From a writerly (and teacherly) perspective, Ryan Gattis's Punching On Paper blog examines representations of physical violence in Literature, Film, and Art.
Sanjuro is simply a beautiful story beautifully told. From its ‘a stranger comes to town’ beginning where we are dropped right into the middle of a meeting in a forest temple, to the heart-stopping duel with Tatsuya Nakadai’s villain at the... Read The Rest →
This one might surprise a few folks. “Wow, Seven Samurai all the way down at number three?!” My answer is simply: yup. Look, I’m not here to argue historical relevance, only to say what hits me, and for me, this film... Read The Rest →
Oh, Tatsuya Nakadai. (Seated on the right in the picture.) You are quite possibly the finest actor of your (or any) generation, and people would actually know that if you chewed the scenery once in a while and didn’t fully inhabit... Read The Rest →
If you enjoyed the town-destroying finale of Miike’s 13 Assassins, check out The Blind Swordsman. You’ll see a good chunk of its inspiration in Shintaro Katsu’s last Zatoichi film, which rates very well on The Howard Hawks Good Movie Scale®, which... Read The Rest →
Taikan presses his advantage before his opponent has fully risen. Unleashing a flurry of punches that Togo struggles to deflect, and when Togo finally strikes out with a slow counter-punch of his own, it’s too late, Taikan is behind him, and... Read The Rest →
The showdown between Taikan and Togo occurs roughly sixty-seven minutes into the film, and marks the final transition of Taikan’s character from some semblance of good to selfish and evil. Stakes: the winner inherits Taikan’s master’s black belt as well as... Read The Rest →
