Branded to Kill (1967) Koroshi no rakuin (original title)

Director:

Seijun Suzuki

Writers:

Takeo Kimura
Atsushi Yamatoya
(more)

Release Date:

15 June 1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A hit-man, with a fetish for sniffing boiling rice, fumbles his latest job, putting him into conflict with his treacherous wife, with a mysterious woman eager for death and with the phantom-like hit-man known only as Number One.

Plot Keywords:

Fetish | Rice | Boiling Rice | Death | Dead Bird

Cast

Jô Shishido	...	Goro Hanada
Kôji Nanbara	...	No. 1
Isao Tamagawa	...	Michihiko Yabuhara
Anne Mari	...	Misako Nakajo
Mariko Ogawa	...	Mami Hanada
Hiroshi Minami	...	Gihei Kasuga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iwae Arai
Franz Gruber	...	Western man
Kosuke Hisamatsu
Hiroshi Midorigawa
Tokuhei Miyahara
Hiroshi Naga
Takashi Nomura
Atsushi Yamatoya

Directed by
Seijun Suzuki

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hachiro Guryu
Takeo Kimura
Chûsei Sone
Atsushi Yamatoya

Produced by
Kaneo Iwai	....	producer
Takiko Mizunoe	....	producer

Original Music by
Naozumi Yamamoto

Cinematography by
Kazue Nagatsuka

Film Editing by
Matsuo Tanji

Art Direction by
Sukezo Kawahara

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masami Kuzuu	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Tadonobu Akino	....	sound recordist (as Y. Akino)

Camera and Electrical Department
S. Mio	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Nikkatsu

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Vision Cinema (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1967) (USA) (DVD)
• Janus Films (USA) (subtitled)
• Nikkatsu (1987) (Japan) (VHS)
• Nikkatsu (1994) (Japan) (VHS)
• Nikkatsu (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• Nikkatsu (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Nikkatsu (Japan)
• Nikkatsu (USA) (subtitled)
• Yume Pictures (2007) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Koroshi no rakuin" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

98 min | Argentina:99 min | USA:91 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Germany:16 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Company:

Nikkatsu

Trivia:

Director Seijun Suzuki was fired for deviating too far from the script.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Long-Distance Runners: A Cross-Cultural Love Story (2012)

Stunningly stylish and original!

Seijun's Suzuki's earlier cult classic 'Tokyo Drifter' knocked my socks off, but 'Branded To Kill' unbelievably manages to top it! This is one of the most stunning and original movies I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen hundreds. Suzuki is a true original. I can't think of a direct Western equivalent for him. Visually stylish and surreal, he lets his imagery do the talking. Imagine vintage David Lynch directing Beat Takeshi and you're halfway there. It's nearly impossible to put into words just what is so amazing about this movie. It literally has to be seen to be believed! With these two movies made over thirty five years ago Suzuki still shows himself to be light years ahead of the current crop of overrated and overhyped Hollywood "visionaries" Fincher, Soderbergh, Shyamalan, et al. Whatever you do you MUST see this movie! Be prepared to have your mind slowly blown into little pieces...