Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

AlexanderAnubis Blood on the Sun (1945) I like James Cagney. I like him a lot. From The Public Enemy (1931) with Jean Harlow and a grapefruit, and Smart Money (1931) with Edward G. Robinson, through Ceiling Zero (1936) with Pat O'Brien. In Each Dawn I Die (1939), and as a surprisingly talented song-and-dance-man in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), through Ragtime (1981), the man demonstrated time and again that he was a high-energy, extremely likable actor with a somewhat varied range. He was even willing to play not particularly likable characters -- his supporting role as Captain Morton in Mister Roberts (1955) is an excellent example, and one of the few really good qualities in an otherwise mediocre film.But he was not particularly subtle or thoughtful or philosophical and his two-fisted, rock-'em, sock-'em approach to dicey international politics in Blood on the Sun (1945) turns what might have been a tale of intrigue about Japanese military ambitions well before Pearl Harbor into ridiculous farce. Indeed, after four solid years of war, and the expectation of as much as two or three years to go, it very probably appeared so to some US audiences in 1945. (While it seemed apparent in early 1945 that the war in Europe would likely be over in months, (and it was), if an invasion of the Japanese home islands proved to be necessary, it was expected -- based on previous experience in the Pacific campaign -- to be a protracted, very difficult fight.) Although it is never precisely explained, the apparent premise of the film is absurd. It seems to be that obtaining and publicizing a "secret" document outlining Japanese war plans in the mid-1930s or so, will somehow make a big difference in US posture and the progress of WWII after the latter conflict begins four-to-six years later.Observing the friction between the US and Japan over Pacific trade routes in the 1920s, George S. Patton, (long before he reached the rank of army general), commented that in all likelihood the US and the Japan would probably end up having to settle their issues with war. Being a professional warrior, Patton naturally framed the matter in such terms, but it shows that serious problems were apparent a decade and a half before the war began, and about a decade before the time when this movie supposedly takes place. The notion that the contents of a piece of paper would have made some kind of essential difference must have seemed silly, at best, and patronizing, at worst, not only to the men and women doing the fighting, but also to the men and women whose sons and daughters were being churned up in it.I don't object to period propaganda, but the scenes where Cagney bellows at the Japanese authorities demanding the civil rights he is "entitled" to as an American (regardless of the fact that he is an unwelcome guest in Imperial Japan) are flat out stupid, making his character appear to be a junior-grade moron and not a fearless newspaper editor taking risks to broadcast the truth. He's not even politically street-smart. What played well when Cagney was costumed in an inmate's prison garb and he was defiantly facing down the abusive warden of Leavenworth, say, comes across as ludicrous here. I sympathized with the Bad Guys: it was like they had a loud-mouthed, idiot child on their hands but refrained from putting him out of their misery merely through politeness.The Rape of Nanking. The Bataan Death March. But the movie expects us -- and US audiences in 1945 -- to believe that the Japanese high command would cower -- in their own country, no less -- before a newspaper editor who yowls about being held without due process of *US* law! Is the US supposed to declare war on Japan because Cagney is kept in jail before they kick him out of the country? (Which highlights another nonsensical plot device: Japan wants Cagney out and fast, so they give him TEN DAYS to mess around before he has to leave!)This ridiculous approach is maintained in just about every engagement, culminating in Cagney toppling an opponent about twice his size with his bare hands, eluding multiple enemy agents, getting slightly (but heroically) wounded, and surviving to be enfolded in the embrace of the light shining from the front windows of the US embassy which, along with the formidable presence of embassy official Hugh Beaumont, is more than enough to keep a few dozen vicious, sneaky evildoers at bay.As silly as the notion that without British assistance the Japanese didn't know how to build a bridge, but unlike David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), it is not a good movie in pretty much any respect.Produced by James' brother William, if you look at it right, I suppose this well-intentioned family project might contain a laugh or two but really is -- and always was -- just unworthy of both Cagney and its subject.XYZ

