Branded to Kill
By February 22, 1999
Flipping around the channels of late-night TV in my Tokyo apartment in 1984 I came across what seemed like a B movie from the ’60s. The studio: Nikkatsu. The star: Joe Shishido Read more »
- Japan
- 1967
- 98 minutes
- Black and White
- 2.35:1
- Japanese
SYNOPSIS: Branded to Kill, the wildly perverse story of the yakuza’s rice-sniffing “No. 3 Killer,” is Seijun Suzuki at his delirious best. From a cookie-cutter studio script, Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece—and was promptly fired. Criterion presents the DVD premiere of Branded to Kill in a pristine transfer from the original Nikkatsu-scope master.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Goro Hanada | Joe Shishido |
| Mami Hanada | Mariko Ogawa |
| Misako Nakajo | Annu Mari |
| Number One Killer | Koji Nanbara |
Credits
| Director | Seijun Suzuki |
| Producer | Kaneo Iwai |
| Cinematography | Kazue Nagatsuka |
| Screenplay | Hachiro Guryu |
| Music | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Production design | Sukezo Kawahara |
| Editing | Mutsuo Tanji |
| Assistant director | Masami Kuzuu |
Disc Features
- Exclusive interview with director Seijun Suzuki
- Vintage Japanese film ephemera from the collection of John Zorn
