Hello! I’m Oliver from Asian Film Fans.
In “Forgotten Gems” series, we discuss underrated Asian movies that obviously deserve more love nowadays.
In this video, I’m going to discuss Junya Sato’s movie from 1975 “The Bullet Train.”
Disaster films are a wonderful genre.
You get “race against time” plotline, one dimensional heroes,
damsels (and children!) in distress,
a pretentious and a bit too loud music score,
but also massive destruction of biblical proportions,
providing that the budget was sufficient.
Needless to say, “The Bullet Train” delivers all of these things and yet manages to surprise.
It is just another day on the grand Tokyo Railway Station.
Passengers take their seats and Shinkansen Express Hikari 109
to Hakata begins its swift and comfortable journey.
However, shortly after the train’s departure, the security office receives a phone call.
A mysterious caller tells them that a bomb has been planted on board of Hikari 109
and it will go off as soon as the train slows down to 80 km/h.
In consequence, Shinkansen is riding through Japan without the ability to stop,
whereas the authorities rush to catch the bomber.
Believe it or not, but “The Bullet Train” served as an inspiration
for the famous “Speed” with Keanu Reeves.
In addition, I can bet that it also triggered off the production of
“The Cassandra Crossing” and “The Burning Train.”
Nevertheless, the Japanese original surpasses all of its foreign imitators.
The story is happening on two layers.
The first takes places on board of Hikari 109, with its drivers, frightened passengers,
and engineers from Shinkansen HQ who are desperately trying to
ensure a safe passage of the train and locate the bomb.
The second story, much greatly elaborated, is about the bombers.
Three ordinary men who became victims of the economic changes in Japan of the 1970s
decided to carry out the perfect crime and blackmail the National Railway.
The two storylines intertwine with each other,
making the motion picture a highly exciting experience.
Contrary to other disaster movies, the conspirators are not downright evil.
They are anti-heroes who are forced to commit a misdeed,
but they do not want to hurt anyone.
In fact, due to flashbacks depicting their relationship, the viewers pity them;
especially the leader Tetsuo Okita, played by the unforgettable Ken Takakura.
At some point, even I caught myself cheering for him
and the successful accomplishment of the mission.
However, the real wrongdoers in the movie seem to be the authorities.
The deal with the bombers is simple.
Pay up the money and, in exchange, they will tell the authorities where the bomb is located
and how to disarm it,
but the police officers are too short-sighted to understand this.
They screw up the first handover of cash because they are too busy
trying to hunt down and arrest the culprits.
Meanwhile, Hikari 109 is rushing at a wild pace to Hakata where the tracks end!
However, the situation on the train is being worked out by two infallible heroes.
Commander Kuramochi played by Ken Utsui
and a train driver Aoki portrayed by epic Sonny Chiba.
Whereas Okita is the emotional driver of the film,
Kuramochi and Aoki deliver action as Hikari 109 rides through Japan.
The real stuff occurs at Shinkansen HQ and the train's cockpit,
with occasional cuts to the passengers who lose their grip.
To sum up, there is a lot of stuff going on,
but everything ties in neatly together and is presented in a coherent manner.
In addition, the music score sounds quite experimental and very 70-ish,
but it perfectly fits the tone of the picture.
Also, the movie serves as the proof that in order to have action,
you do not need destruction,
because there only two explosions in the whole 150 minutes of runtime.
Just take a look at this breathtaking scene.
You won’t see anything like that in “The Taking of Pelham 123” or “Unstoppable”!
I recommend “The Bullet Train” to anyone who likes disaster films
although not many of these were made in Japan apart from the Kaiju genre.
Anyways, it is an awesome classic which will most certainly
keep you entertained for two and a half hours.
I have to admit that I enjoyed the film so much that I watched it two times in a row.