Minbo, or The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion

"The gangster comedy that shook up the Japanese mob."

1992 2h 4m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 27🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes★7.4IMDB · 1,178

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An upscale Japanese hotel hires Mahiru Inoue, a lawyer adept at dealing with the Yakuza, to help them rid their hotel of the local gangsters so they can get a contract for a meeting of important foreign officials.

“The gangster comedy that shook up the Japanese mob.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Nobuko Miyamoto
Mahiru Inoue
Yasuo Daichi
Suzuki
Akira Takarada
Kobayashi
Takehiro Murata
Taro Wakasugi
Yuji Miyake
Hotel Man
Shirō Itō
Iriejima
Akira Nakao
Ibaki
Hōsei Komatsu
Hanaoka

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jūzō Itami
Writers: Jūzō Itami
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jūzō Itami, shot by Yonezō Maeda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Toshiyuki Honda. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akira Suzuki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nobuko Miyamoto and Yasuo Daichi and Akira Takarada carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The gangster comedy that shook up the Japanese mob.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0104874 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 27 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jūzō Itami directs. Yonezō Maeda behind the camera. Toshiyuki Honda scores. Akira Suzuki cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

134 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Jūzō Itami, shot by Yonezō Maeda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Toshiyuki Honda. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Akira Suzuki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Nobuko Miyamoto and Yasuo Daichi and Akira Takarada carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The gangster comedy that shook up the Japanese mob.".
7IMDB entry: tt0104874 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 27 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.