The Threat (1966) – Film Review

Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Rentarô Mikuni, Kô Nishimura, Masumi Harukawa
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

One of the great joys of film reviewing is that it forces you out of your comfort zone to watch something you may otherwise have ignored.

As a result, you broaden your horizons while uncovering some gems. That was certainly the case for me with The Threat.

Directed and co-written by Kinji Fukasaku, who is perhaps best known in the West for the 2000 cult movie Battle Royale, it’s a gripping crime thriller originally released in 1966 that immediately grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the closing credits have rolled.

“Tension”

Prisoners Kawanishi and Sabu escape Death Row and kidnap the grandson of Dr Sakata, a leading cancer expert. They then break into the home of affluent advertising executive Misawa, take his family hostage and force him to act as the go-between in their efforts to extract ransom money from Sakata.

The tension builds among the protagonists, and it soon becomes clear that to save everything he holds dear, Misawa is going to have to make a move of his own…

Anyone who has ever seen a hostage situation played out on screen will have a fair idea of where the story is heading, but Fukasaku directs with such skill that viewers are on the edge of their seats throughout; it should come as no surprise to find that his approach has influenced other such esteemed film-makers as Quentin Tarantino, John Woo and William Friedkin.

And although the way in which the plot develops holds few shocks, there are plenty of unforeseen twists and turns along the way; the fact that the cast is probably unrecognisable to most Western viewers means it’s difficult to guess who will live and who may die – a star’s presence usually telegraphs such things.

“Plenty to admire”

Full marks go to Yoshikazu Yamazawa for their crisp, moody black-and-white cinematography, which no doubt benefits from being seen via a brand new Blu-ray transfer.

I can’t recommend it highly enough; if you’re a fan of 1960s Hollywood thrillers such as Point Blank, you’ll find plenty to admire here, especially in the taut final 15 minutes.

I also found several of the special features, including Japanese film expert Tom Mes’s audio commentary and critic Mark Schilling’s 20-minute appreciation of the movie, invaluable to my understanding of the production and its place within Japanese film history.