Tokyo Drifter
– After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kur..
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
10 Apr 1966
Japanese, English
Seijun Suzuki
Yasunori Kawauchi (author), Yasunori Kawauchi (screenplay)
Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji
Tetsu has joined his yakuza boss in going straight, but when a rival gang threatens to bring them back into the gang wars, Tetsu must become a drifter to keep the pressure off his old boss.
Criterion Collection