A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
Akira Kurosawa's 1949 crime drama follows a rookie Tokyo detective whose pistol is stolen on a sweltering, crowded bus, sending him on a desperate search through the city's sun-baked underworld. As the hunt deepens, the line between pursuer and criminal blurs into a study of guilt, poverty, and postwar despair. The mood is tense and humid, layering procedural suspense with social observation. A landmark of Japanese cinema, it carries a MagicMovieScore of 7.5. It rewards viewers who appreciate classic noir-inflected thrillers, morally searching crime stories, and atmospheric portraits of a society struggling to rebuild.
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Toshirō Mifune
Det. Murakami

Takashi Shimura
Det. Sato

Keiko Awaji
Harumi Namiki

Eiko Miyoshi
Harumi's mother

Noriko Sengoku
Girl

Noriko Honma
Wooden Tub Shop woman

Reikichi Kawamura

Chōko Iida
Kogetsu Hotel manager
334 ratings. The score is reasonably stable but could shift up to 0.11 as more ratings come in.
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Release Date
October 17, 1949
Runtime
2h 2m
Rating
PG-13
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director