Intimidation (1960)

Intimidation (ある脅迫) is another tight noir from Kurahara Koreyoshi and the Nikkatsu studio. Intimidation's characters are less likable than I Am Waiting's, and that perhaps works against it. But Kurahara's tight storytelling is excellent here. We move from the street to the bedroom or from sober to drunk in the blink of an eye, and this telescoping of time works so well. Then when it wants to draw out its long, central heist sequence, the time of it becomes excruciating. This way of playing with time works great. And the entire thing clocks in at something like 65 minutes.

I am watching a bunch of Nikkatsu crime films as part of a series called Japanese noir on the Criterion Channel. So far most have them have been great.

I Am Waiting (1957)

 I Am Waiting (俺は待ってるぜ) is another Nikkatsu noir picture. This one stars Ishihara Yūjirō in an early-career turn as a boxer who befriends a cocktail singer played by Kitahara Mie. He's great. She's gorgeous, but more importantly she's also very, very good. I liked this one a lot.