Black Rain (1989)

Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Craig Bolotin, Warren Lewis

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Nick Conklin
Andy Garcia	...	Charlie Vincent
Ken Takakura	...	Masahiro
Kate Capshaw	...	Joyce
Yûsaku Matsuda	...	Sato
Shigeru Kôyama	...	Ohashi (as Shigeru Koyama)
John Spencer	...	Oliver
Guts Ishimatsu	...	Katayama
Yûya Uchida	...	Nashida
Tomisaburô Wakayama	...	Sugai
Miyuki Ono	...	Miyuki
Luis Guzmán	...	Frankie (as Luis Guzman)
John Costelloe	...	The Kid (as John A. Costelloe)
Stephen Root	...	Berg
Richard Riehle	...	Crown

Storyline

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. In Japan, however, he manages to escape. As they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game the Japanese way.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | yakuza | police chase | osaka japan | counterfeit | 

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Taglines:

A Ridley Scott Film From The Producers Of "Fatal Attraction"

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was selected to screen at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1989.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double for Conklin during the motorcycle chase near the end of the film.

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Quotes

Sugai: [on Sato] He might as well be an American. His kind respect just one thing: money.
Nick Conklin: So what are you into it for? Love?
[He starts to light a cigarette, Sugai's bodyguard yanks it out of his mouth and draws back his fist to punch him, before Sugai snaps out an order. The bodyguard bows quickly and steps back]
Sugai: I was 10 when the B-29 came. My family lived underground for three days. When we came up the city was gone. Then the heat brought rain. Black rain. You made the rain black, and shoved your ...

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Crazy Credits

The end credits begin with a Japanese kanji, which can be translated as "complete" or "end" and is sometimes used at the end of Japanese films.

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Connections

Referenced in Doogie Howser, M.D.: Blood and Remembrance (1989)

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Soundtracks

Back to Life (Jam on the Groove Mix)
By Jazzie B (as Beresford Romeo), Simon Law and Nellee Hooper (as Paul Hooper)
Performed by Soul II Soul, featuring Caron Wheeler
Produced by Jazzie B (as Jazzie B.) and Nellee Hooper for Silent Productions
Courtesy of 10 Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

One of the Top Cop thrillers of the last century, supremely underrated.

Micheal Douglas has always been, at least for me, one of the better actors to portray a cop on screen. Very believable, very real, he just has a natural feel for this type of role. I think its due to the fact he starred as one on TV in "The Streets of San Francisco". Everything blends in this cop thriller. It oozes style and panache. It also has an underlying emotional core that I think gets underrated by critics. Douglas as Nick Conklin has some fine moments playing off the characters played by Andy Garcia, Kate Capshaw and especially Ken Takakura. This movie combines excellent acting, gorgeous cinematography, great atmosphere, along with some solid action set pieces...and gets it right. Director Ridley Scott brings all his cinematic guns to bear and spins these elements into a definitive police action thriller. I loved this flick when I saw it in 1989 and I still do. It may not be as audacious as when it premiered, time has seen to that(ex.action scenes have really gone virtual reality)but it's still a respectable addition to your DVD library. And of that fact there is no gray area!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Rain

Filming Locations:

1000 N. Crescent Drive, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,677,102, 24 September 1989

Gross USA:

$46,212,055

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,212,055

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Jaffe-Lansing, Pegasus Film Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1