Golgo 13 (1977)
"Golgo 13: Kûron no kubi" (original title)

Blood for Money! Sonny Chiba is "Golgo 13", a cold, calculating, ruthless assassin, working for the U.S. drug syndicate. His assignment: "take-out" Hong Kong's underworld kingpin. His only ... See full summary »

Director:

Yukio Noda

Writers:

Isao Matsumoto (screenplay), Nobuaki Nakajima (screenplay),

Stars:

Sonny Chiba, Lun Chia, Etsuko Shihomi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sonny Chiba	...	Duke Togo (Golgo 13)
Lun Chia	...	Detective Smith (as Callan)
Etsuko Shihomi	...	Lam Ling
Emi Shindô	...	Yip Lin
Elaine Sung	...	Kong Laan
Dana	...	Leika
Nick Lam Wai Kei	...	Chow Lui Fung
Jerry Ito	...	Polanski
Chi-Chung Lee	...	Wong Tak Ming
Yao Lin Chen	...	Chan
Shu Tong Wong	...	Hung
Joana Tors	...	Maliya
Fiona Humphrey	...	Cassowary
Gam Shing Sung	...	Lee
Tien Hsi Tang	...	Baldy Nyudo

Storyline

Blood for Money! Sonny Chiba is "Golgo 13", a cold, calculating, ruthless assassin, working for the U.S. drug syndicate. His assignment: "take-out" Hong Kong's underworld kingpin. His only obstacle: a relentless cop, determined to stop him - no matter what the cost. The result is an explosive adventure through the seamy, violent streets of Hong Kong.

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | kingpin | underworld | blood | assassin | 

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Taglines:

A master assassin, bent on blood!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Also Known As:

Golgo 13

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the first comic book based movies to receive an R-rating.

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Goofs

In the final island sequence, when Golgo 13 emerges from the sea wearing shorts there is no sign of the leg wound he received a few scenes previously.

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Connections

Referenced in Ying xiong wu lei (1986)

User Reviews

Hardboiled noir that never runs out of ammo

Also known as Golgo 13: Operation Kowloon,(US title) this is a perfect example of a grindhouse cinema Yakuza movie. Before John Woo there were these Yakuza movies. Films that merge the fetish of a slasher film with sex, guns and ammo. Gritty noir that has all of detective work of Chinatown with none of the charm or depth. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that it's a different more lowbrow but equally watchable form of entertainment. Another American example would be Charles Bronson's "The Mechanic" from 1972.

As the relentless killer Golgo 13, a hitman that NEVER leaves a job unfinished, Sonny Chiba delivers what I would dare say the most hardboiled of it's time hitman movie. Devoid of mercy and full of bullet holes this movie takes out all of it's aggression on it's viewer with a rapid fire delivery of the plot and action sequences that flow together as if it's own style of dialog.

A perfect starter film for anyone interested in grindhouse and kung-fu style movies. Movies like Leon, Kill Bill, Ichi The Killer and later John Woo's The Killer all tip a hat to Chiba's work in this film.