Review of House of Bamboo (1955) by Martin T — 26 Aug 2009

Despite some of the indoor locations looking like a dressed up Hollywood set, they never look cheesy and the film rises above its limitations due to Fuller's respectful portrayal of Japan and its citizens. I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Ryan's villain, and also highly appreciated the fact that the Japanese characters appear authentic with language difficulties not swept under the carpet (see Ryan yelling into the phone "English!"). Wonderful use of Japanese locales and the cinemascope production allows the vibrant colours to bring the postwar Tokyo backdrop to life.

I'm slowly making my way through Fuller's back catalogue, but mark this one down as another winner.