo. It’s almost a modern day Tombstone with criminals having no
problems carrying and using guns while the police seem unable to corral anyone
that should be, focusing instead on suspects that are far easier to catch and
deal with.
As with all releases from Arrow Video the contents make this
one for movie lovers to enjoy and fans of Chiba to love. Included in the extras
are “Beyond the Film: Doberman Cop” a new appreciation by director Kinji
Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane, a new interview with Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba,
a new interview with screenwriter Koji Takada, a reversible sleeve with newly
commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon and with the first pressing only an
illustrated collector’s book. All of this comes together to prove why Arrow
Video is a name to be reckoned with when it comes to quality product.
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