Sho Aikawa » Cinema Smorgasbord

Check out the Serpent’s Path archive right here.

SERPENT’S PATH: THE FILMS OF KIYOSHI KUROSAWA returns, and we dive into the third and fourth entries of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s crime-comedy V-cinema series: Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Loot (1996) (Katte ni shiyagare!! Ôgon keikaku) and Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Gamble (1996) (Katte ni shiyagare!! Gyakuten keikaku). Once again we follow low-level criminals Yûji (Sho Aikawa) and Kôsaku (Kôyô Maeda) as they find a treasure map(!), win big at the track, get in trouble with yakuza (of course) and maybe, just maybe, learn a little about themselves. Or not! We look at how Kurosawa’s style is developing, where he’s moving to in his career, and look forward to some VERY interesting developments. CHECK IT OUT!

Our major sources for this episode are:

This Tom Mes interview with Kurosawa from Midnight Eye:

http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kiyoshi-kurosawa-3/#:~:text=It%20was%20based%20on%20a,I%20actually%20made%20this%20film.

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Check out the Serpent’s Path archive right here.

After starting his V-Cinema adventure with MEN OF RAGE and YAKUZA TAXI (both covered on our last episode) Kiyoshi Kurosawa began his most ambitious project yet: a series of SIX films featuring two bumbling, but loveable, gangsters played by Shô Aikawa and Kôyô Maeda who continually find themselves in unlikely, comical scenarios (with – naturally – bursts of sex and violence). Kurosawa would shoot two of the films at a time, and on this episode of Serpent’s Path we’re checking out the first two entries. In 1995’s Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Heist our pair end up falling for the same woman, only to be forced to help her raise money for a sick relative once she gets involved with (wait for it!) the yakuza. Then, in Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Escape (also from 1995) the two are hired by a Yakuza boss to spy on his daughter and her boyfriend, only for them to get wrapped up in a tale of love, betrayal and AUSTRALIA. All that and plenty of context, so ENJOY!

Our major sources for this episode are:

This Tom Mes interview with Kurosawa from Midnight Eye:

http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kiyoshi-kurosawa-3/#:~:text=It%20was%20based%20on%20a,I%20actually%20made%20this%20film.

A French interview with Kurosawa covering his early career

http://eigagogo.free.fr/en/interview-kiyoshi-kurosawa.php

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Tag: Sho Aikawa

Episode 331 – Serpent’s Path: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Loot (1996) & Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Gamble (1996)

Episode 323 – Serpent’s Path: The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa – Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Heist (1995) & Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Escape (1995)