Been 20+ yrs and even tho partner and I saw it a few times then, we can't seem to remember too much by way of specifics/details.
Rewatching now and it's the overall treat we recall. Hilarious too
@SRDas Fantastic film. RIP 伊丹 十三「itami jūzō」(the director; some think his death was actually a hit made to look like a suicide, performed by 極道「gokudō」who took offense at his portrayals of ヤクザ「yakuza」).
For a while, the DVD was out of print. I remember finding a torrent which had like, 4 people seeding it.
I was elated when Criterion released it on BluRay.
So much so, that I purchased an extra copy and gave it to the video store in Japan Center, which was selling bootlegged versions of the DVD.
Lamentably, not only did I not see them start selling bootlegged versions on BluRay, the last time I went in there, I didn't see any Jūzō films on their shelves. ;( He directed some other outstanding movies as well, though I admit, I haven't seen all of them yet.
Trivia: The UC Theater (on University Avenue, in Berkeley California) used to show the opening sequence during their pre-movie screenings/trailers, as a kind of "silence your cell phone" message. It's so good!
If only more theaters, and patrons would get the message.
Last night, I realized when it started that I didn't really know the director and other movies. Will try and see if I can find some others by Juzo here.
@SRDas The Funeral was shown in one of my undergraduate Japanese classes and has a lot of jokes that are extremely culturally relativistic (such as camera shots focusing on feet and legs while people are sitting in seiza 正坐 "proper sitting", which is very uncomfortable for many, especially for prolonged periods of time). A Taxing Woman I think I may have once seen on a PBS channel? It has a sequel as well. I still haven't seen his other films.
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