Black Rain

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Critics broadly admired the film's striking Ridley Scott visual style, Osaka atmosphere, and action craft while finding its conventional, implausible story and cultural stereotypes limiting.

• Ridley Scott, Jan de Bont, and Norris Spencer create a highly stylized Osaka of neon, rain, industrial spaces, and dense urban spectacle while critics repeatedly described the film as driven more by atmosphere than story.
• New York cop Nick Conklin must pursue Sato in Osaka while adapting to Japanese police procedures, yakuza hierarchies, and Masahiro's contrasting methods.
• Nick Conklin is presented as a bent and morally compromised police officer whose personal stakes and methods blur the boundary between justice and criminal behavior.
• Nick Conklin and Charlie Vincent are assigned together to escort Sato and later pursue him through Osaka's organized-crime scene.

• To Live and Die in L.A.stylish neo-noir crime thriller with morally compromised law enforcement and a visually heightened urban underworld
• Lethal Weapon 2cross-cultural buddy-cop action, organized crime, and culture clash shaped by muscular 1980s genre conventions
• The French Connectionhardboiled police procedural driven by gang conflict, atmospheric city filmmaking, and escalating action
• Year of the Dragonstylized crime drama centered on an outsider navigating an unfamiliar criminal culture and codes of loyalty

Director

Ridley Scott

Release Date

1989-09-22

Runtime

125 min

Rating

6.6 / 10 (1325)

What is Black Rain about?

Two New York detectives enter Osaka's yakuza underworld and must abandon familiar rules to bring an escaped killer to justice.

What is Black Rain like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Black Rain as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Black Rain violent?

Yes. Ember rates the violence in Black Rain as brutal.

What did critics think of Black Rain?

Critics broadly admired the film's striking Ridley Scott visual style, Osaka atmosphere, and action craft while finding its conventional, implausible story and cultural stereotypes limiting.

Which films are like Black Rain?

Films with a similar feel include To Live and Die in L.A., Lethal Weapon 2, The French Connection, and Year of the Dragon.

How long is Black Rain?

Black Rain runs 125 minutes.

Where can I watch Black Rain?

In United States, Black Rain streams on fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus.