Rating: 
Summary: better than listed
Review: fairly straight forward cop drama about two american cops sent to japan to deliver a gangster arrested on american soil. Michael douglas and andy garcia are sent on an ill-fated journey to japan to return a japanese thug to his home turff. predictable at times but still entertaining. at the heart of the story is douglas's character who is allowed to redem himself for his crimes in america as well as japan. Garcia adds much needed flair to the story. Ridley Scott's direction could be more fine tuned but you get the feeling he was walking through this on his way to other things. The cinematography is excellent as well as the musical score. The only real let down is the lack of development for all of the characters except for douglas. but if the televison is no good on a saturday afternoon there are worse movies to rent
Rating: 
Summary: A Lesson in Film by Ridley Scott
Review: Have you seen "The Duellists" or "Alien".. maybe "Gladiator" too... what can one say but admire a master at work. He can take the Roman Empire or the Yakuza in "Black Rain", and just hit you to surrender with a touch reserved for the great. Every time, Ridley Scott nails the subject.. grabs you and holds you over the edge... the actors are amazing and of course the Napa visuals... spectacular.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Movie - Very Bad DVD Transfer - Do Not Buy It
Review: I enjoyed this Ridley Scott outing but will not recount the story here. As a potential buyer, the message you must get is that the DVD transfer is a total let down and allows no viewing pleasure. Paramount have messed up with a grainy poor quality transfer with sound below par. I have an average VHS tape copy which is superior on all counts. The only way these guys will learn is if we do not buy such poor quality offerings - do not buy this the Black Rain DVD until Paramount reissue it in a grain free remastered form with decent sound.
Rating:
Summary: Very good but a little disappointing
Review: I finally saw this movie yesterday, 15 years after it was released. I had read "Rising Sun" and have watched the movie version of it, and was interested in Japanese culture and the perception of the Japanese back in the late 80's and early 90's. So I ordered "Black Rain" and though it also addresses Japanese-American cultural differences, has plenty of action and is stylistic, it was kind of a letdown. The movie didn't seem to pick up until Andy Garcia's character got his head lopped off (perhaps not such a bad thing), which was an hour into it. After that I enjoyed it quite a bit, but unfortunately my impression of "Black Rain" is not much more than a semi-cheesy 80's buddy cop movie, of which there are so many already. If it's buddy cop flicks you like, "Rising Sun" is a far better movie dealing with similar themes and cultural perspectives. If you are interested in these things, then the book by Michael Crichton is even better. Plus, it was a bit difficult for me to be convinced of Michael Douglas's tough-cop role in "Black Rain" with that hideous perm he's sporting. Overall, a good movie but there are certainly better ones which are just as entertaining, stylistic, educational, and sexy.
Rating:
Summary: A guilt-free pleasure
Review: I'm not sure why this movie is described as a 'guilty pleasure'. I don't feel at all bad about liking it. And I do like it, a lot.For one thing, I like Michael Douglas. I liked him thirty years ago in _The Streets of San Francisco_, I liked him even better after he turned _One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest_ from a great book and a great stage play into a great motion picture, and I've kept right on liking him every time he's gotten himself cast in a stylish, well-scripted film. And this _is_ a stylish, well-scripted film. It's every bit as dark as you expect from Ridley Scott, and although there's a fairly well-defined villain, the 'heroes' are morally ambiguous. I like that in a movie. The reviewers who say Michael Douglas's character Nick Conklin is an 'ugly American' are right, but they seem to have missed the fact that this is part of the point. This film is a fairly ambitious, though not terribly deep, attempt to bring off an East-meets-West theme in what looks superficially like just another buddy-cop movie. The 'black rain' of the title is one of the aftereffects of the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and it's the symbolic stand-in for the Western 'decadence' bemoaned by the more traditional Nipponese (even the crime bosses). But that doesn't mean Japan wins the dramatic argument. On the contrary, the Nipponese cop (played with endearing self-effacement by Ken Takakura) learns a few things from his new cowboy friend 'Nick-san' too. (And the karaoke scene with Takakura and Andy Garcia is priceless.) Kate Capshaw doesn't really need an excuse to appear in a film, and that's good, because here she doesn't really have one. She's an expatriate American who inexplicably keeps turning up at the center of the action. She gives the film a bit of _Casablanca_-like flavor, but it's more a matter of mood than anything else. I won't tell you anything about the plot except that it involves the Japanese underworld and that it zips along at a fast clip. Don't look away or you'll miss something. The whole thing is rendered most atmospherically, with the sort of dark and brooding edge that I like in a film (and at which Ridley Scott excels). In general I'm not the biggest fan of Hans Zimmer's scores, but for the most part he's used pretty effectively here. This is a first-rate action-adventure thriller, and I don't feel the slightest bit 'guilty' for taking a very great deal of pleasure in it.
Rating:
Summary: A really bad movie.
Review: I've been a big fan of Ridley Scott and Michael Douglas for a long time, which is the only reason I rented this DVD. I was so disappointed. Although I could see elements of Blade Runner in the atmosphere and music, the story was not intriguing at all. Michael Douglas couldn't do much with this tough guy cliche role. The story is boring and way too long. I didn't care how it ended - I just wanted it to be over. Rent before buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Ugly American
Review: If ever a movie personifies the stereotype of the arrogant,self absorbed "Ugly American" this is it. I frankly could not believe the way that Micheal Douglas carried on in this film yelling, cusing and throwing his weight around. Essentially acting like a loud mouth. Why the Japanese did not cart him back to the US within the first hour was beyond me. They certainly did not have to put up with his tirades and temper tantrums. He just became more obnoxious by the minute. As for the movie itself it was dry and forumulaic with not much suspense beyond the usual violence. I also found it annyoing that with the exception of a few scenes there were no subtitles where the Japanse spoke and I had not a clue what was going on. A very disapointing film.
Rating:
Summary: Great Action movie by Ridley Scott
Review: It's been ten years since I first saw this in theatre and surprisingly it's still as entertaining. How about a sequel? The 5.1 Surround is very good. According to me this DVD picture is very grainy and the theatrical trailer on the DVD is much sharper than the feature film. Anybody feels the same about this?
Rating: 
Summary: A good tale of culture clash and also of redemption.
Review: Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia do a good job as New York City cops hunting down a member of the Japanese Yakuza (aptly played by Yusaku Matsuda). Their assignment takes them to Japan where Michael Douglas learns a lesson in honor from a Japanese police inspector played by the well known, respected Japanese actor, Ken Takakura. Though the film has a dark, dismal feel to it, I enjoyed it, as it teaches one that honor is important, in all phases of our lives. I also very much enjoyed the music by Gregg Allman.
Rating:
Summary: Great action movie with some intelligence
Review: Ok, some may think this is a fine example of late 80's cheesy action fare. However, the acting is incredible, the characters are complex, and the motivations are unique. This is not a black and white good vs. evil movie. Which gray area do you agree with? If you've never seen this movie, stick with it until the last half hour...
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