![]() ![]() I am, however, not blind to the atrocities committed by Japanese forces during WW2 in the name their Emperor, but if you're going to portray this on screen, then it makes sense to do so with honesty and realism and not exploit the suffering of prisoners-of-war for entertainment purposes. But yes, I guess I am more sensitive to the issue when the Japanese are the target. It's a valid point, but I'd also suggest that if this is the case, then it's only because I've had considerably more exposure to Japan, its people and its culture than I have to other countries and cultures, my own excepted, and seeing entire nations and their citizens demonised or portrayed as cartoon stereotypes irks me whatever the race. It's been suggested to me that because my partner is Japanese and because I have such a love for Japan and its culture, I tend to be more critical of how the Japanese are portrayed in western movies than I am of the citizens of other nations. ![]() The notable exception is Yesterday's Enemy, which sidesteps these issues and is actually bold and forward-looking in the sincerity and intelligence of its anti-war sentiments.Īnd so, to the films themselves. But when it completely misfires, as with the dizzyingly unconvincing fake Chinese of The Terror of the Tongs, I was constantly reminded that I was watching an artificial creation, which repeatedly pulled me out of the film. And when it nearly comes off, as in The Stranglers of Bombay, it's easy to turn a blind eye and get caught up in the story. Yes, this was not uncommon in its day and yes, a studio of Hammer's limited resources probably had trouble locating actual Chinese, Japanese or Indian actors back in the late 1950s or early 60s, and we do have to make allowances for that. In one film, the Japanese are demonised to an almost cartoon-like level, and in three of them the non-British characters are played by occidental actors in sometimes comically ineffective makeup. The problem here lies in how the people of these distant lands are presented. Now I should point out that there is nothing particularly unusual in such tales, and many a fine film has been forged from this albeit parochial viewpoint. Two of the films are set in Burma during World War 2 and deal with Japanese war crimes, whilst the other two are set further back in time in what were once British colonies, where long-standing local threats are finally confronted only because they directly impact on the colonial whites. The issue lies in part in the theme that bonds the four films included in this set, which has its roots in Britain's colonial past and used to manifest itself in tales in which dastardly foreigners were up to no good in far-away lands and would probably go unpunished were it not for the stout efforts of white British men of military standing. Indicator's third, and for now at least, final box set * of lesser-seen Hammer films is a curious and slightly problematic one. ![]() Slarek immerses himself in another wonderfully presented and feature-rich release from Indicator. The four films in HAMMER VOLUME THREE: BLOOD & TERROR, the third Blu-ray box set of little seen films from Hammer Studios, are not without their issues, but all are of interest and one is a largely unsung gem. ![]()
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