Wizard-8 This third instalment in the Tony Anthony "Stranger" film series was barely released to theaters by Metro Goldwyn Mayer after the legal trouble caused the movie to be shelved for several years after being completed. It's pretty easy to see why MGM wasn't very enthusiastic about giving it a better push. Certainly, the western genre was all but dead when the movie was released, but reports I read revealed that the movie was severely tinkered with in the editing room. As a result, there are plot details that are extremely murky or simply not revealed at all. Plus, completely unnecessary narration was apparently added, which is annoying and distracting. But there are signs that the original intended version wasn't much better. The movie as it is plays out pretty slow, and has a plot line ripped off from "A Fistful of Dollars". And Tony Anthony isn't exactly a charismatic actor, still looking like he's about to burst into tears. The movie LOOKS a lot better than the previous two "Stranger" movies, with some solid production values, and the Japan angle does add some freshness. But the movie for the most part is tired and uninspired, so it's not a surprise that it was hard to see for many years even after its brief theatrical release.

freenetjunk I originally saw this movie at the weekend double feature drive-in (remember those). Most of the movies they showed were completely forgettable fodder. But when this movie was shown I was blown away. An interesting and unusual story line that I couldn't completely figure out before it happened. I think it was the best movie I ever saw at that drive-in in Andalusia, Al. At any rate when the Internet came along I looked for it so I could watch it again, and share it with my family. It turned out it had been shown on Turner a few times, but wasn't available anywhere for purchase. I just looked on Amazon and its available on DVD and instant view. Its now retitled "The Stranger in Japan", apparently released in 2011. I'm getting it.

boardwalk_angel You gotta hand it to Tony Anthony. The man definitely thought outside of the box. Not content with recycled "revenge for a slaughtered family" or "gang of vicious thugs control a town" plots.......he co-wrote & starred in a series of films as "The Stranger", which, coincidentally, no pun intended, got stranger & stranger as they went along.He..along with director Ferdinando Baldi, brought "Zatoichi" to the Spaghetti West w/ Blindman in 1971... fought against Moors and Vikings in Spain in 1976's "Get Mean",...& ushered in a modest 3d revival w/ 1981's "Comin' At Ya".This, the third collaboration with Director Luigi Vanzi...."The Silent Stranger" predates a bunch of East-meets-West Spaghetti Westerns, including 1971's "Red Sun", "Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe" in '72...and "The Stranger and the Gunfighter" in '73. I was, for the most part, pleasantly surprised...by this Italian/Japanese/American co-production. There's a pretty good script..a mixture of Spaghetti Western violence...a number of well-staged Samurai sword fights which aren't bad at all....nicely done, & a lot of humor.Plodding through the snow in the Klondike.........The Stranger has a run-in with bandits who are attempting to rob a young Japanese man of an apparently valuable scroll. The Stranger manages to kill the bandits, but the young Japanese man is shot. He tells The Stranger that the owner of the scroll will pay him $20,000 for its return. Entrusted to return this mysterious scroll to its rightful owner, & looking forward to a big payday.. The Stranger and his trusty horse board a ship for Japan. Once there, he discovers that two powerful warlords have been vying for control of a village and both parties claim that the scroll is rightfully theirs. The Stranger realizes that the only way to save his hide....and get his money, is to play both sides against each other.Yes, this is yet another twist on Yojimbo, ...adding the old fish out of water bit...having a gunfighter battle both with & against samurai in Japan.A dispute between the American producer and distributor MGM kept it from being seen in USA theaters until 1975. ..seven years after it was produced.A little "Yojimbo"...a bit of "Ran"...a "Fistful" of other stuff...it's fun.

bluegerm I saw this movie for the first time today. THE GOOD, BAD AND THE UGLY it isn't....neither was it as bad as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE or the incredibly boring ISHTAR. Instead STRANGER was somehow strangely appealing in that quirky 'spaghetti western' style so well-known in films like TRINITY and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. The lead actor was nearly silent throughout, the Japanese ran around waving samurai swords and behaving unintelligibly, but I found the bizarre juxtaposition of a gunfighter in Shogunate Japan truly interesting.I'd watch it again.....