Tokyo Drifter

Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者 Tōkyō nagaremono) is a 1966 yakuza film directed by Seijun Suzuki. The story follows Tetsuya Watari as the reformed yakuza hitman "Phoenix" Tetsu who is forced to roam Japan avoiding execution by rival gangs.

The majority of the film takes place in Tokyo, but portrays the city in a highly stylized manner. The opening sequence consists of a mash of images from metropolitan Tokyo, meant to condense the feeling of the city into one sequence. The film opens in stylized black and white, which becomes vibrant color in all subsequent scenes which served to represent Tokyo after the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Plot
An old Yakuza boss named Kurata decides to retire from his criminal activities and disbands his gang, his fiercely loyal enforcer Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo finds himself unable to enjoy a life outside of organized crime due to being hounded by a rival gang after turning a recruitment offer by its boss Otsuka. Otsuka seeks Kurata's retirement as an opportunity to seize his territory via a real estate scam, seeing Tetsu as a threat to his plans. It eventually forces Kurata to convince Tetsu to become a drifter.

Otsuka sends his hitman "Viper" Tatsuzo to kill Tetsu, who evades him and Otsuka's hit squad a number of times with help from a former Otsuka gang member named Kenji. Tetsu later reaches the establishment of Kurata's ally Umetani, who later reveals that Kurata joined forces with Otsuka and placed a bounty on Tetsu's head. A betrayed Tetsu returns to Tokyo for a final confrontation with Otsuka, killing everyone but his former girlfriend Chiharu and Kurata who took his own life to redeem himself. Tetsu rejects Chiharu's plea for her to accompany him on his travels, explaining that he has dedicated himself to the wanderer lifestyle and could not abandon it for another's company.

Cast

 * Tetsuya Watari as Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo
 * Chieko Matsubara as Chiharu
 * Hideaki Nitani as Kenji Aizawa
 * Tamio Kawaji as Tatsuzo The Viper
 * Tsuyoshi Yoshida as Keiichi
 * Ryūji Kita as Kurata
 * Hideaki Esumi as Otsuka
 * Eiji Go as Tanaka