After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Direction
Suzuki turns a B-movie assignment into pure visual anarchy.
Production
That white nightclub set — a single room in screaming monochrome.
Score
The title song will live in your brain rent-free.
Director
Seijun Suzuki
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Studio Nikkatsu fired Suzuki after this for making 'incomprehensible' films; he was blacklisted for a decade.
The film's hyper-stylized violence directly influenced John Woo, Tarantino, and basically every cool gunfight you've ever loved.
JP
