Violent Cop (1989)
"Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki" (original title)

A violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Hisashi Nozawa (original writer)

Stars:

Takeshi Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takeshi Kitano	...	Azuma (as Beat Takeshi)
Maiko Kawakami	...	Akari
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Kikuchi
Shirô Sano	...	Yoshinari
Sei Hiraizumi	...	Iwaki (as Shigeru Hiraizumi)
Mikiko Otonashi	...	Iwaki's Wife
Hakuryu	...	Kiyohiro
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Nito
Ken Yoshizawa	...	Shinkai
Hiroyuki Katsube	...	Deputy Police Chief Higuchi
Noboru Hamada	...	Chief Detective Araki
Yuuki Kawai	...	Detective Honma
Ritsuko Amano	...	Honma's Fiancee
Tarô Ishida	...	Detective Tashiro
Katsuki Muramatsu	...	Deputy Commissioner Anan

Storyline

Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results. While investigating a series of drug-related homicides, Azuma discovers that his friend and colleague, Iwaki, is supplying drugs from within the police force. After Iwaki is murdered and Azuma's sister is kidnapped, he breaks all the rules to dish out his particular form of justice.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | violence | police | police officer | friend | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

12 August 1989 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Violent Cop

Filming Locations:

Kanagawa-Shinmachi, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Box Office

Gross:

$1,960 (USA) (14 May 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Media Department, Shochiku-Fuji Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kitano insisted on long takes. Close-ups easily lasted 10 seconds, medium shots went on for 20 seconds and the shot where Azuma (Kitano) walks onto the bridge and into the frame lasted 57 seconds.

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Quotes

Nito: I'm Nito. Won't you come in?
Azuma: Come in? A restaurant with dope-pushers and killers?
Nito: Pardon?
Azuma: You know what I mean. Where's Kiyohiro?
Nito: Kiyohiro? Who's he?
Azuma: Your assassin.
Nito: Look ... if you want to question me, get a warrant first.
[Shinkai tucks a bribe into Azuma's jacket pocket]
Shinkai: Our gift.
[Nito peers closely.]
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits beyond the title.

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Connections

Referenced in Dead or Alive (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Gnossienne No.1"
(1890)
Main theme is an electronic variation of the above title by Erik Satie

User Reviews

Kitano straight--no chaser

Takeshi Kitano's films that have been celebrated in the West--SONATINE and the elegant FIREWORKS--are art movies with a pulpy whiff of hickory smoke blown over them. For my money, the real Kitano is found in early pictures like BOILING POINT and this programmer, generally called in America VIOLENT COP. There's always a strange mix of art movie and pulp movie in Kitano, but in this one the balance is about fifty-fifty. Kitano's trademark style--Ozu-like tranquility pierced by chancres of irruptive violence--was never so deftly jiggered as it is here. And Kitano's own performance--log-faced yet queerly piquant--ranks with Robert Mitchum at his peak.