Violent Cop (1989)

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
Hakuryû	...	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:

violence | drugs | police | detective | police officer | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 July 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Violent Cop

Filming Locations:

Kanagawa-Shinmachi, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,960, 16 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

The film adheres to the original script by Hisashi Nozawa in the setting and character names only. Takeshi Kitano rewrote more than 90% of the screenplay. When the original writer, Nozawa, watched his creation being rewritten by the director right in front of his eyes, he requested once the film was completed to have his name removed from the credits.

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Quotes

Azuma: Well, you've got good taste.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits beyond the title.

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Alternate Versions

When the film was released in Swedish cinemas in 1992, it was censored with a little more than one minute for violence, the cuts were made in the following scenes:

• The policeman getting assaulted before he gets his head crushed by a baseball bat.
• The scene where Azuma assaults Hazishume on the toilet, and the finger cutting sequence.
• The following cuts are when Azuma assaults the killer in the locker room and a bloody execution scene at the end.

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Connections

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

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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.