Black Rain (1989) - a retrospective

“I usually get kissed before I get fucked”

Damn, I love this movie so much.

The second of Ridley Scott’s apology pieces after the tedious Legend (1985), including the equally great Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Black Rain is a perfect little thriller with no fat on it whatsoever.

I remember, as a teenager, seeing a publicity still of Michael Douglas aiming a gun with a lorry speeding up dangerously behind him and thinking: “I need to see this film!!”.

Douglas is just one of those actors who’s so much fun when he gets angry. You know, along with Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson. And there are plenty of examples of that in Black Rain.

While Jan de Bont is the credited cinematographer, this is clearly Howard Atherton’s film. The latter quit after finding the strict Japanese shooting laws too much, but his fingerprints are everywhere. I’m rewatching the film now and trying to pick out de Bont’s scenes, but it is difficult. The softer-lit karaoke scene and beyond does signal a handover though, with Douglas working with de Bont again a few years later on Basic Instinct (1992).

I feel as though this film has been swept under the carpet, due to political correctness concerns. But racism is what the film is all about. It’s not an unintentional subtext. Like the production itself, it’s about Westerners clashing with East Asians. Boom. That’s it. I see a lot of caucasian characters in anime, so why is it so bad for Americans to portray Japanese people? It’s not, but the matter is an easy target for armchair politicians.

I wish this was Kate Capshaw’s defining role, rather than Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Her feisty bar hostess is pitch-perfect, which just makes me want to see more of her. I guess I would take a backseat too if I had Steven Spielberg money coming in.

Hans Zimmer’s score is as awful and abrasive as all of his scores were around that time. He was rightly hated by the critical press. But, hey, the Scott brothers seemed to love him and now he’s winning awards, so whatever.

Andy Garcia acts like he’s only going to be in two-thirds of the movie, which is good, because he’s only in two-thirds of the movie. What a good sport.

I still don’t understand why Black Rain isn’t considered one of the greats. It’s exciting. It’s interesting. It’s beautifully shot by two DPs. It’s funny. It’s emotional. Decent copies are rare nowadays, so go for what you can. My Prime Video copy certainly looks prettier than the DVD I bought a couple of decades ago.

If you haven’t seen Black Rain before, then you are missing out.

Just shut up and watch it.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!