STACK #239 September 2024

MOVIE FEATURE

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The plot for Ridley Scott’s action thriller Black Rain was originally written for Beverly Hills Cop II , a movie that was coincidentally directed by his brother,Tony Scott. Words Bob J

The sardonic and villainous character Sato was played by Yusaku Matsuda - actually an amazingly popular Japanese television comedian. Matsuda sadly died of bladder cancer just before the film was released, which prompted director Ridley Scott to dedicate the film to Matsuda’s memory.

Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia

him in the States and must extradite him back to Japan. A furious Nick and his partner Charlie are ordered to deliver Sato to the Japanese police in Osaka. The culture clash is evident as soon as they land in Japan, when they pass a smiling Sato over to men who identify themselves as police officers but are in fact Yakuza gangsters. Although in a foreign country, Sato technically is still Conklin and Vincent’s prisoner, so they are allowed

alone sung in a film. I remember after the karaoke sequence Ken said to me, ’Andy san, I have never done this before. Never sing, never smile”. Also threaded throughout the film are hints at the hostilities between America and Japan. Although many decades since (referenced in the film’s title) - the Japanese older generation had not forgotten. Numerous fans of the film were somewhat surprised that Black Rain was a Ridley Scott film that was quietly released without the usual Scott production fanfare. He often stated it was the first time he had made a film purely as a ”hired gun” director, later explaining on the film’s audio commentary, ”At this juncture I was mostly into developing my own material, but I was very attracted to the idea of working with Michael, and the idea of taking me to the Far East to Japan was attractive”. Nevertheless, he managed to deliver an excellent and memorable version of an ”Asian action film” that is teeming with corruption and mob violence, counterpointed by an archaic, quasi-feudal culture. the horrendous effects of the Hiroshima atomic bomb

DYK?

T he screenplay then spent two years in limbo until Michael Douglas and Paramount executive Sherry Lansing offered the film to Scott, after Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven turned down the director’s chair after long production delays to pursue Total Recall (1990).

to assist in Sato’s apprehension, but without carrying firearms. Their assigned

Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan was originally approached to play the role of the Yakuza Sato, but he turned it down as he felt audiences did not want to see him play such a villainous character.

escort Mashiro (an understated performance from Ken Takakura - who has been referred to as ”The Japanese Clint Eastwood” for his many roles in violent Yakuza movies) is to assist them in tracking down the killer. However, the different police procedures soon cause friction between the two American cops and the Japanese law officers. In the 1989 promotional video for the film, actor Andy Garcia recalls working alongside Takakura. ”He was an extraordinarily respected actor in Japan who had never even smiled in a movie, let

Michael Douglas with director Ridley Scott

Andy Garcia) they witness the assassination of two Japanese men who are lunching with known Italian gangsters. After a mad chase, they catch and arrest the black-clad Japanese assassin, who turns out to be a Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) gangster named Sato. Nick’s superior tells him that they cannot prosecute

Michael Douglas stars as macho New York homicide detective Nick Conklin - a profane, reckless cop who is hostile to his superiors and is being investigated by Internal Affairs over possible corruption. Grabbing lunch with his detective colleague Charlie Vincent (played with humour and charm by

60 SEPTEMBER 2024

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