2.5/4  You won't see Michael Douglas like this anymore
Nick Conklin (Douglas) and Charlie Vincent (Garcia) are US cops who get involved in a Yakuza killing and capture a dangerous murderer Sato (Yasuka Matsuda). When delivering him to authorities in Japan, Sato escapes and Conklin and Vincent ... (read full)

4/5 Black Rain ( Blu-ray review ) Superb transfer of a mediocre Ridley Scott film
  by dv_forever (Michigan, USA)
What a stunning display of the beauty of high-definition. Most Ridley Scott films are visual extravaganzas and the Blu-ray treatment here is quite special. The sheen and polish of Scott's urban landscapes is a sight to behold. Black Rain is almost like a neo Tokyo, anime version of Blade Runner, only filmed in Osaka! It's pretty amazing just how much the look of Blade Runner was influenced by Asian metropolises and then Blade Runner influenced the look of a lot of anime in return. Black Rain is total cheese, a completely by the numbers American cop movie filled to the brim with excessive cliches and all that the genre implies but it's a masterpiece of art design and production values. It simply reeks of Hollywood excess and gratuitous surfaces polished to perfection. The look of the movie on Blu-ray makes your mouth water if you are a cinema enthusiast. Rare instances from the sleazy 1980s gave us such absolutely stunning and sophisticated urban imagery captured on film and unfortunately all for nothing.

Compare this movie with it's art design predecessor Blade Runner and you'll see just how empty and decadent Black Rain truly is. It's a buddy cop movie made by highly paid Madison Avenue designer types. Jan De Bont is the cinematographer here, ( he went on direct "Speed" and "Twister" ), and he knows exactly how to get that perfect look that is the imprimatur of nearly every Ridley Scott production. All the Ridley trademarks are here in evidence, the smoke emitting from the streets, the endless neon lights, the motorcycles, the reflections off all metallic surfaces, the rain soaked atmosphere. Everything is hip, flashy and beyond decadent. However the plot is basic police story stuff, the characters are cardboard cut outs that the talented cast somehow manage to humanize and the subsequent revenge narrative is all too familiar.

Beyond the stunning high-def visuals, the audio is also very good and the special features are terrific. The actors and the director discuss the shoot and how difficult it was filming in Osaka, Japan with all the rules and regulations governing film production there. Ridley Scott, Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia try to stress how much they care about this movie but it won't convince me or anyone with a brain that this film is nothing more than a gorgeous looking, atmospheric mess. But what a fantastic looking mess! The two Japanese male leads who play counterpoint to the Americans portrayed by Douglas and Garcia are also terrific actors. Ken Takakura as the good cop and Yasuku Matsuda as the villain. Matsuda died shortly after this film wrapped and I suppose Black Rain is as good a vehicle to showcase his talents to the international film world as any foreign actor could hope for. Even Kate Capshaw does a good job in a thankless role as the lone American woman working as a hostess in a nightclub. Amazing that all these talented actors could somehow squeeze some humanity out of such a leaden, bare essentials screenplay.

I can't end without mentioning the musical score by Hans Zimmer which combines ripely melodic electronics mixed with orchestra and a far east flavor. This is one of the best scores of his career. The main song of the movie, "I'll Be Holding On" is also by Zimmer with vocals by Gregg Allman. It's just a big-hearted pop ballad from that gloriously excessive decade called the eighties! Black Rain is a guilty pleasure no doubt but it's no crime once in a while to let your eyes glaze over from such a rich visual tapestry. To be mesmerized by sheer elegance without caring about narrative or anything else. Just beautiful looking moving pictures.

5/5 Black Rain BD
  by DMac (Terra Prime)
Black Rain is one of those films that gets under your skin. Top-notch acting, and just enough of a skewed plot to really twist it up. Transfer is extremely good-looking for as old a film as it is, and the sound is excellent as well. I recommend this to Michael Douglas and Ridley Scott fans. Enjoy!

5/5 MICHAEL DOUGLAS & ANDY GARCIA
  by Enrique Calvillo III (san antonio,tx USA)
GREAT FILM! ONE OF DIRECTOR RIDLEY SCOTT'S BEST,MICHAEL DOUGLAS GIVES A GREAT PERFORMANCE IN THE ACTION THILLER,ANDY GARCIA IS IN HALF OF THIS FILM UNTIL HIS CHARACTER IS KILLED OFF,KIND OF DISAPPOINTING BUT IT'S A GREAT FILM TO WATCH!

5/5 black rain
  by William Yk Wong
the ugly american who should've remain in the USA. very Hollywood with a happy ending. limited insight into the Japanese Yakusa world.

5/5 The Rainy Season
  by Magus
Black Rain stars detective Michael Douglass as Nick with his partner Andy Garcia as Charlie. They're both New York cops. Right from the beginning of the film we see Nick motorcyle racing in the streets. So we know he's somewhat of a wild cop. After that he has an internal affairs interegation on him, and we meet his partner Charlie along the way. There's a nice contrast to the reason he's investigated and the choices he makes later in the film.

Nick and Charlie have their first encounter with an upcoming Yakuza member Sato played by Yusaku Matsuda in a resturaunt. He plays a very good villian. Sato and his henchmen interrupt a deal going on. The detectives just happen to be relaxing at that same resturaunt. Nick and Charlie soon go after Sato. They end up capturing him but not too easily.
At this point the movie changes completly with how the main characters have to deal with anything. All what happend before was only 20 minutes in New York. They are requested to transport Sato as prisoner back to Japan.

Unfortunately Sato makes a very tricky escape and eludes the two detectives. They are brought before the police chief of that area of Japan. They argue with the chief to finaly be allowed to stay as observers to finding Sato. Even though they are supposed to be observers only, Nick and Charlie think otherwise.

The two detectives ways of doing things clash with the japanese poilce, especially their assigned escort Masahiro played by Ken Takakura. If anything his real purpose is to make sure they stay out of their police departments way. Nick and Charlie are quickly aware of this. Nick and Masahiro really do not get along. Nick and Masahiro do things totally opposite so they clash. It makes for good conflict in an already awkward situation.

Charlie is the one who actually tries to get Nick and Masahiro to get along better, which is a difficult task best. As the two detectives get closer to finding Sato, the more trouble they find themselves in. The action really goes up as this happens. Sato has his own plans with them. There's quite a bit of drama in between action points, which I like. You really find out what these 3 characters are all about.

This movie is my favorite cop movie, it just does things much differently. There's some very good action that mixes the drama very well.
The story changes quite alot, it's hard to predict sometimes what will happen as opposed to most others. So this movie should definetly be seen.