replying to the original post...
I'm watching the film now, and I agree 100%, it has not ages very well. Sure, it looks great and the performances are ok, but there is just something about that feels like its very much a 'product of its time'.
A few individual points...
Just watched it...and for me this is one of those movies that comes from Ridley's 'style over substance/dumb action movie' period, such as films like Someone To Watch Over Me and GI Jane.
While I see the point you are trying to make, it's hard to call Someone to Watch Over Me or GI Jane (or Black Rain, for that matter) 'dumb action movies'. While GI Jane and Black Rain had smatterings of action, Someone to Watch Over Me had almost none at all. But yes, I agree they were 'style over substance'. You can even add Legend to that list.
Though it seemed ok back then, the concept of a hard-nosed, motorbike-riding, official-hating cop constantly under investigation by internal affairs, divorced and with money problems is very dated now.
This is not Black Rain's fault; it's the fault of everything that came after. Black Rain was almost a template for this kind of movie, which makes it something of a trailblazer, and for this it deserves more respect than criticism.
Also dated is the stranger in a strange land/fish out of water aspect, and the buddy pairing of Douglas and Garcia, with Garcia as such a likeable character you just know he is not going to last until the end of the movie.
Agreed on both of these points. Buddy movies and 'stranger in a strange land' had already been done to death by this point. To get a bit deep about Garcia... he was the innocent character in a sinful world. It's rare that character will last the duration. Heck, I've written similar characters that have met the same fate. Garcia's character really provided the energy in Black Rain.
I can't say it's a bad film, but the conventions have been seen in countless movie since and are now cliches.
Again, this isn't Black Rain's fault. It just means that the experience of watching it has been spoiled by everything that came later. It's like watching King Kong and complaining because the special effects are 'bad'.
And boy, did Ridley love his smoke filled rooms, blue lighting and cityscape vistas.
Yes he sure did. And they sure looked great. Scott would be the first to admit that dynamic visual detail will help to elevate an average film to something better than it should be.
Oh, and talking of cliches...why do all western made movies set in Japan, despite picturing people getting on planes and actually flying to Japan, and having a caption on screen telling them where they are, have to have that plinky-plink music just to hit the point home? It's like this is Japan...another country...not America, ok got it? No? OK, then we will have to play even more plinky-plink music... (I don't know what the instrument is, someone on here will know the name I am sure).
The 'plinky-plink' music is perfectly appropriate. When a film takes place in a certain country, it makes total sense to have the music reflect that country's culture. The instrument (in Black Rain's case) is a mostly synthetic percussion. It seemed to be EXTREMELY common in late 80's film scores.
Never defend crap with: "It's just a movie"
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Prismark10
13 years ago
By and large Ridley makes interesting films and they are visually wonderful and I still think this has stood the test of time.
Its that man again!!
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