The Bullet Train (1975)
"Shinkansen daibakuha" (original title)

Criminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. It will explode when the train slows down, unless a ransom is paid.

Director:

Jun'ya Satô

Writers:

Ryunosuke Ono (screenplay), Jun'ya Satô (screenplay),

Stars:

Ken Takakura, Sonny Chiba, Kei Yamamoto

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ken Takakura	...	Tetsuo Okita
Sonny Chiba	...	Aoki (as Shin-ichi Chiba)
Kei Yamamoto	...	Masaru Koga
Eiji Gô	...	Shinji Fujio
Akira Oda	...	Hiroshi Ôshiro
Raita Ryû	...	Kikuchi
Masayo Utsunomiya	...	Yasuko
Yumiko Fujita	...	Akiyama
Yumi Takigawa	...	SAS Staff
Etsuko Shihomi	...	Telephone Operator
Fumio Watanabe	...	Miyashita
Toyoto Fukuda	...	Tashiro
Hiroko Fuji	...	Female Teacher
Junko Matsudaira	...	Cashier
Koreharu Hisatomi	...	Hirota

Storyline

One of the Japanese Shinkansen "Bullet Trains" is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers and to learn how to defuse the bomb.

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Plot Keywords:

train | bomb | police | runaway train | railway | 

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Taglines:

They said it couldn't happen... But for 1500 passengers Bullet Train 109 became a nightmare journey that just couldn't be stopped!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 January 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bullet Train

Filming Locations:

Airport, Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min 115 min (DVD) 115 min (edited/dubbed) 90 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The registration number of the bullet train was Train #109, or in the Japanese version, Hikari #109.

User Reviews

High drama aboard the Bullet Train

I picked up a six-pack of Sonny Chiba movies and this was one of them. Lucky for me it was the uncut, original Japanese language version!! The Bullet Train is a bit of a more complex drama than the much later "Speed" which was pretty much a straight action movie. There are key differences between the two. "Speed" uses an over-the-top villain type in Dennis Hopper, a man completely evil who we're not expected to sympathize or feel sorry for. "Bullet Train"'s villain is a more complex, serious, darker sort of character, and we come to understand and even sympathize a little with his reasons for ransoming the Bullet Train.

I found it a little long at 2 1/2 hours. But I liked that it was a more serious film than Speed, delving into the ransomer's motives and the consequences of his actions, not just for his victims but for his accomplices, the train company employees, and himself. And 1.5 hours in, I realized I had no idea how it was going to end.

If you enjoy Japanese or Asian cinema in general, this isn't one of the best films, but you will probably enjoy it as I did.