Leofwine_draca James Cagney goes to Japan in this dated slice of anti-Japanese propaganda which sees the gangster star tackling a government intent on world domination. With much of the supporting cast made up of American actors "yellowed up" for their roles and a decidedly anti-Japanese sentiment to the storyline and its resolution, it's hard for modern viewers to enjoy this one.Cagney is as good as ever as the crusading reporter aiming to bring to light secret plans by a sinister government, but his role is one of those which could have been played by anybody and he can do little with it. In a nutshell, he's not as fun as he was in his gangster movies. The supporting cast is also a disappointment, made of up caricatures and stereotypes for the most part. While BLOOD ON THE SUN does boast a handful of fun martial arts fight scenes and a couple of decent set-pieces - especially at the climax - as a whole it's a rather middling slice of screen entertainment.

morrison-dylan-fan Despite my dad owning a number of his films on DVD,I have somehow up to now only seen James Cagney in the overlooked 1935 movie G-Men. (which in no way is related to X-Men!)Talking to a friend recently,I discovered that he was interested in seeing Cagney's non-gangster titles,which led to me deciding that it would be a good time to see Cagney cover the sun with blood.The plot:Being credited as the editor who saved the paper from folding,Tokyo Chronicle editor Nick Condon begins to suspect that he may have just grabbed the story of the decade,thanks to an informant giving him a document titled "The Tanaka Memorial",which contain details about Japan's planned invasions for world domination.With having enjoyed a high amount of press freedom whilst working at the paper,Condon begins to suspect that he may have gotten hold of something very important,due to a number of police officers and politician's suddenly becoming extremely aggressive towards the paper.Fearing that he and Chronicle are at increasing risk of being permanently shut down,Condon rushes to publish the story,as he begins to find out how far the police,army and politician's are willing to go to keep the document out of the public's eye.View on the film:Made just as WWII was coming to an end,and also just before questions about the real Tanaka Memorial began to get raised, (with the document now being seen as a fake,designed to get the Alieies on the side of China's Communist party,which it succeeded in doing) the screenplay by Lester Cole,Frank Melford,Garrett Fort and Nathaniel Curtis initially make the movie appear that it is going to take a close look at the blurred lines separating the government and the press.Sadly,despite director Frank Lloyd and art directors A.Roland Fields and Wiard Ihnen, (who would both win an Oscar for their work in the title) covering the movie with tense darken alleyways and low-lit lighting,the screenplay burns out after the first 30 minutes,with the exciting espionage moments in the film being drained of their energy by the writer's jumbling them up,instead of allowing each double cross/close escape to twist naturally.Being filmed as his second feature to be from his own production company,James Cagney gives a rattling performance as Nick Condon,with Cagney showing Condon gradually becoming increasingly distrusting of all those around him as he gets closer to hitting the dead line.Along with Condon using his quick-wit to out smart the dark forces at power,Cagney also displays a surprising skill for excellent stunt work,thanks to the movie featuring a number of great,rough'n' tumble judo battles,all of which are not performed by a stunt person,but are in fact done by Cagney himself (something which Cagney would continue training with,long after the movie had been completed),which leads to this blood stained sun being one that wont fully fade out into a total eclipse.

DangerAwesome Blood on the Sun intrigued me for a couple reasons. It was made in Hollywood about Japan, and it was released in 1945, and it marks a return to film after a 4 year hiatus for Sylvia Sidney.I would open by calling this movie moderately racist. I think anyone who has seen the film should find that agreeable. There's quite a lot of stereotypes as well as American actors dressing up as Japanese. That being said, I went in expecting that based on the time period when it was made.The movie contains one of the best action sequences of its time period, as well as one of the worst. The bad one comes near the beginning. In that scene Cagney takes on several Japanese military soldiers by himself but is ultimately knocked out cold by a very fake looking karate chop to the back of his neck. The good action sequence however comes at the very end of the movie. Cagney does his own stunts for this entire movie, so I give him a lot of credit for the strength of that scene. It uses long takes rather than short cuts, making it look more like real life and less like a movie.The big issue with the movie is that in the entire 98 minutes there was only one good scene. The beginning is slow until the early fight scene I already described. The extreme weakness of that scene leaves the movie looking cheap and campy. I mentally checked out of the movie at that point. By the time Sylvia Sidney arrived there wasn't a movie left to save.