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Black Lizard

Original title: Kuro tokage
  • 1968
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
728
YOUR RATING
Yukio Mishima in Black Lizard (1968)
ComedyCrimeFantasyHorrorMysteryRomanceThriller

Japanese sixties comedy featuring a cunning female jewel thief named Black Lizard who tries to kidnap Sanaye, a wealthy jeweler's beautiful daughter as part of a plot to steal the jeweler's ... Read allJapanese sixties comedy featuring a cunning female jewel thief named Black Lizard who tries to kidnap Sanaye, a wealthy jeweler's beautiful daughter as part of a plot to steal the jeweler's expensive "Star of Egypt" diamond. To thwart the planned kidnapping, the jeweler hires Jap... Read allJapanese sixties comedy featuring a cunning female jewel thief named Black Lizard who tries to kidnap Sanaye, a wealthy jeweler's beautiful daughter as part of a plot to steal the jeweler's expensive "Star of Egypt" diamond. To thwart the planned kidnapping, the jeweler hires Japan's number one detective, the brilliant Akechi. This sets off a dual between Black Lizard... Read all

  • Director
    • Kinji Fukasaku
  • Writers
    • Rampo Edogawa
    • Yukio Mishima
    • Masashige Narusawa
  • Stars
    • Akihiro Miwa
    • Isao Kimura
    • Jun Usami
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    728
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kinji Fukasaku
    • Writers
      • Rampo Edogawa
      • Yukio Mishima
      • Masashige Narusawa
    • Stars
      • Akihiro Miwa
      • Isao Kimura
      • Jun Usami
    • 13User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos12

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    Top cast42

    Edit
    Akihiro Miwa
    • Black Lizard
    • (as Akihiro Maruyama)
    Isao Kimura
    • Kogoro Akechi
    Jun Usami
    Jun Usami
    • Shobei Iwase
    • (as Junya Usami)
    Toshiko Kobayashi
    • Hina
    Mitsuko Takara
    • Show Dancer
    Tetsuji Hattori
    • Toyama
    Kyôichi Satô
    • Ôkawa
    Ryuji Funakoshi
    • Kizu
    Sônosuke Oda
    • Harada
    Tadayuki Okamoto
    Isamu Shimizu
    Yoshio Naka
    Ryuta Shimizu
    Ryûsuke Kita
    Jun Kajima
    • Sakai
    Ryokutarô Hanai
    Noriyuki Watanabe
    Teruko Higa
    • Director
      • Kinji Fukasaku
    • Writers
      • Rampo Edogawa
      • Yukio Mishima
      • Masashige Narusawa
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews13

    6.9728
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    10

    Featured reviews

    10mrpentax

    So much, much more than a black snake with legs!!!

    The most purely entertaining and amusing film I have seen in a long time. The dialogue between the two antithetically engaged principal characters reflects their exactly opposite ethics, and at the same time, their clearest view of each others thinking. Their well matched genius creates plot, foil, and counter-foil, throughout the film. I almost never watch a film twice. This one, I can't wait to see again.
    10MiloMindbender

    A Lost Gem

    This movie from the king of yakuza (gang) films is a big departure from his other films. This movie is the penultimate camp/action film. Anyone who has been taken in with the martial arts films (esp. from Hong Kong) of late, should check this out. It's less focused on the action sequences than it is in developing a verbal tit-for-tat sparring between the villain & the policeman who is pursuing her (w/ whom she is also secretly in love). Having a villain who is a lovelorn but vengeful drama queen is a refreshing break from the usual Asian action fare (1970's - present) & demonstrates that despite better technical skill & more special effects, the art of cinema hasn't necessarily improved because of mastering new technology. I can't remember the last time I've laughed so hard in a movie. Seek this one out.
    10nowshowingtv

    Black Lizard rocks!

    I was fortunate enough to see "Black Lizard" at our local art cinema upon its very special U.S. release way back when and have searched high and low for the film on VHS, laserdisc and DVD ever since. The film is amazing, and I'm surprised it hasn't received that much attention amongst film buffs. Those of us who have seen it know what a wonderful film this is and I suggest that anyone who wants to see it again, at least on home video, should go to the logical source for a film like this - The Criterion Collection. Send them messages through their site telling them how special and important this film is and maybe, just maybe, they'll do something about it! I've already sent my request, so give it a shot. The more people request it, the better chance we have of seeing it get a DVD release! Long live "Black Lizard"!
    10manpower57

    Surreal, Sophisticated, Savvy and Slick! This is NOT Godzilla!

    Kenji Fukasaku's BLACK LIZARD (1958) was released in the US by CINEVISTA in the early 90's. The movie received a focused and limited release in the US, but its existence in video has developed a cult following that has gained momentum as the years has passed. With the totally bizarre appearances of then-Japan's most famous Kabuki theater transvestite Akihiro Murayama as the title role Black Lizard, Yukio Mishima's cameo as a "statue" or maybe even as an eerie stuffed human figure; a screen play by Mishima based on a story of one of Japan's most famous horror writers, Rampo Edogawa, and even music by electronic "planet music" guru Isao Tomita, this movie reads as a who's who in the arts and literature in Japan in the 60's. But many movies in the past created by geniuses have failed in delivering an intellectual as well as a cinematic punch. This is NOT the case with "Black Lizard". From the psychedelic settings, the poetic dialogue and tragicomic developments, the movie succeeds both as high-art "manga" as well as a well-thought piece of "agit-prop". Few movies deliver so much substance hidden under so much flash; it is one experience that has to be felt viscerally as well as intellectually. Unfortunately, the VHS version is out of print, and I do not know of any plans for a DVD release as of this writing. We wait anxiously until someone revives this totally bizarre and wonderful piece of art and it is released in DVD format for a new generation of anime-educated viewers.
    6Leofwine_draca

    Lively detective adaptation

    I hadn't seen any of Kinji Fukasaku's work from the 1960s so I thought BLACK LIZARD would be a good place to check it out. It's a lively adaptation of an old detective novel by Edogawa Rampa, although being made in the late '60s it has more than a touch of Bond to it with a super villain, an island lair, and some hotel hijinks. The detective doesn't feature too much here, the brunt of the narrative being given over to the Black Lizard character, a female nightclub owner played by a guy in drag. It's a highly stylised and frankly bizarre little film that labours some of the plotting, but it has some interesting surrealist touches to make it worth a look.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Manga comic writer Masako Watanabe served as costume designer on the film.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Black Rose (1969)
    • Soundtracks
      Two-part Invention No.4 in D Minor BWV.775
      Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 1969 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • El lagarto negro
    • Production company
      • Shochiku
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 26m(86 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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