Stray Dog (PG) |Home Ents Review

Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura
Review by Colin Dibben
Military veteran and rookie cop Murakami (Mifune) is pickpocketed on a tram. His pistol is lifted and used in a series of crimes. As Murakami’s sense of guilt and shame grows, he teams up with experienced detective Sato (Shimura) to track down the pickpocket, the fence to whom the pistol was sold and the young gangster whose opportunistic use of the weapon is escalating violently out of control.
Given Kurosawa’s love of American cinema, it is tempting to see resemblances between Stray Dog and noir films of the same period. They are there, but so are brutal realist and lyrical elements that will go on to feature in Kurosawa’s more celebrated films.
The grunge and poverty of post-war Japan is on display, although most of the war-pummelled streets that Murakami walks down are studio sets. There are a couple of extended sequences that seem a bit too long; but the hotel lobby scene is exceptionally tense and the climactic scene at a suburban railway station, spiling over into a chase through fields, is a quintessential blend of the brutal and the lyrical.
It is nice to see Mifune looking young and almost well-groomed – I only recognised him by his gruff voice. Shimura is also really good as the hardened cop.
Extras include:
- Newly recorded interview with Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp
- Newly recorded audio commentary by Kenta McGrath
- Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Stray Dog (2002, 32 mins) an in-depth look at the film with the director himself
This presentation is newly restored in 4K. The film looks brighter than before and contrasts are clearer but don’t expect pristine high-res imagery.