This Afternoon's Film: Black River
Dark film, both literally and figuratively. This was supposed to be part of a double feature I made, along with Never Let Go, but life got int he way. Both were on Criterion. Black River was part of their Japanese Noir slate of films.
The real standout here is an early role for Tatsuya Nakadai as the heavy. The films this guy has been in... Films like Yojimbo, The Sword of Doom, Ran, Kagemusha, Kwaidan, Conflagration, and, in my mind, his absolute most amazing, chilling performance in High and Low. Just to name a few! Any film he's in, you can't take your eyes off him. His acting style was way, way ahead of its time!