From The Deuce
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Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 poster
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Also Known As
- Nora neko rokku: Bôsô shudan '71
Main Details
- Released in 1971
- Colour
- 87 min
- 2.35:1
- Nikkatsu
Cast and Crew
- Directed by Toshiya Fujita
- Assistant Director: Yutaka Okada
- Art Direction by Kazuhiko Chiba
- Written by Shuichi Nagahara and Tatsuya Asai
- Music by Hiroki Tamaki
- Edited by Mutsuo Tanji
- Cinematography by Kenji Hagiwara
- Still Photography: Yasushi Asaishi
- Produced by Hideo Sasai, Michio Iwasawa, Takeo Mashimo
- Starring Yoshio Harada, Tatsuya Fuji, Takeo Chii, Bunjaku Han, Eiji Go, Soichiro Maeno, Yuka Kumari, Meiko Kaji, Michiko Tsukasa, Nobuko Aoki, Mari Koiso
Comments
Hasebe out, Fujita in. The Stray Cat Rock films by these two directors feels almost like two different series. The girl gangs and clubs are gone again, this time the main characters are a group of hippies. Like Wild Jumbo, Beat ’71 abandones the action genre appart from a few brief scenes (mostly the opening and ending) and takes a focus on social issues and community formed by young people. Fujita’s characters distance themselves from the surrounding society, while Hasebe’s movies were all about jumping into the heat of the night. Partly because of this the soundtracks in Fujita’s films are not quite as strong, although that’s not to say Beat ’71 doesn’t have its musical moments. Especially memorable is the outdoor performance by The Mops. The casting is perhaps the most exciting in the whole series, with newcomer Yoshio Harada in the lead and veterans Tatsuya Fuji (good guy again), Takeo Chii, Bunjaku Han, Eiji Go (still evil) and Meiko Kaji in other principal roles. The male lead of the third film, Rikiya Yasuoka, makes a slightly amusing visit in the beginning. A special mention goes to Yuka Kumari’s cute face. An entertaining film with a thought provoking ending; it feels almost like an allegory for the Nikkatsu studios, who ended their mainstream film production later the same year.
-Hung Fist
