Tokyo Drifter
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
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Part of Tokyo Drifter Collection
2 films
Cast
31 people
Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo
Known for
Graveyard of Honor
Brother
Chieko Matsubara
Chiharu
Known for
Dolls
Hideaki Nitani
Kenji Aizawa
Also in
The Man with a Shotgun
Mighty Jack
Tamio Kawachi
Tatsuzo the Viper
Known for
Gappa, the Triphibian Monster
Youth of the Beast
Eiji Gō
Tanaka
Known for
Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs
The Bullet Train
Tomoko Hamakawa
Mutsuko
Also in
Lost Virgin
Black Tight Killers
Takeshi Yoshida
Keiichi
Known for
A Colt is My Passport
Isao Tamagawa
Umetani
Known for
Branded to Kill
Gate of Flesh
Eimei Esumi
Otsuka
Known for
Kuroneko
Youth of the Beast
Ryuji Kita
Kurata
Known for
An Autumn Afternoon
King Kong Escapes
Yuzo Kiura
Fujimura
Known for
Youth of the Beast
Hiroshi Chō
Kumamoto
Known for
Branded to Kill
Gate of Flesh
Seijun Suzuki Director · Kōhan Kawauchi Screenplay Hajime Kaburagi Composer
Budget $20M · First release April 10, 1966 · Produced in Japan
Box office
Budget
$20,000,000
Production
Nikkatsu Corporation
Production · Studio
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
東京流れ者
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
English · Japanese
Release dates
Japan · April 10, 1966
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
France
March 25, 2026 · Theatrical · Retrospective of Seijun Suzuki
September 17, 2026 · TV · Ciné+ Classic
Germany
October 11, 1990 · Theatrical · Japanese · Kinowelt
October 7, 1995 · TV · German · ZDF
January 28, 2006 · Limited theatrical · Japanese · Rapid Eye Movies (32. Internationales Filmwochenende Würzburg)
April 21, 2006 · Physical · German · DVD (Rapid Eye Movies)
September 26, 2024 · Theatrical · Re-release
Russia
May 23, 2010 · Theatrical · Мини-ретроспектива Сэйдзюна Судзуки
Taiwan
January 17, 2026 · Premiere · TFAI - Love, Death & Rebels: The Japanese New Wave
More from Seijun Suzuki
Other films they directed, best known first.
Some details come from TheTVDB.