Rising Sun (1993)

At the offices of a Japanese corporation, during a party, a woman, who's evidently a professional mistress, is found dead, apparently after some rough sex. A police detective, Web Smith is ... See full summary »

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

Michael Crichton (novel), Philip Kaufman (screenplay),

Stars:

Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	Capt. John Connor
Wesley Snipes	...	Lt. Webster Smith
Harvey Keitel	...	Lt. Tom Graham
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Eddie Sakamura
Kevin Anderson	...	Bob Richmond
Mako	...	Yoshida-san
Ray Wise	...	Senator John Morton
Stan Egi	...	Ishihara
Stan Shaw	...	Phillips
Tia Carrere	...	Jingo Asakuma
Steve Buscemi	...	Willy 'the Weasel' Wilhelm
Tatjana Patitz	...	Cheryl Lynn Austin
Peter Crombie	...	Greg
Sam Lloyd	...	Rick
Alexandra Powers	...	Julia

Storyline

At the offices of a Japanese corporation, during a party, a woman, who's evidently a professional mistress, is found dead, apparently after some rough sex. A police detective, Web Smith is called in to investigate but before getting there, he gets a call from someone who instructs him to pick up John Connor, a former police Captain and expert on Japanese affairs. When they arrive there Web thinks that everything is obvious but Connor tells him that there's a lot more going on.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese | police | party | detective | hara kiri | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sol naciente

Filming Locations:

Japanese Garden, Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant - 6100 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£648,293 (UK) (15 October 1993)

Gross:

£2,391,211 (UK) (12 November 1993)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Walrus & Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writers Michael Crichton and Michael Backes quit the project largely over disagreement with director Philip Kaufman that one of the lead characters should be changed into an African-American.

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Goofs

Senator Morton receives a color fax on a machine far too simple a model to accept one.

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Quotes

John Connor: Every aspect of your appearance and behavior will reflect on you, the Department, and me as your sempai.
Web Smith: My sempai?
John Connor: Mm.
Web Smith: That wouldn't be massa, would it?

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Crazy Credits

There is a credit in Rising Sun thanking "The MIT Leg Lab" and "Marc Raibert and his Running Team." This refers to a short scene where the two detectives go out to a fancy-looking research lab (really a water treatment plant; also used as the set for Starfleet Academy on the TV series "Star Trek - The Next Generation). In the background of some of the shots there are two legged robots: one hopping in a circle in a tea-house; the other bouncing up a garden path. These robots are actually academic research projects from the MIT AI Lab's Legged Locomotion Lab. They really do hop about and maintain their balance. Power comes from off-board hydraulic pumps (hence the guy in the background (me!) pulling hoses for the robot), and body attitude is sensed with gyroscopes. A human with a joystick tells the robot what direction to go, and the control algorithms (which are the real subject of Leg Lab research) maintain speed, direction, and balance. However, the robots aren't designed for special effects. They're always being modified, and they tend to break down frequently. This made shooting in the hot july sun of the San Fernando Valley a real nightmare, with transputers crashing in the heat, stuck gyros, and hydraulic leaks. Three grad students and a professor worked steadily for about a month before Hollywood, and then five days on the set and on location to get the robots in about 15 seconds of film. The credits are: Marc Raibert (our prof), and Charles Francois, Rob Playter and Lee Campbell (me) who are students. We three students appear in the film in white lab coats acting like Robot Scientists!!

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Argus (2010)

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Soundtracks

"GIVE ME THE SIMPLE LIFE"
(uncredited)
Written by Rube Bloom and Harry Ruby

User Reviews

High-Tech Whodunnit

This movie is not always easy to understand but if you give it a couple of looks, which it is worthy of doing, all the pieces finally fit and it's a good two hours of entertainment.

This modern-day crime movie may have a lack of action compared to others of its genre but it never loses your attention. Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes and Harvey Keitel star, along with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kevin Anderson, Mako and Tia Carrere. This is a high-tech story (at least for 1993) as two cops try to figure out who murdered a woman. It's Japanese-big business-politics intrigue with surveillance cameras being the key to figuring out a murder.

Connery and Snipes complement each other as a "buddy" cop duo with Connery being mostly responsible for making this story interesting. The still-suave ex-James Bond plays the cool veteran and it's fun to watch him operate.

The only complaint I might have is the ending, a stupid romance-type story with Snipes and Carrere that was very post-climactic and not needed.