Cops vs. Thugs
| Cops vs. Thugs | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kinji Fukasaku |
| Written by |
Kazuo Kasahara Goro Kusakabe (original concept) |
| Starring |
Bunta Sugawara Hiroki Matsukata |
| Music by | Toshiaki Tsushima |
| Cinematography | Shigeru Akatsuka |
| Distributed by | Toei |
Release date | April 26, 1975 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Cops vs. Thugs (県警対組織暴力 Kenkei tai Soshiki Bōryoku, lit. "Police vs. Violence Groups") is a 1975 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It won two Blue Ribbon Awards in 1976: Best Director (Fukasaku) and Best Actor (Sugawara).[1] Complex named it number 6 on their list of The 25 Best Yakuza Movies.[2] Kino International released the film on DVD in North America in 2006.[3]
Plot
In Kurashima City, there are two yakuza families; the Kawade, who use political connections to further their activities, and the Ohara, who have an alliance with the local police. When Ohara acting boss Hirotani usurps a staged land deal away from Kawade, thanks to the help of his police friend Kuno, a war breaks out. At the same time, Kuno's superiors start cracking down on the yakuza and command the cops stop fraternizing with criminals.
Cast
- Bunta Sugawara as Tokumatsu Kuno
- Hiroki Matsukata as Kenji Hirotani
- Mikio Narita as Katsumi Kawade
- Tatsuo Umemiya as Shoichi Kaida
- Hideo Murota as Tsukahara
- Shingo Yamashiro as Yasuo Kawamoto
- Reiko Ike as Mariko
- Jukei Fujioka as Ikeda
- Asao Sano as Yusaku Yoshiura
- Nobuo Kaneko as Masaichi Tomoyasu
- Harumi Sone as Kyuichi Okimoto
- Takuzo Kawatani as Taku Matsui
- Tatsuo Endo as Takeo Ohara
- Kunie Tanaka as Kinpachi Komiya
- Toru Abe as Azuma Kikuchi
- Akira Shioji as Chujiro Shiota
- Shotaro Hayashi as Shimodera
- Masaharu Arikawa as Tokuda
- Sanae Nakahara as Reiko
- Yoko Koizumi as Yuri
- Maki Tachibana as Kasumi
- Keiko Yumi as Miya
- Midori Shirai as Chiyomi
- Masako Matsumoto as Mitsuyo
- Gentaro Mori as Tanpo
Production
Tetsuya Watari was originally set to play Hirotani, but had to step down due to illness. The role then went to Hiroki Matsukata.[4]
References
- ↑ "Kenkei tai Soshiki Bōryoku". Dejitaru Daijisen Purasu. Shogakukan. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ↑ "The 25 Best Yakuza Movies". Complex. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ↑ "Cops vs. Thugs". Kino International. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
- ↑ Fukasaku, Kinji; Yamane, Sadao (July 2003). 映画監督深作欣二. Wise Publishing. pp. 324–328. ISBN 4-89830-155-X.