Black Line
6.8
Freelance reporter “Scoop” Machida is hot on the trail of a prostitution ring called the Black Line, when he is framed for the murder of a young woman. Forced to clear his own name, the handsome journalist sinks deeper into the Black Line’s rotten swamp of drugs, prostitution, and murder and finds unexpected help in Maya, a steamy female gambler familiar with the neon-lit streets, shadowy alleyways, and seedy nightclubs he must navigate. The closest film in the Line series to classic American film noir, Ishii’s Black Line is a pulpy assortment of crime film conventions including the starkly expressionistic black and white cinematography by Jûgyô Yoshida, a jazzy music score by Michiaki Watanabe, and a sleazy screenplay by Ishii and Ichirô Miyagawa.
Where to watch
Not streaming anywhere
Not on any streaming service in United States, and not available to rent.
Your rating
Your review
Part of Chitai collection
5 films
Cast
49 people
Shigeru Amachi
Koji Machida
Known for
Jigoku
Ghost Story of Yotsuya
Utako Mitsuya
Misako
Known for
Jigoku
Teruo Ishii
Michiaki Watanabe
Akira Sagawa
Also in
Mr. Shosuke Ohara
Golden Beast
Yōko Mihara
Maya
Known for
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion
Three Outlaw Samurai
Ichiro Miyagawa
Mitsugi Okura
Jugyo Yoshida
Toshio Hosokawa
Goro Torii
Also in
Black Cat Mansion
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Kichitarô Shibata
Reiko Seto
Reiko Onuma
Also in
Women of Whirlpool Island
Evil Brain from Outer Space
Teruo Ishii Director · Ichirō Miyagawa Screenplay Chumei Watanabe Composer
First release January 13, 1960 · Produced in Japan · Production Shintoho Film Distribution Committee
Production
Shintoho Company
Production
Shintoho Film Distribution Committee
Production · Distribution
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
黒線地帯
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · January 13, 1960
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Italy
April 29, 2010 · Udine Far East Film Festival
More from Teruo Ishii
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Black Line
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.