| The Threat | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Japanese | 脅迫 おどし |
| Directed by | Kinji Fukasaku |
| Screenplay by | Kinji Fukasaku Ichirō Miyagawa |
| Produced by | Tōru Akita |
| Starring | Rentarō Mikuni Kō Nishimura Hideo Murota Masumi Harukawa |
| Cinematography | Yoshikazu Yamazawa |
| Music by | Isao Tomita |
| Production company | Toei Tokyo |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Threat (Japanese: 脅迫, Hepburn: Odoshi) is a 1966 Japanese black-and-white crime thriller film directed by Kinji Fukasaku.
Plot
Death row convicts Kawanishi and Sabu escape from prison and kidnap the grandson of cancer authority Dr. Sakata. They break into the house of Mr. Misawa and take his family hostage, forcing him to be their go-between to collect the ransom.
Cast
- Rentarō Mikuni as Misawa
- Kō Nishimura as Kawanishi
- Masumi Harukawa as Hiroko
- Hideo Murota as Sabu
- Sanae Nakahara as Mother of the baby
- Ken Mitsuda as Sakata
- Ryōhei Uchida as Man in a Raincoat
- Pepe Hozumi as Masao
- Shōichi Ozawa as a Police officer
- Kunie Tanaka as a Police officer
Production and release
The Threat was shot in black and white with mono sound. It was produced by Toei Tokyo and distributed by Toei Company. It was released in Japan on February 17, 1966.
The film was released on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom and United States by Arrow Video on September 24, 2024.
Reception
Sarah Morgan of On: Yorkshire Magazine called The Threat a gripping crime thriller "that immediately grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the closing credits have rolled" and gave it a 7.8 out of 10 rating. Despite writing that the plot develops as one would expect, she found the film to have plenty of unforeseen twists and turns and said Fukasaku directs with such skill that viewers will be on the edge of their seats throughout. Morgan also had strong praise for Yoshikazu Yamazawa's cinematography. In a four out of five star review for Slant Magazine, Derek Smith wrote that Fukasaku's The Threat provides "an essential glimpse into the early work of a genre master already fully in control of his craft."
References
- ^ "脅迫 おどし". eiga.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- "脅迫 おどし - 作品情報・映画レビュー -Kinenote（キネノート）".
- ^ "Review: Fukasaku Kinji's Crime Thriller 'The Threat' on Arrow Video Blu-ray". Slant Magazine. September 19, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- "The Threat (1966) – Film Review". On: Yorkshire Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
External links
- The Threat at IMDb
- 1966 films
- 1966 crime films
- 1960s crime thriller films
- 1960s Japanese-language films
- Films about child abduction
- Films about prison escapes
- Films about surgeons
- Films about veterans
- Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku
- Films set in Tokyo
- Films about home invasion
- Japanese black-and-white films
- Japanese crime thriller films
- Toei Company films