If he wants to go to hell, let him go

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Movie
German title If he wants to go to hell, let him go
Original title The Challenge
Country of production USA , Japan
original language English , Japanese
Publishing year 1982
length 108 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director John Frankenheimer
script Richard Maxwell ,
John Sayles
production Ron Beckman ,
Lyle Poncher ,
Robert L. Rosen
music Jerry Goldsmith
camera Kōzō Okazaki
cut John W. Wheeler
occupation

If he wants to go to hell, let him go (Original: The Challenge ) is a 1982 action film directed by John Frankenheimer with Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune in the leading roles.

action

Boxer Rick Murphy finds himself in the middle of a feud that has been going on for over 30 years between the Japanese brothers Toru and Hideo Yoshida.

According to an old family tradition, in which two sacred swords are passed down from generation to generation, the elder brother Toru should receive the two swords from his father. Hideo forcibly took the swords and lost one of the swords during a battle in World War II. Toru later found the sword in the United States and now has Rick smuggle it into Japan.

Hideo, meanwhile a powerful company boss, tries by all means to get the sword back into his possession. Before Rick can return to the United States after the sword has been delivered, Ando, ​​Hideo's henchman, puts him in a bar. This forces Rick to return to Toru, who runs a combat school in Kyoto, and offer himself to him as a combat student. In an unobserved moment, he is said to steal the sword and give it to Ando for a handsome reward. One night Rick actually succeeds in taking the sword and apparently escaping unmolested. On the way, however, he suddenly feels guilty and he decides to bring the sword back. It turns out that Toru had foreseen the theft and never left Rick unnoticed for a moment. When he realizes Rick's genuine remorse, he takes him back to himself. Rick develops into a docile student and talented fighter. During his stay at Toru's school he befriends Toru's daughter Akiko and the seven-year-old Jiro, who later also wants to become a swordsman. To get the equivalent of the sword, which is still in Hideo's possession, Toru challenges his brother to a life and death duel. When Toru and his followers, including Rick (film quote Toru: "You should see what I made of your thief") meet his brother in a forest where the duel is to take place, he does not think about himself duel in the traditional way and send Ando and his men to take Toru's sword at gunpoint. Toru and his people can repel the attack and escape under the cover of the forest.

Later, a confidante Torus, who has apparently switched sides, tries to steal the sword and is surprised by Jiro, who tries to prevent him from stealing and raises the alarm. He is knocked down and seriously injured. Startled by the alarm, Toru confronts his former confidante and kills him with a sword blow. Rick, shocked by Jiro's injury and convinced of the hopelessness of their situation, hastily leaves the combat school and looks for refuge in a hotel, where Akiko later visits him to persuade him to return. A romance develops between them.

Akiko is kidnapped by Ando during a traditional street festival. Toru then penetrates alone into Hideo's corporate headquarters to free his daughter and get the counterpart of his sword. However, Rick has secretly followed him and supports him in the fight against Video's security force. After overcoming this, they meet Hideo, Ando and Akiko. Hideo, who has now returned to the family tradition, is ready to fight his brother in a sword fight. During the fight Ando suddenly shoots Toru and injures him in the shoulder, but is immediately beheaded by Hideo because of this arbitrary behavior. Since Toru can no longer fight, Rick continues the fight for him. In a spectacular duel, he finally succeeds in killing Hideo.

criticism

“Somewhat rude [s] battle din […], Frankenheimers sometimes succeed in shots which, in their careful frame and in their graded color values, are reminiscent of Japanese landscape watercolors . Even the chases did not fail the veteran. But seen as a whole, his three-culture film is too much an American slaughter plate that has to be garnished with dozens of corpses in order to solve the struggle between cultures' ( Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger ). ”( Jens Golombek : Das große Film -Lexicon. All top films from A – Z, 1995)

“Exciting adventure film with a Far Eastern flair and numerous authentic combat interludes [...]. The thoughtful reflection on the enormous cultural differences in today's Japan are all too often covered up by the excellently filmed but extremely cruel battles. ”( Lexicon of International Films )

useful information

  • Atsuo Nakamura, who played Hideo, was only 42 years old at the time of shooting and had to be trimmed to older. In the flashbacks he could appear in the "original". With 62-year-old Toshiro Mifune (Toru) it was exactly the opposite.
  • The Japanese dialogues were partly left in the original sound, partly taken over by the voice actors.
  • Filming locations included the Shokuji Temple and the Kyoto International Conference Center ( Kyōto ).
  • As a result of a re-examination by the FSK, the film was downgraded from the age rating of 18 and over to the age of 16 years.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jens Golombek in: Dirk Manthey, Jörg Altendorf, Willy Loderhose (eds.): Das große Film-Lexikon. All top films from A-Z . Second edition, revised and expanded new edition. Verlagsgruppe Milchstraße, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-89324-126-4 , p. 3108 .
  2. ↑ If he wants to go to hell, let him go in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed February 11, 2009.