MovieChat Forums > Kumonosu-jô (1961) Discussion > Scarface and Memento? *Spoilers*

Scarface and Memento? Spoilers

posted 19 years ago by Phreak_Stylez
10 replies | jump to latest

I'll start off and say this was a real brilliant and excellent movie. I also haven't seen it as many times probably as many of you, but the few times i've seen it, the Movies Scarface and Memento popped in to my mind, while watching this movie.

Mainly Scarface, as we see Washizu wanted more power than he needed, even if he has to kill his boss/Emperor to get it.(Tony Montana kills his boss Frank, bcuz he thought he was gonna kill him.) Washizu also started drinking more and leading to actions he should'nt have done.(Tony snorts all that coke and we see him kill his right hand man, for sleeping with his sister.) At the end of the movie, also resembles the ending of Scarface. The way Washizu get shot like 900 times with arrows, on the balcony,is almost the same as when Tony gets shot 900 times with bullets, on the top of his staircase and gets that last blow from the back and flies through the rail in to the water. The difference between the endings in these 2 movies was that, 1. Tony was shot with bullets,not arrows; and 2. Washizu didn't fall over the rail when he was shot. But, Tony and Washizu were both shot by their own people in the end. That's most of the reasons i remember from these 2 movies. I guess Elvira (Tony's wife in Scarface) said it best, "Nothing exceeds like excess".

Now, Memento was a little bit in this movie, also. As we see in the beginning, Washizu and Miki are in a huge forest maze, almost like the mind of Leonard in the movie Memento, becuz of him suffering from short-term memory loss. Leonard also in Memento would see things that are not there, such as Washizu would do when he would exceed his drinking amount. Washizu's mind would be playin tricks on him, just the same way people would play tricks on Leonard's mind.

There wasn't much about this movie that was like Memento, but i'd need to watch it again to find more details of these 2 movies, compared to Throne of Blood.

Just a little something i found interesting while watching it, again. If you have seen these 3 movies, tell me what you think. Maybe it was my mind just playing tricks on me? Whatever it is, this movie is still really good and i highly recommend it to anyone. 9/10. Peace.

"We could trade places/Get lifted in the stair cases/Word up, peace Incarcerated Scarfaces/"

[–] QueenNadine 19 years ago

Uhm... Memento and Scarface...? (I presume you mean the Pacino Scarface, not the original version.)

Try Shakespeare instead maybe and your post wouldn't come across as ridiculous?

Nadine

[–] Charles_Bronsons_Stache 19 years ago

This is one of the most nonsensical, simple-minded, bewildering posts I have ever read on IMDB. Oh lord.

Why pamper life's complexities
when the leather runs smooth
on the passenger seat?

[–] Gregoire-2 18 years ago

Each to his own. Movies remind us of different things, and Scarface and Memento are in the tradition of Kurosawa, even though they dont remind me of this film.

If anything, there was something Patton-ish about this.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] HemingwayHero 18 years ago

I can sort of understand why you would think that there might be a connection between Throne of Blood and Scarface. It is a comparison which I personally resent because Throne of Blood belongs in my opinion to the 100 best films ever made, while I really dislike Scarface. Brian DePalma is known for 'borrowing' elements from other directors and films, taking elements from Hitchcock and Eisenstein for example. So it wouldn't surprise me if he took from Kurosawa as well. However the script was written by Oliver Stone. Plus the characters of Tony and Washizu are entirely different in my opinion. Tony is just a powerhungry moron who from the start on wishes to acquire as much power and wealth as possible and has no scruples. Washizu on the other hand is slowly drawn into this paranoid world of power, and is pushed by his wife among others.

I do think that you are really, really overreaching with the comparison to Momento, though.

[–] gtf-1 18 years ago

You kind of totally lost me on Momento... I can see what you mean with the overkill in the final scenes though. Oliver Stone, being the film buff he is, could certainly have found some inspiration there for his script.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] EnterJamesClayton 18 years ago

what's with the abuse? I've not seen Memento so I can't comment on that, but Phreak Stylez has got a good point about the parallels between Throne of Blood and Scarface.

There is a definite similarity between Washizu and Tony Montana, interesting observation there.

"don't think...feeeeel"

[–] Conspirator_Slash 17 years ago

I saw it now (excellent), and yes, I too see the parallel with Scarface. But Mifune is better than Pacino. :) (I like Pacino too - but this is terrific!)

What about the ending of "Hero" and "300"?
What about Boromir's Death?

It seems lots of directors stole this :DDDD