Criterion Collection Year 1966 Video Release 2011-12-06 Studio RLJ Entertainment Genre Action MPAA Rating Not Rated Color Color Runtime 82 Animated Live-Action Full Synopsis In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki Branded to Kill in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. TOKYO DRIFTER is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. Director Seijun Suzuki Cast Seijun Suzuki; Tetsuya Watari; Chieko Matsubara; Hideaki Nitani; Ryuji Kita; Tsuyoshi Yoshida; Eimei Esumi; Tamio Kawaji; Eiji Go; Tochiko Hamakawa; Isao Tamagawa