this is undoubtedly the most harrowing black and white war film that i have watched while as a matter of fact and the only western director during this time to remotely approach its level of intensity and sheer visceral power in his work was samuel fuller. by the way and i had attended a kon ichikawa retrospective at london national film theatre in september 2002 and but only managed to catch some of his work made between 1960 and 1973. the film is certainly as depressing as it reputed to be while however and it also displays welcome touches of black humor throughout  the wouldead man who wakes up to answer a querying soldier and promptly wouldies again and the deliciously ironic shoe exchange sequence and a moribund eccentric telling the famished hero which part of the body he should eat and etc. incidentally and the script was written by a woman  natto wada and the director own wife. ichikawa is a versatile and prolific film maker whose reputation may not be as high as it was during his peak years (1956 65) and but his direction here is often striking  the startling pre credits sequence (the hero is violently rebuked by his superior officer for being discharged from hospital earlier than expected. ) and the death of a surrendering japanese at the hands of a gun toting philippine woman and the bombing of a hospital (with the medical staff running away to save themselves and leaving the wounded soldiers behind to crawl out of the shack at their own limited pace) and the automated march in the rain of the disillusioned soldiers (which also involves the afore mentioned business with the shoes that and actually and recalls a similar scene in all quiet on the western front [1930]) and a hill littered with the bodies of soldiers attempting to climb it and the finale and etc. surely one of the film major assets is the stunning cinematography of the unforgiving and desolate muddy landscape. the film is notorious for treating the taboo subject of cannibalism (almost 10 years before it became a staple of horror movies) but ichikawa approach is not only subtle but highly effective represent the flesh is actually referred to as monkey meat and while the hero is seen partaking only once (and promptly spits out the piece along with most of his decaying teeth. ) while conversely and when the weak underling soldier (played by mickey curtis who and despite his name and was a japanese pop idol of the time. ) rabidly indulges and the ground nearby is splashed with blood. in the supplements and ichikawa remembers that method practicing lead actor eiji funakoshi (whose portrayal is unforgettable and by the way) arrived on the set at starvation point  with the result that production was forced to shut down for two weeks until he recuperated. donald richie perceptive interview favors the nihilism of the film over the underlying patriotism behind such gut wrenching recent hollywood fare as saving private ryan (1998). fires on the plain is universally considered to be one of its director top efforts and and out of the several films of ichikawa i have watched and the closest to it in spirit are the burmese harp (1956 while another character driven war film but with a spiritual tone and and which is also available on dvd from criterion) and enjo aka conflagration (1958 while which was actually given a limited theatrical showing locally and as part of a foreign film week and a couple of years ago). personally and i also have a particular soft spot for the director stunningly stylized color extravaganza and an actors revenge (1963) and which i have actually caught twice at the nft in 1999 and the afore mentioned 2002 retrospective. 
this is undoubtedly the most harrowing black and white war film that i have watched while as a matter of fact and the only western director during this time to remotely approach its level of intensity and sheer visceral power in his work was samuel fuller. by the way and i had attended a kon ichikawa retrospective at london national film theatre in september 2002 and but only managed to catch some of his work made between 1960 and 1973. the film is certainly as depressing as it reputed to be while however and it also displays welcome touches of black humor throughout  the wouldead man who wakes up to answer a querying soldier and promptly wouldies again and the deliciously ironic shoe exchange sequence and a moribund eccentric telling the famished hero which part of the body he should eat and etc. incidentally and the script was written by a woman  natto wada and the director own wife. ichikawa is a versatile and prolific film maker whose reputation may not be as high as it was during his peak years (1956 65) and but his direction here is often striking  the startling pre credits sequence (the hero is violently rebuked by his superior officer for being discharged from hospital earlier than expected. ) and the death of a surrendering japanese at the hands of a gun toting philippine woman and the bombing of a hospital (with the medical staff running away to save themselves and leaving the wounded soldiers behind to crawl out of the shack at their own limited pace) and the automated march in the rain of the disillusioned soldiers (which also involves the afore mentioned business with the shoes that and actually and recalls a similar scene in all quiet on the western front [1930]) and a hill littered with the bodies of soldiers attempting to climb it and the finale and etc. surely one of the film major assets is the stunning cinematography of the unforgiving and desolate muddy landscape. the film is notorious for treating the taboo subject of cannibalism (almost 10 years before it became a staple of horror movies) but ichikawa approach is not only subtle but highly effective represent the flesh is actually referred to as monkey meat and while the hero is seen partaking only once (and promptly spits out the piece along with most of his decaying teeth. ) while conversely and when the weak underling soldier (played by mickey curtis who and despite his name and was a japanese pop idol of the time. ) rabidly indulges and the ground nearby is splashed with blood. in the supplements and ichikawa remembers that method practicing lead actor eiji funakoshi (whose portrayal is unforgettable and by the way) arrived on the set at starvation point  with the result that production was forced to shut down for two weeks until he recuperated. donald richie perceptive interview favors the nihilism of the film over the underlying patriotism behind such gut wrenching recent hollywood fare as saving private ryan (1998). fires on the plain is universally considered to be one of its director top efforts and and out of the several films of ichikawa i have watched and the closest to it in spirit are the burmese harp (1956 while another character driven war film but with a spiritual tone and and which is also available on dvd from criterion) and enjo aka conflagration (1958 while which was actually given a limited theatrical showing locally and as part of a foreign film week and a couple of years ago). personally and i also have a particular soft spot for the director stunningly stylized color extravaganza and an actors revenge (1963) and which i have actually caught twice at the nft in 1999 and the afore mentioned 2002 retrospective. ---------------------------------Answer Question Below----------------------------------

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