This obscure comedy was made in 1969, but shelved for 7 years before getting a limited theatrical release, and remained quite hard to see afterwards before earlier this year getting a release on DVD and Blu-ray. Seeing the movie, it's easy to see why there wasn't exactly a demand for it to be widely available. Even given the different attitudes when this movie was made, it's still pretty insulting to see a Caucasian actor made up to look like an Asian and act in a very stereotypical Asian manner. Quite possibly the movie could have been made palatable had it been funny, but it's quite the opposite. There are NO laughs to be found in the movie. Certainly, the gags based on stereotypes aren't funny, but the gags that are slapstick or any other nature fall flat as well. There is absolutely no comic energy (or any other kind of energy) in the movie, and as a result the movie threatens to put viewers in a trance when it's not being insulting. Also, the movie's interiors have a cheap untheatrical look akin to Hollywood television productions of the era. The only reason why I am not giving the movie the lowest possible rating is the few minutes of interesting exterior footage of 1969 Kyoto.
Review of Mastermind
