The City That Never Sleeps: Shinjuku Shark

1993 1h 57m JA

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 1

ThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A lone-wolf detective known as "The Shark" must navigate hostile territory within both the criminal underworld and his own corrupt department to hunt down a ruthless serial cop-killer in the streets of Shinjuku. Adaptation of the Arimasa Ohsawa novel Shinjuku Shark.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada
Takashi Samejima
Minako Tanaka
Akira
Hideo Murota
Section Chief Momoi
Eiji Okuda
Kaname Kizu
Shigeru Yazaki
Bush
Masayuki Imai
Superintendent Koda
Yasuhiro Arai
Yoshikawa
Tadanobu Asano
Koichi Sunagami

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yojiro Takita
Writers: Haruhiko Arai
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 / 7

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yojiro Takita, shot by Takeshi Hamada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Hiroyuki Sanada and Minako Tanaka and Hideo Murota carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0256956 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yojiro Takita directs. Takeshi Hamada behind the camera. Shigeru Umebayashi scores. Isao Tomita cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Yojiro Takita, shot by Takeshi Hamada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Shigeru Umebayashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Isao Tomita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Hiroyuki Sanada and Minako Tanaka and Hideo Murota carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0256956 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.