Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 1 win & 6 nominations total
Shigeru Kôyama
- Ohashi
- (as Shigeru Koyama)
Luis Guzmán
- Frankie
- (as Luis Guzman)
John Costelloe
- The Kid
- (as John A. Costelloe)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaYûsaku Matsuda's last film role. Matsuda knew he had bladder cancer and that his condition would be aggravated by acting in the movie. He elected to do so anyway, unbeknownst to director SirRidley Scott,reportedly saying, "This way, I will live forever." On November 6, 1989, less than seven weeks after the film's American premiere, Matsudo died of his bladder cancer at the age of 40. The film is dedicated to his memory.
- GoofsWhen Sato has Charlie cornered in the parking garage, and is about to behead him, he looks back at Conklin, and draws a weapon. That looks to be a Wakizashi (Japanese side-sword to accompany the Katana). As he rides off to behead Charlie, he is scraping along the ground a much larger sword (Katana).
- Quotes
Nick Conklin:Just hope they got a Nip in this building who speaks fucking English.
Matsumoto Masahiro:[overhearing]Assistant Inspector Matsumoto Masahiro, Criminal Investigation section, Osaka Prefecture police. And I do speak fucking English.
- Crazy creditsThe end credits begin with a Japanese kanji, which can be translated as "complete" or "end" and is sometimes used at the end of Japanese films.
- ConnectionsEdited intoWalking with Dinosaurs(1999)
- SoundtracksI'll Be Holding On
ByHans ZimmerandWill Jennings
Performed byGregg Allman
Produced byDavid Paich
Gregg Allman performs courtesy of EPIC Records
Featured review
Stereotype Put on Film
I've heard there's a movie called North (1994) where Elijah Wood travels the world encountering oversimplified and offensive stereotypes. Well, here we have North: Japanese Edition.
I always remember this movie because of its dark and gritty atmosphere. I can't fault it for that. This film is absolutely set in an obscure Tokyo of eternal night lit only by pale neon glows; Douglas eternally sports a black leather jacket and most of the other characters are dressed like industrial goths; even the daytime scenes, of which there are a few, look so cloudy and dirty that it looks like some post-apocalyptic world after the bomb was dropped and created a persistent nucular cloud.
But the film is unintentionally funny in its zeal to cover every single sensationalist stereotype skewed, exaggerated, and exported for foreign consumption. Geishas? Check. Psychopathic yakuza that cut off their pinkies? Check. Motorcycle gangs, Dekotora trucks, samurai swords, traditional martial arts - yeah, you got it.
Douglas' partner in a dashing Andy Garcia at the top of his game even suffers death by ethnic cliche number 22.
Then we have the final master stroke near the end that gives the film its title. You guessed it. As one Japanese character erratically informs us, it turns out that, in a shocking twist, that all of the events of the movie were caused by the butterfly effect stemming from the dropping of the BOMB on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.:O
Inane script and kind of dumb portrayal of the Japanese, but it's got a lot of good points, especially in the ambience, acting, and general artistic direction. At least visually you aren't likely to forget it any time soon.
Honourable Mentions: Black Rain (1989). This movie inappropriately highjacked this name for no reason other than to put a final cherry on top of the stereotype sundae. A Japanese movie with this name (and more appropriately titled, since it was actually about the nucular bombing of Japan) had the unfortunate fate of coming out the same year, so it makes it very difficult to find it in English. RIP Real Black Rain (1989).
I always remember this movie because of its dark and gritty atmosphere. I can't fault it for that. This film is absolutely set in an obscure Tokyo of eternal night lit only by pale neon glows; Douglas eternally sports a black leather jacket and most of the other characters are dressed like industrial goths; even the daytime scenes, of which there are a few, look so cloudy and dirty that it looks like some post-apocalyptic world after the bomb was dropped and created a persistent nucular cloud.
But the film is unintentionally funny in its zeal to cover every single sensationalist stereotype skewed, exaggerated, and exported for foreign consumption. Geishas? Check. Psychopathic yakuza that cut off their pinkies? Check. Motorcycle gangs, Dekotora trucks, samurai swords, traditional martial arts - yeah, you got it.
Douglas' partner in a dashing Andy Garcia at the top of his game even suffers death by ethnic cliche number 22.
Then we have the final master stroke near the end that gives the film its title. You guessed it. As one Japanese character erratically informs us, it turns out that, in a shocking twist, that all of the events of the movie were caused by the butterfly effect stemming from the dropping of the BOMB on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.:O
Inane script and kind of dumb portrayal of the Japanese, but it's got a lot of good points, especially in the ambience, acting, and general artistic direction. At least visually you aren't likely to forget it any time soon.
Honourable Mentions: Black Rain (1989). This movie inappropriately highjacked this name for no reason other than to put a final cherry on top of the stereotype sundae. A Japanese movie with this name (and more appropriately titled, since it was actually about the nucular bombing of Japan) had the unfortunate fate of coming out the same year, so it makes it very difficult to find it in English. RIP Real Black Rain (1989).
- fatcat-73450
- Jan 31, 2024
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Lluvia negra
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $46,212,055
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,677,102
- Sep 24, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $134,212,055
- Runtime2hours5minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39: 1
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