St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)

St Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) Roger Corman's low-budget retelling of Al Capone, Bugsy Moran and that day in Chicago in 1929. Despite the documentary style narrative this is a entertaining, completely Hollywood retelling of the actual events. Everyone over acts shamelessly starting with Jason Robards as Al Capone. Machine guns blast away, the cars look authentic, and everyone is dressed impeccably. Its hard to think of anyone less Italian than Jason Robards but he makes it work. Rating ***

Pigs and Battleships

Pigs and Battleships (1961) Set in Yokosuka, with a US Navy base during the Korean War (1951-1953), Imamura's dark satirical movie concerns a young Teen hoodlum excited to be in the Yakuza and diverting the Pigs and food scraps to the black market. His girlfriend objects, and movie follows their troubled relationship, against a backdrop steeped in corruption caused by US Sailors wanting some R&R and the greedy Japanese prostitutes, gangsters and businessmen who want to profit. At times angry but mostly comical, Imamura satirizes both the US sailors (who look like Apes in Sailor uniforms) and the Yakuza.

There are a number of great scenes, including the rape of Haruko and the finale which includes hundreds of rampaging Hogs, however, the movie as whole is just above average due to the dated nature of the satire. Rating ***