After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.
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Title: Tokyo Drifter (1966)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Tetsuya Watari | ... | Tetsuya 'Phoenix Tetsu' Hondo | |
| Chieko Matsubara | ... | Chiharu | |
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Hideaki Nitani | ... | Kenji Aizawa |
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Tamio Kawaji | ... | Tatsuzo, The Viper (as Tamio Kawachi) |
| Ryûji Kita | ... | Kurata | |
| Eiji Gô | ... | Tanaka | |
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Isao Tamagawa | ... | Umetani |
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Eimei Esumi | ... | Otsuka |
| Tomoko Hamakawa | ... | Mutsuko | |
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Tsuyoshi Yoshida | ... | Keiichi |
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Michio Hino | ... | Yoshii |
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Shuntarô Tamamura | ... | Koyanagi |
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Hiroshi Midorikawa | ||
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Hiroshi Chô | ... | Kumamoto |
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Akira Hisamatsu | ... | (as Kosuke Hisamatsu) |
In Tokyo, the gangster Tetsu (Tetsuya Watari) regenerates when his yakuza boss Kurata (Ryuji Kita) decides to quit his criminal life. However, the mobster family leaded by Otsuka (Hideaki Esumi) threatens Kurata's legitimate business, and Tetsu decides to leave Kurata to relief the pressure on him. He leaves also his girlfriend Chiharu (Chieko Matsubara) and becomes a drifter moving to the country. When Tetsu is betrayed, he returns to Tokyo to resolve his situation. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I will argue until my death that TOKYO DRIFTER is superior to BRANDED TO KILL, but that's for another time...
I am amazed every time I see this film that Suzuki could take such an obviously inferior product -- as Nikkatsu Studios was churning out at an obscene rate in those days, giving directors a script and saying "Shoot it fast and cheap so we can give you your next job" -- and turn it into one of the most beautiful and intriguing films I've ever seen.
Best plot ever? No. Easy to follow? Yes. Beautiful? Yes. And that theme...I could never forget that theme if I tried, even after my first viewing.
I'd ramble on about history and plot and so on, but so many others have, I'll just leave it at this: TOKYO DRIFTER makes me happy every time I see it.