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One of the most striking of director Seijun Suzuki’s early features, this lean, mean thriller takes a handful of characters from across all walks of 1950s Japanese life, packs them into a crowded bus making its way through treacherous mountain roads, and ups the tension by throwing in a pair of sadistic gangsters who hijack the vehicle. Making the most of the claustrophobic premise, Suzuki surveys both the ensuing fight for survival as well as the fraught class and social tensions among the passengers. (Criterion)