When BLACK RAIN was first released in 1989, co-producer Sherry Lansing described the idea behind the film as ‘the idea that our country (America) is being bought.
Following up the blockbuster success of FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), a film that terrified many males regarding the possibility of straying from their partners, not to mention British audiences coining the now-familiar phrase of ‘bunny boiler’ to define a spurned woman, Lansing and co-producer Stanley R. Jaffe reteamed with the lead from that film, Michael Douglas, also riding high on the Oscar win as Best Actor for WALL STREET (1987) and recruited Ridley Scott to direct this culture-clash action thriller which crosses two continents from New York to Osaka, Japan.
Nick Conklin (Douglas) is a hot-headed NYPD Detective, under investigation from the local Internal Affairs Division over missing funds from a drug bust, given that he is behind on child support and mortgage payments amongst others. Whilst having lunch with partner and best friend Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia), they witness the open murder of two Japanese businessmen by a gangster, Sato (Yusaki Matsuda) and catch him in a local meat plant.
Red tape interferes and Nick and Charlie are assigned to take Sato back to Japan. At the airport, members of Sato’s gang posing as police spring him and the cops remain to try and get to the bottom of the case. Whilst at a club, Nick meets ex-patriate hostess Joyce (Kate Capshaw, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, Mrs. Steven Spielberg) to try and get inside the local criminal underworld, but Sato has alternate plans for Nick and Charlie….
With a pulsating score by Hans Zimmer (DRIVING MISS DAISY, THE LION KING and others) and stunning cinematography by Jan De Bont (DIE HARD), BLACK RAIN has grown in stature over the years and is generally regarded as one of Ridley Scott’s most visually stimulating offerings. Granted, it does follow a bog-standard eighties cop thriller form, but it just feels different at times and is great escapist entertainment all round.