Silent Revue presents Dragnet Girl: Ozu’s Tokyo Gangster Masterpiece

Presented by Silent Revue in partnership with The Japan Foundation, Toronto

TICKETS

Break out your hip flask and bulletproof vest, because the third installment of Silent Revue’s series “Deadly Dames” takes you to 1930s Tokyo, with its underground syndicate of Yazuka and their armed and dangerous mob molls! With a rare chance to see a silent Japanese gangster flick from a master filmmaker, we know you won’t want to miss this one.

Before he was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Yasujirô Ozu was a Hollywood-obsessed director for Tokyo’s legendary Shochiku Studios. Producing silent films well into the 1930s (Japan converted to sound much later than the West), Ozu produced unique masterpieces that reflected the artistic sensibilities of his country. With DRAGNET GIRL, however, Ozu went full Hollywood, evoking the best of Warner Brothers gangster epics like THE PUBLIC ENEMY, LITTLE CAESAR, and SCARFACE. Conflicted gangster Joji (Jôji Oka) seeks redemption in innocent shop girl Kazuko (Sumiko Mizokubo), the sister of one his hoodlums. Things don’t go his way when his jealous girlfriend, the vampy, complicated Tokiko—played by Japan’s greatest actress and December’s Deadly Dame Kinuyo Tanaka—utilizes her mob connections to seek revenge!

While influenced by von Sternberg and Warner Brothers, what Ozu achieves, with the film’s brooding tone and film noir style, is a uniquely his. We can’t wait to share this one with you!

Silent Revue is sponsored by Hollywood Suite

Silent Revue is curated by Alicia Fletcher

Live accompaniment by Jordan Klapman

Special Event Pricing $15, Members $12