Tokyo Drifter

“Inspired lunacy.” - Time Out

3 October 2017 — 1 November 2017

Japanese with Thai/English subtitles

In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu’s attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties.

“Inspired lunacy.” - Time Out

“A 1966 yakuza gangster thriller with a pop-art look by the formidable B-movie director Seijun Suzuki.” - Chicago Reader

“a mix of spaghetti western and samurai melodrama relocated to the pop-art splendor of 1960s Japan.” -Turner Classic Movies

“Distills the aesthetic of the 1960s into one feature-length blast.” - Antagony & Ecstasy

“Imagine what a yakuza thriller might look like if it were codirected by Jean-Luc Godard and John Woo, adding a little Sergio Leone and Jean-Pierre Melville, then multiplied by 10.” — TV Guide

About the film

Director: Seijun Suzuki
Country: Japan
Year: 1966
Duration: 82 mins

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