When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police Detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York City. There he is joined by Detective Shuftan, and together they sort out the crime.Read More »
Jun’ya Satô
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Jun’ya Satô – Ningen no shômei AKA Proof of the Man (1977)
1971-1980CrimeDramaJapanJun'ya SatôNingen no shômei (1977) -
Jun’ya Satô – Gorugo 13 AKA Golgo 13 (1973)
1971-1980ActionJapanJun'ya SatôThriller
Golgo 13 travels to the underworld of Tehran, Iran, to track down a shadowy target… Max Boa, the boss of an international crime syndicate that smuggles weapons and drugs and kidnaps women. But Boa catches wind of the cold-blooded killing machine’s intentions and has his organization go on the offense. When a mesmerizing game between murderers begins, the only result can be kill or be killed!Read More »
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Jun’ya Satô – Shinkansen daibakuha AKA The Bullet Train (1975)
1971-1980ActionJapanJun'ya SatôThriller
Ken Takakura stars as a mad bomber who plants a device on a high-speed Japanese train, programmed to detonate if the train’s speed drops below 80 kilometres per hour. The trains conductor (Sonny Chiba) must keep the train moving whilst the police track the madman down.
Most well-known for inspiring the 1994 Hollywood blockbuster Speed, The Bullet Train is a remarkably tense thriller from director Junya Satō.Read More »
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Jun’ya Satô – Tabi ni deta gokudo AKA Yakuza on Foot (1969)
1961-1970ActionCrimeJapanJun'ya Satô
Quote:
An Osaka gangster Shimamura just got married. His new bride, Mineko is also involved in drug trafficking. When she goes to China to make a deal, things get botched pretty badly. Shimamura must travel to save her and recoup his employers’ losses.Read More » -
Ji-shun Duan & Jun’ya Satô – Mikan no taikyoku AKA The Go Masters (1982)
1981-1990DramaJapanJi-shun DuanJun'ya Satô
Quote:
“The Go Masters” begins and ends with the same game of Go, but 32 years separate the opening and closing moves. In between, there is war and heartbreak, death and disease, doomed lovers, families separated by fate and united by chance. The movie is a melodrama on an epic scale, an Asian “Gone With the Wind,” filled with romance and action but built on a foundation of Eastern philosophy.Read More » -
Jun’ya Satô – Kuruwa sodachi AKA Red Light District Upbringing (1964)
Drama1961-1970AsianJapanJun'ya Satô
Tamiko has been with a geisha house since she was little. Torn between staying in the only world that she knows but also loathes, and a normal life on the outside, Tomiko becomes more and more desperate. Times are also changing, it isn’t easy to keeps the books balanced and there is a new law under debate that may end this way of life for good.Read More »
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Jun’ya Satô – Golgo 13 (1973)
1971-1980ActionAsianJapanJun'ya Satô
Review @ sketchesofcinema
Takao Saito’s Golgo 13 comics aren’t very easy to adapt into live action features due to their international nature, but Toei went all the way with this first attempt. Junya Sato shot the film on location in Iran with mostly foreign cast. The lead role is played by the heavenly cool Ken Takakura, whose combination of charisma, black sunglasses and M16 assault rifle makes him one of the coolest asssassins in film history. Both execution and storywise the film could be better – and it would’ve been a good to opt for local languages istead of having the entire Iran speak Japanese – but with its rare international setting, superb leading man and some exciting action Golgo 13 easily ranks more interesting than Toei’s average action thrillers of the era. Due to the high expenses the studio didn’t allow Golgo 13 to return to the big screen until in 1977 in a slightly inferior Shinichi Chiba film Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment.Read More »
