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:

police chase | counterfeit | japan | detective | yakuza | 

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Taglines:

Osaka, Japan. A cop on the edge. A conspiracy on the rise. A killer on the loose.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lluvia negra

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, Wide Release

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:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally touted for an August 1989 theatrical release, Paramount pushed the release date back to early fall, on September 22, to avoid that year's crowded summer season.

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Goofs

Nick refers to Sato as "Say-toe" quite a few times, until someone corrects him, and after this he does say it right, but there is one instance before the correction where he does say "Sato", suggesting that this earlier scene may have possibly been filmed after.

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Quotes

Det. Charlie Vincent: What is this, a conspiracy to ruin my evening?

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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 Fatal Frames - Fotogrammi mortali (1996)

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Soundtracks

I'LL BE HOLDING ON
By Hans Zimmer and Will Jennings
Performed by Gregg Allman
Produced by David Paich
Gregg Allman performs courtesy of EPIC Records

User Reviews

Justice Falls Like Black Rain

Black Rain is hands down the best cop movie ever made! And I'm not saying that just because I like it. The cinematography and even the costumes were phenomenal and couldn't have been any better. Whoever did the casting for this movie earned their pay and then some. You couldn't have found better actors anywhere in the world. This is Michael Douglas at his best as New York Detective Nick Conklin, a macho yet streetwise cop after a coldblooded Yakuza killer all the way from the back alleys of Manhattan to the streets of Japan. Andy Garcia also gives a tour-de-force performance as Douglas's partner Charley Vincent and gives the movie some extra humor. There some great one liners here. I even like Kate Capshaw as Conklin's friend and love interest. Sato Kogei, the bad guy, is played brilliantly and almost effortlessly by Yusako Matsuda. Why haven't I ever seen this guy in anything else? Definitely one of my top ten best villains to grace the silver screen. Also look for Ken Takakura as Masahiro Matsamodo the stubborn and by the book police officer who befriends Douglas and Garcia and helps them chase Matsuda (Takakura was also in Mr. Baseball). Sato's rival Sugai Kenyo gives a stunningly great performance as well as the old time crime boss. Anyways if you haven't seen this film go out and get it like I did and make it part of your collection. Its great viewing, timeless and worth every penny. You won't regret it.