Rating: 
Summary: Must Be Converted to DVD!!!
Review: ...- I own the VHS version and am anxiously awaiting when it will be restored in all it's widescreen glory with all the bells & whistles that DVD's can provide!!!!! It's one of my very favorite movies and I remember when Red Buttons and Myoshi Umeki won their Academy Awards it was one of my many favorite TV moments. Hope the powers that be read this and decide to offer it on DVD!!
Rating:
Summary: Happy Ending, Tragedy
Review: 4 1/2 starsShakespeare's rule - "happy ending, comedy; unhappy ending, tragedy" - does not apply to Sayonara. It is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. Set in Japan in 1951, towards the end of the U.S. occupation, and during the Korean War, Sayonara tells of American men thousands of miles away from home, and the forbidden Japanese women they meet, and fall in love with. At the time, servicemen were forbidden from fraternizing with Japanese women, but like the song says, "If you can't be/With the one you love/Well, then, love the one you're with." And in all fairness, many a G.I. met the love of his life while in uniform on foreign soil. The story sets up a parallel between two rigidly hierarchical, intolerant societies: The U.S. Army and Japan. Marlon Brando plays Maj. Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, the reigning ace and golden boy of the Army Air Force. "Ace" is the son of a four-star general, and destined himself for general officer status, as long as he plays by the rules. Gruver is an amiably racist Southerner whose world is about to be turned upside down. (One glaring historical error in Sayonara, is its making Gruver a flier in the Army Air Force. The Army Air Force ceased to exist in 1947, when it became the fully independent branch, the U.S. Air Force. The error may have been deliberate, since a brand, spanking new service branch could not be depicted as bound to tradition.) Gruver is confronted with racial conflict through one of his men, Airman Joe "Red" Kelly (played by carrot-topped Jew, Red Buttons). Red asks Gruver, his C.O., to witness his marriage. Gruver does not seek to hide his racism, and as per Army regulations, seeks to talk Kelly out of the union. He emphasizes that Kelly will not be able to take his wife stateside with him, should he be assigned to return home. Kelly says he will never leave the woman he loves, and demands and receives an apology from the officer. This scene is designed to set up the conflict to come, and to show Gruver's profound decency, and the loyalty he feels to his men. In Japan, Gruver witnesses the wedding, and even kisses the bride. Japan is a traditional society and Gruver, the product of Army tradition, is himself locked in a semi-arranged marriage to a three-star general's daughter, a wonderful, intelligent, beautiful young woman ("Eileen Webster," played by Patricia Owens). But is he really in love with her? Gruver becomes smitten with Japan's most famous musical actress, "Hana-ogi" (Miiko Taka), and pursues her. Meanwhile, his fiancé becomes attracted to the country's greatest kabuki actor ("Nakamura," played by Ricardo Montalban, an Hispanic; imagine the reaction by Asian ethnic hustlers to such casting today!). Meanwhile, a racist colonel decides to make the lives of soldiers who have fallen in love with Japanese girls a living hell. Sayonara was up for a heap of Oscars, but only won two. It lost out on most of the awards, because it was up against The Bridge on the River Kwai, another movie about the collision of Japan and the West, which happened to be one of the greatest movies ever made. The two Oscars Sayonara did win, went to Red Buttons and Miyeshi Umeki (as Red Kelly's Japanese bride, "Katsumi"), as Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. As moving as these two performers were, I'm not sure Buttons deserved the award over Sessue Hayakawa's performance as Col. Saito in Kwai. However, without giving away too much, the circumstances of Buttons and Umeki's performances won them their Oscars, just as much as their performances did. Sayonara is filled out by a congenial performance by a young James Garner, as Marine Corps "Capt. Mike Bailey," who befriends Gruver, and workmanlike performances by Martha Scott and Kent Smith as Gruver's prospective mother-in-law and her spineless husband, and Douglass Watson as the racist colonel, respectively. While modestly effective in her more intimate scenes, Miiko Taka performs with much more self-assurance in her musical stage numbers. In 1957, Marlon Brando was on top of the world. Having not yet suffered the egotistical meltdown that would make him both personally and professionally unreliable for the rest of his career (see Apocalypse Now, etc.), at the time he could play anything but Shakespeare. There is clearly a liberal message here: We can triumph over racism, if we can reach through to the core decency of people who were raised in a racist culture. And I believe that Sayonara went too easy on the Japanese, who at their best were as racist as we were, at our worst. Either you will feel bullied by Sayonara's underlying liberal pieties, or it will break your heart. It broke mine. P.S. The barebones DVD contains only the 1957 theatrical trailer. Originally published on November 29, 2003, in The Critical Critic.
Rating:
Summary: If you have ever been in love you will love this movie!!!!!!
Review: A beautiful heartwarming and enchanting story of an American serviceman on leave from the Korean War to Japan for R & R. He is a Southern gentleman with a certain degree of racial prejudice. He becomes enticed by the beauty and charm of a famous Japanese "Mushibashi Girl" who is bitter and unfriendly towards all Americans. She has a dark secret in her closet and a lot of bitterness in her heart. She is however extremely talented an beautiful. Eventually her heart softens and she and the American serviceman discover the ancient mysteries, wonders and beauties of Japan together. The US Government, however, forbids any US serviceman to marry a Japanese. They witness the pain and suffering around them of other couples in love. They must also decide if their love is worth the risk involved. The story is tragic yet serene; heartbreaking yet enlightening; Mysterious yet timeless... It is one of my all-time favorites! I hope and pray that it will be re-released n video soon!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: If you have ever been in love you will love this movie!!!!!!
