1979
Not Rated
Shochiku Films of America
2 h 20 m

1979
Not Rated
Shochiku Films of America
2 h 20 m

Summary A thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) is on the run from the police. Director Shohei Imamura turns this fact-based story—about the seventy-eight-day killing spree of a remorseless man from a devoutly Catholic family—into a cold, perverse, and at times diabolically funny examination of the primitive coe...

Directed By: Shôhei Imamura

Written By: Masaru Baba, Ryûzô Saki, Shunsaku Ikehata

1979
Not Rated
Shochiku Films of America
2 h 20 m

1979
Not Rated
Shochiku Films of America
2 h 20 m

Vengeance Is Mine

Name: Vengeance Is Mine
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 1979-10-17
Duration: 2 min 20 s
Rating: 85
Cast: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô, Mayumi Ogawa

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews

User Score Available after 4 ratings

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Where to Watch

Directed By: Shôhei Imamura

Written By: Masaru Baba, Ryûzô Saki, Shunsaku Ikehata

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Universal Acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews

100% Positive
13 Reviews

0% Mixed
0 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Universal Acclaim Based on 13 Critic Reviews

100% Positive
13 Reviews

0% Mixed
0 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

100

Chicago Sun-Times

The film gathers fearful force.

By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW

Time Out

At once darkly comic and quasi-tragic, Imamura’s often brilliant tale of Eros and Thanatos is perverse, powerful and subversive.

FULL REVIEW

Slant Magazine

Only Imamura could irreverently intertwine Catholicism, brutal murders, and pachinko to produce such devastating ends.

By Clayton Dillard FULL REVIEW

The Guardian

Mysterious, complex and brilliant: the disquieting portrait of a serial killer, seducer and con-man in Japan whose motivation remains an enigma. [9 Sept 2005, p.13]

FULL REVIEW

Chicago Reader

Imamura’s detached, almost scientific style forestalls any pat sympathy for the central character—he is not a sentimental “victim of society,” but the embodiment of its darkest Darwinian forces.

By Dave Kehr FULL REVIEW

BBC

Made in 1979, the film has aged superbly, the shock of its violence and acuity of its insights still retaining their punch. True, its lengthy running time is demanding and the momentum does dip in the second half, but it's held together by cool-headed technique and Ken Ogata's imposing lead performance.

FULL REVIEW

Empire

Ogata's performance is the obvious highlight, and Imamura constructs an utterly plausible scenario, but at times overreaches, and loses focus. If you can tolerate a few extraneous scenes, though, this is a dark treat.

By William Thomas FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Imamura Productions, Shochiku

Release Date Oct 17, 1979

Duration 2 h 20 m

Rating Not Rated

Genres

Website http://shochikuonline.jp/cinfo/s/000000133a/c/00085/

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Awards

Awards of the Japanese Academy

• 6 Wins & 12 Nominations

Kinema Junpo Awards

• 5 Wins & 5 Nominations

Blue Ribbon Awards

• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations

Vengeance Is Mine

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Ken Ogata

Iwao Enokizu

Rentarô Mikuni

Shizuo Enokizu

Chôchô Miyako

Kayo Enokizu

Mitsuko Baishô

Kazuko Enokizu

Mayumi Ogawa

Haru Asano

Nijiko Kiyokawa

Hisano Asano

Taiji Tonoyama

Tanejirô Shibata

Gorô Tarumi

Daihachi Baba

Moeko Ezawa

Chiyoko Hata

Kazuko Shirakawa

Sachiko Yoshizato

Furankî Sakai

Inspector Kawai

Torahiko Hamada

Agent Yoshino

Yasuhisa Sonoda

Inspector assistant Kuwata

Akira Hamada

Detective Ichikawa

Kazunaga Tsuji

Detective Kuchiishi

Kazuo Kitamura

Haru's master

Shôhei Hino

Haru's mahjong friend

Toshie Negishi

Keiko Oka

Ryûzô Saki

Asano no Kyaku

Chôichirô Kawarasaki

Pawnshop owner

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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