Tokyo Drifter (Seijun Suzuki, Japan, 1966)

Tasked with making a vehicle for actor/singer Tetsuya Watari to croon the title song, Suzuki concocted this crazy yarn about a reformed yakuza on the run from his former comrades. The film is mainly an excuse to stage an escalating series of goofy musical numbers and over-the-top fight scenes. Popping with garish colors, self-parodic style, and avant-garde visual design, Tokyo Drifter embodies a late-1960s zeitgeist in which trash and art joyfully comingle. “The result is one of the most brilliant genre movies ever made” (Tony Rayns).

Part of The Films of Seijun Suzuki at BAMPFA.

Free gallery admission with same-day film ticket!