Review: A beautiful heartwarming and enchanting story of an American serviceman on leave from the Korean War to Japan for R & R. He is a Southern gentleman with a certain degree of racial prejudice. He becomes enticed by the beauty and charm of a famous Japanese "Mushibashi Girl" who is bitter and unfriendly towards all Americans. She has a dark secret in her closet and a lot of bitterness in her heart. She is however extremely talented an beautiful. Eventually her heart softens and she and the American serviceman discover the ancient mysteries, wonders and beauties of Japan together. The US Government, however, forbids any US serviceman to marry a Japanese. They witness the pain and suffering around them of other couples in love. They must also decide if their love is worth the risk involved. The story is tragic yet serene; heartbreaking yet enlightening; Mysterious yet timeless... It is one of my all-time favorites! I hope and pray that it will be re-released n video soon!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of my top movies of all time.
Review: Hallo Amazon! I'm very, very happy. My favorite movie SAYONARA will be realesed on DVD in september, and in widescreen of course. I love the summer, but now I look forward to september. Many greetings from Bert-Owe Ivland Gothenburg Sweden.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I can only nod my head in agreement with the other reviewers who have lauded this film. It is beautifully filmed, well-written, and turns out suberb performances by Red Buttons, Miyoshi Umeki, Miiko Taka, James Garner, and especially Brando. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone looking for a beautiful love story that is heartwrenching and inspiring and provides a lesson in the infinite power of love--a power that transcends all barriers.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies I have ever seen.
Review: I keep looking for this movie to be released onto video. It is such an outstanding movie. Marlon Brando was truly at his best. A wonderful true-to-life love story. With so many Academy Awards, it's a shame this movie is not available to own on video. A true classic.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies.
Review: I love these wonderful movie since i first watch the film in my home town Umeå in North Sweden 1958. Oh, what I loved the wonderful, beautiful Miiko Taka. I all ready own this film on VHS - in full screen. But where is Sayonara's DVD. This movie must be realesed on DVD very soon and in full splendor widescreen. The movie was filmed in Technirama. I look forward for this DVD. Many greatings from a big Sayonara fan. Bert-Owe Ivland
Rating:
Summary: Very good movie
Review: I must admit I have watched this movie at least ten times. After renting it over and over at the video store, I finally broke down and bought it. I still watch it. I don't remember why I picked it up at the video store the first time, but I was so very impressed when I watched it. It is a fascinating love story and very well told. The acting is superb. James Garner is a nice surprise, and of course, Brando is at his best. It tells a great story of the difficult choice many men faced in the military while stationed in Japan after WWII when they fell in love and wanted to marry their Japanese girlfriends. I credit all those attached with the film for their wisdom in making this film about love that transcinds racial barriers.
Rating:
Summary: Watch it for this one scene, if nothing else.
Review: I was seven years old when this movie came out in 1957, but I had never heard of it until one day recently I accidentally caught the end of it on FLIX. I have since watched it over and over -- something I rarely do with any film. Others I have asked also had never heard of it.
This film is undeserving of such obscurity; it's a wonderful movie that just captivates me. But there's one scene in this film that is a high example of the filmmaker's art. This scene, in its perfection, is the most powerfully romantic movie scene I have ever beheld. Even after watching it many times, it still leaves me shaking! Wow! This scene transcends story telling with film; it is literature.
It evokes something from Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert), or Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy). That is to say, the scene portrays something vital about the human experience. At least it does for me; but then, I admit I'm a sucker for stories of love between American men and Asian women.
The scene to which I refer is when Lloyd Gruver (Marlon Brando) encounters Hana-ogi in Joe Kelly's (Red Buttons) house. It begins when he opens the sliding door and sees her kneeling, erect, serene, and dignified, waiting for him to arrive. If not on the first watching, then on the second, fourth, or eleventh watching, one will become aware that the lighting, the sound, the furnishings of the room, her hair, her kimonos, her makeup (especially her painted lips) are all perfect. What an ambiance! What a setting for a man and a woman to fall in love!
Gruver is immediately struck by her presence; this is plain to see. Nevertheless, he recovers his usual demeanor and proceeds to try to make small talk, his mind and body regarding this lovely creature with respect and admiration, but also lust. She just sits there, regarding him without moving, without even blinking, betraying no thoughts or emotions. His discomfort rises.
Then, when it is time and not before, she begins to speak. She speaks word of deep humanity, compassion, wisdom, and sincerity. The power of her words is greatly enhanced by the quiet dignity with which she speaks them. Gruver is dumbfounded, and Brando plays this role very well. You can see on his face (Flaubert or Tolstoy would have painted the picture with words) that his life, unexpectedly, has just been bifurcated. There is now the life before this encounter, and what will come after. He can never again be the same man -- he can never again regard women the same; Hana-ogi is a new paradigm. He never looked for such a thing before, because he never imagined such a woman or such a feeling could exist.
Some people continue to insist such love themes are racist. That is absurd. It is the antithesis of racism. This is the profoundest love flourishing in spite of different races and cultures, and the inevitable perils incumbent with this relationship in this place at this time. This is love between a man and a woman, as unfettered by affectations and expectations as love can be. This is the raw, real thing, and this film tells this tale, exquisitely done.
|
