The best Ken Takakura’s crime movies

Ken Takakura

Ken Takakura

16/02/1931- 10/11/2014
We present our ranking of the best Ken Takakura’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Ken Takakura.
Year:

Black Rain

Black Rain
6.6/10
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

The Yakuza

The Yakuza
7.2/10
Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter - and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia...

The Bullet Train

The Bullet Train
6.8/10
One of the Japanese Shinkansen “Bullet Trains” is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers and to learn how to defuse the bomb.

Manhunt

Manhunt
6.8/10
A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.

Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2

Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2
6.2/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 10/07/1965
  • Character: Shinichi Tachibana
Two convicts just released from prison find a green bauble filled with diamonds — and try to prove they didn't steal it.

Life of Hishakaku

Life of Hishakaku
7.6/10
After eloping with a prostitute named Otoyo, Hishakaku takes refuge in the Kogane family’s turf. Indebted to Boss Kogane for his kindness, Hishakaku swears to dedicate himself to protect the Koganes in time of crisis. Hishakaku’s humble life comes to a sudden halt when the Kogane family becomes involved in a fatal feud with their rival, and Hishakaku’s services are called upon.

A Fugitive from the Past

A Fugitive from the Past
7.9/10
Three robbers escape with loot from a heist before one of them shoots the others. Their corpses wash up near the aftermath of a maritime calamity, provoking a policeman's interest.

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
6.6/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 04/03/1972
  • Character: Kuramoto
The Ni Family is the most well know and respected group of firefighters in the Kanto region. When their leader dies and the successor disappears, Tsuruji, a beautiful yet tough geisha, becomes the boss. But will she be able to confront a yakuza gang trying to take over the area?

Prison Boss

Prison Boss
6.6/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 18/04/1968
Rival gangs fight over ownership of bicycle race track.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 30/12/1970

House of Gamblers

House of Gamblers
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 01/01/1970
Ken Takakura stars as Ryoji one of the Aramasa family's loyal lieutenants whao takes the burden of his family being insulted by the Tanuma's family goons, by retaliating on his own. After injuring the head of Tanuma's family, and slaying others along the way, he then surrenders to the law and serves time. Before his last year to serve, the head of the Aramasa family falls ill and decides to retire, Ryoji miss chance to be successor, his old friend is reluctant but accepts. Now this gives the Tanuma family a chance for revenge! But with Tomisaburo Wakayama (Sekine) always having your back, how can you go wrong?

The Bullet and the Horse

The Bullet and the Horse
6.8/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 23/04/1966
A number of recently released prisoners become involved in a racket with a rancher who is a rival to a neighboring landowner and wants to use the convicts to seize his ranch. The rancher does not know, however, that he had years before killed the parents of one of their number.

The Domain

The Domain
6.7/10
The feud between two rival delivery companies, Kibamasa and Okiyama, heats up as the head of Kibamasa falls ill.

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza
7.3/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 12/07/1968
With his penultimate film, Uchida revisited one of his popular prewar titles, 1936’s Theatre of Life, an adaptation of Shiro Ozaki’s eponymous novel. Three-time Seijun Suzuki collaborator Goro Tanada wrote a gangsterized adaptation of Ozaki’s story for Uchida at a time when the yakuza had eclipsed the samurai genre as Toei's main cash crop. Protagonist Hishakaku murders a man in a quarrel over a barmaid and goes to jail. In his temporary absence, his girlfriend Otoyo, a former geisha, falls for Hishakaku’s brother, inciting a dangerous love triangle that, in typical yakuza fashion, ends tragically.

The Biggest Gamble

The Biggest Gamble
6.1/10
When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.

Eleven Gangsters

Eleven Gangsters
6.5/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 15/01/1963
  • Character: Sawagami
No overview available.

Golgo 13

Golgo 13
6.1/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 29/12/1973
  • Character: Duke Togo / Golgo 13
Live-action adaptation of the hit manga. Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional assassin. His age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle. Golgo 13 is contracted to kill Boss Goa, the head of a worldwide crime syndicate responsible for drugs, weapons, and human trafficking.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2

New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2
6.2/10
Suehiro Katsuji, a prisoner of Abashiri, is sent to Shikoku to work at a dock where a fierce turf battle takes place between a local gang and the dock operator.

Samurai Geisha

Samurai Geisha
7.3/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 31/07/1969
  • Character: Shimada
Popular geisha Shinji (Fuji Junko) must defy a gang who plot to steal a lucrative coal business from struggling miners during the turbulent Meiji Era. With a stellar all-star cast, thrilling story and Takakura Ken's violent swordplay, makes this into a classic Yakuza movie!

Winter's Flower

Winter's Flower
6.7/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 17/06/1978
  • Character: Hidetsugu Kano
Kanno (Ken Takakura) is a Yakuza. He had to kill Matsuoka who betrayed their boss. Kanno knew Matsuoka had a 3-year-old daughter named Youko. Before he gave himself to the police, he asked his trusted man to take care of her. While in prison, Kanno kept sending letters to Youko, disguising as an uncle in Brazil. 15 years later, Kanno is released. He is determined to live legitimately, however... the Yakuza has not forgotten his wicked deed!

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