rail & train in japanese cinema

[Michael Badzik]

There have been a couple of messages in this thread that have mentioned 
the use of the Shinkansen (a.k.a. "bullet train") in _Tengoku to Jigoku_ 
(_High and Low_). This struck me as odd, because the movie was released 
in 1963, and Shinkansen service didn't start until the following year - 
ten days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. My twenty year old 
recollections of the film didn't include a Shinkansen train either.

So after renting a video copy last night I found a train sequence about an 
hour into the movie, but it is not a Shinkansen train - the engine is the 
wrong shape, the track noise does not sound right, and most importantly, 
Shinkansen windows do not open even a little. On the other hand, it does 
look a lot like a regular long distance express train.

I also found reference to a bullet train being in this film in a review 
of the Criterion DVD release on Amazon.com, so perhaps the idea that 
this was a Shinkansen train is widely held.

If I missed something in my quick fast-forwarding, please let me know. 
I started looking into this really hoping that I would discover that 
Kurosawa had managed to film on a Shinkansen train - perhaps on the 
test track set up in 1962 - long before actual service started.

Michael Badzik
mike at vena.com