Thugs of Shinjuku

1970 1h 27m JA

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 1

Crime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Fresh out of jail, a smart-mouth wise guy Goro takes the name “Big Brother Katsumata.” Not fitting in well with established gangs, he forms a rag-tag gang called “the Shinjuku Brothers.” The members of their gang are thugs who only wish they were traditional yakuza. When they turn up at the funeral for a gangster, they are not welcomed, but a senior boss intervenes to keep things calm. The boss of bosses invites them to join a respected local council of warlords. Katsumata is suspicious of why such powerful men would extend an invitation to lowlife like himself.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Bunta Sugawara
Makoto Satō
Shingo Yamashiro
Ryōji Hayama
Fumio Watanabe
Nobuo Kaneko
Rookie Shin-ichi
Masao Komatsu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shin Takakuwa
Writers: Akira Murao
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

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Shin Takakuwa, shot by Ichirō Hoshijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bunta Sugawara and Makoto Satō and Shingo Yamashiro carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0225842 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shin Takakuwa directs. Ichirō Hoshijima behind the camera. Toshiaki Tsushima scores. Fumio Soda cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
256 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Shin Takakuwa, shot by Ichirō Hoshijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Toshiaki Tsushima. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Fumio Soda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Bunta Sugawara and Makoto Satō and Shingo Yamashiro carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0225842 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.