I found this film in the local library, and thought I'd check it out for two reasons. Firstly, Drunken Angel is an old Japanese movie. Second, the plot seemed very interesting. The movie just happens to be so slow-paced that most of that plot just flows through. I usually enjoy somewhat slow films, but for some reason Drunken Angel was weirdly boring. Of course it was a great movie, with amazing writing and dialogue, but it just isn't something I like.The use of music was astonishing. Even if the scenes were slow and it was easy to start thinking about something else, the music made those scenes more intensive, which definitely made me pay more attention.But it's really hard to say anything about the movie. It is good, that I can say for sure, but somehow it just doesn't stand out as much as I hoped it would be. It blends in. Of course it may have something to do with culture differences - and time difference!

This is among the worst of Kurasawa's films. Oddly enough, that doesn't make it a bad movie. It simply isn't a great movie...Kurasawa's metaphor's got more sophisticated after this movie. The stagnant pond in the middle of town which emphasized the corrupt nature of the neighborhood was a little blatant. Ignore that and what do we have? Good performances by Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Shimura is in a different kind of role than the sane figure he normally plays. The doctor he plays looks more like a Mifune role (and was, in Red Beard). He is a little unstable and is prone to violent outbursts. Mifune seems to be around mostly to look cool. He has a very western look in this feature.The influence of the west in 1948 is pretty apparent. The music and dancing are all western. The characters are violent and ineffectual, mirroring the mood of a conquered nation. Kurasawa would improve much as he went along, but he captured what he wanted to capture in this film.I would recommend this movie, but only after watching a few of his later movies.

This is a very hard boiled, yet tender, movie. It is like having samurai running wild in a modern day city -- everyone is crusty and combative but, underneath, remarkably warm and humane. What "Drunken Angel" lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in intensity and passion as its story unfolds in the demimonde of postwar Tokyo. Sometimes the acting is overdone but overall it is first rate and highly amusing in a perverse sort of way. Takashi Shimura's performance, in particular, is a revelation -- he is fiery and quite unlike the later, more sedate roles he is better known for. Mifune is terrific and watching him and Shimura it's almost like a love story. The camera work and editing are outstanding, particularly in the last third or so of the film. I highly recommend this movie!

Drunken Angel (1948) *** (out of 4) Straight-forward and simple drama about the troubled relationship between a low level gangster (Toshiro Mifune) dying of tuberculosis and the drunken doctor (Takashi Shimura) trying to save him during post-war Japan. There are a lot of different genres on display in this early Kurosawa film including noir, gangster and an odd couple drama. The three don't always mix too well together but Kurosawa's great direction mixed with the great lead performances make this a must see even if the gang would go onto much better films. What works the best here are the performances by Shimura and Mifune. The two men work extremely well together because they make their characters so well rounded to the point where you feel as if you know everything about the men. Mifune really digs deep into the gangster and this leads to many well acted scenes including the drunken one where the gangster must finally realize how serious his disease is. Shimura clearly steals the film as the angry and often times bitter, if still caring, drunken doctor. The amount of anger he displays with his character while still making us understand why he cares so much is perfectly done by the actor. Cheiko Nakakita and Reizaburo Yamamoto are also very good in their supporting roles of the nurse and gang boss. The cinematography is also top-notch especially a dream like sequence where the dying gangster invisions himself as a zombie-like creature. This scene is very effective as is another where spitting blood is involved. I think at times the film is way too over dramatic and this includes many scenes dealing with the "swampness" of Japan. Even with that said, this is still a very impressive drama that fans of Kurosawa will want to check out.