1976’s Boso Panic: The Big Crash was your typical action movie from the era. All the gritty ingredients were there: bank robber anti-heroes, a femme fatale, gunfights, and loads upon loads of car chases. What sets it apart is the fact that it was filmed in Japan, and thus the car-nage consisted of the exact cars JNCers know and love today.
200 cars were used in the filming. Of those, 20 were incinerated and an additional 30 were crashed. Likely filmed with sponsorship from Toyota (many Japanese films of the period got cooperation from a major automaker if cars were involved in any way), meaning the rides that met their bitter ends included a Hilux, Stout, a parade of S40 Crown police cruisers, and the hero car, a gold MS51 Crown Hardtop.
The story follows of a pair of bank robbers who plan to pull off one last job before fleeing the country for Brazil. Unfortunately that job gets one of the partners killed and soon the protagonist, played by Tsunehiko Watase, is fending for himself against the cops, other baddies and a too-clingy girl. The film culminates with a huge and at times comical car chase, in which Watase is said to have done all his own stunt driving. It’s not really worth watching the whole movie for, and the movie isn’t one of director Kinji Fukasaku‘s stronger crime films, but the background vehicles are a great snapshot of mid-1970s Japan. See for yourself in the trailer below, which highlights the major chases.
Awesome.
that guy is as cool as Steve McQueen
Supposedly he did all his own stunt driving. I updated that little tidbit into the article.
Ok, that’s a bit of a stretch…. (actually, more than a “bit”) He probably thinks he is though! 🙂
Cool that he does his own stunt driving, I have to say!
1:08, im just sayin though.
According to imdb, Miki became a nursery school teacher.
Gotta love the role she played when she was 19… Y’all can look the role up for yourslves… I can’t type it with a straight face.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325140/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
So there IS useful stuff on the web…
510 burubado @ 2:59
Is there an English dub of this movie? Looks like a great movie?
No detective Daimon in this one.
(But the same number of fiery explosions it seems).
Same initials as the guy that played Daimon (Tetsuya Watari).
Looks like a little bit of French Connection, and a decent way to burn a couple of hours.
Not a clue as to what he says at 1:51, but I like his attitude.
Assuming Tokyo… Looks like Brooklyn/Bronx/parts of Chicago.
I was thinking French Connection too. I love how any Japanese spoken in a flat monotone sounds gangster.
You had me at the cover.
Bewbs.
Ha!
How come there’s only 1 cop car doing the chase?
Haha! Is it me, or does this really remind me of GTA 5?