Black Rain (1989)

Starring Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, and Kate Capshaw.  Cinematography by Jan De Bont.  Editing by Tom Rolf.  Produced by Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing.  Written by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis.  Directed by Ridley Scott.

Nick Conklin (played by Michael Douglas) is crooked New York City cop who is under investigation by Internal Affairs for taking bribes.  His wife has just recently left him and to make matters worse he now found himself in the middle of a violent gang war. A Japanese gangster named Sato (played by Yusaku Matsuda) is captured after the battle and charged with a double murder.

Nick is assigned to escort Sato back to Japan where he will be handed over to the authorities. Nick lands in Japan and gives up possession of Sato, only to discover that he has been tricked. Sato is now on the loose and Conklin and his partner, Charlie Vincent (played by Andy Garcia), take is upon themselves to hunt down the criminal on his own turf.

After a string of box office failures, Ridley Scott decided that for his next feature he would forgo the developmental process and just take the role of “director for hire”. The project he would choose to be his next picture would be Black Rain.  The job was offered to him by executives at Paramount Pictures after their first choice, director Paul Verhoeven, declined. 

Scott accepted and was soon off to Japan to start shooting.  But filming was cut short when a culture clash (ironically a major theme of the film) between Scott’s small handpicked team and the rest of the Japanese crew threatened to cease production. So after only six weeks Black Rain was moved back to the United States where studios and locations in New York and California were used to recreate the seedy underbelly of Osaka.

Black Rain has its highs and lows. In one hand you have action that is beautifully filmed.  The numerous fighting sequences are intense and the two motorcycle chase scenes are highly energized. All of the footage was then accented by the incredible editing work done by Tom Rolf.

On the other hand is a story that is a bit contrived and shallow.  And its characters aren’t tremendously interesting or worth any real emotional investment.  Will Nick be able to redeem himself from the compromised ethics he has been practicing? Who really cares… just get to the next ass kicking. 

Ultimately, while Black Rain isn’t that bad of a picture, it doesn’t necessarily wreak of Ridley Scott.  Realistically, any working director probably could have shot this picture and it would have likely done just as well.  But fortunately the film was a box office success, which is something that Scott desperately needed.  After what was looking like a long stretch of losses, things were starting to look up in Scott’s feature filmmaking career.

Budget: $14,000,000

Total US Gross: $45,892,212

Genre: Crime

Runtime: 125 Minutes

US Release Date: 9/22/89

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards:

Academy Awards: 
Nominated for best sound and best sound effects.

Tagline: An American Cop In Japan.  Their Country.  Their Laws. Their Game.  His Rules.

Quote: “Just hope they got a nip in this building who speaks fucking English.”