Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion

May 16, 1992

2h 4m

★ 6.7

The gangster comedy that shook up the Japanese mob.

Overview

An upscale Japanese hotel hires Mahiru Inoue, a lawyer adept at dealing with the Yakuza, to help them rid their hotel of the local gangsters so they can get a contract for a meeting of important foreign officials.

Genres

Comedy

Crime

Production Companies

TOHO

Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion Trailers

Cast

Mahiru Inoue

Nobuko Miyamoto

Suzuki

Yasuo Daichi

Kobayashi

Akira Takarada

Taro Wakasugi

Takehiro Murata

Hotel Man

Yuji Miyake

Iriejima

Shirō Itō

Ibaki

Akira Nakao

Hanaoka

Hōsei Komatsu

Yakuza

Toshiro Yanagiba

Yakuza Boss

Akio Tanaka

Yakuza Boss

Kōji Sekiyama

Yakuza

Guts Ishimatsu

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

6.2

Big Shots Die at Dawn

Apr 9, 1961

Grown up son arrives home to learn his father, the newly elected mayor, has been assassinated. So he journeys down a path to find the assassin and gets involved with two opposing yakuza gangs.

0.0

A Man With Dragon Tattoos

Dec 26, 1962

In the late 1890s, coal is a precious new natural resource. During an era of rapid economic growth, dreams are instilled into the lives of many across Japan. A vigorous young man with a look of fearless determination, sets foot on the northern part of Kyushu, an area where Yakuza thrived. His name is Kingoro Tamai (Yujiro Ishihara). With plans to travel the world, Kingoro worked diligently at a coal mine. His loyalty and hard work earned the respect of his peers, his courage won the heart of the beautiful Mon (Ruriko Asaoka), and his success evoked jealousy in his enemies.

7.4

What's Up, Doc?

Mar 9, 1972

The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.

6.6

Roughneck From Asama

Dec 2, 1958

When Boss Juzo's Shinmachi Yakuza family struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries, Boss Shohei's Okabe Yakuza family with a merciless gang of raiders, Itaro of Asama was missing. With the courage of a lion he had gone off to face the enemy and settle the score all by himself. As a result he had to take the blame in place of Boss Shohei, and went off to adventures on his own.

4.6

Can I Be Your Bratwurst, Please?

Dec 4, 2008

A newly arrived guest of a Hollywood hotel charms and amazes the regulars, and they decide to invite him to their Christmas dinner.

6.1

Maid in Manhattan

Dec 13, 2002

Marisa Ventura is a struggling single mom who works at a posh Manhattan hotel and dreams of a better life for her and her young son. One fateful day, hotel guest and senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall meets Marisa and mistakes her for a wealthy socialite. After an enchanting evening together, the two fall madly in love. But when Marisa's true identity is revealed, issues of class and social status threaten to separate them. Can two people from very different worlds overcome their differences and live happily ever after?

7.0

The Yakuza Code Still Lives

Dec 4, 1976

After spending eight years in prison for murder, Hiroshi leaves his yakuza family to start a new life as a labor racketeer.

7.0

Hotel Metamorphosis

Jun 20, 2013

Twenty-year-old Dora works as a maid in a hotel and has access to all of the guests' belongings while they are away. This time she is interested in the suitcase of a guest in room 34 ...

7.7

Fireworks

Oct 30, 1997

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

6.1

The Canterbury Tales

Sep 2, 1972

Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.

5.9

Motorpsycho!

Aug 1, 1965

A vengeful veterinarian and a grieving widow join forces to track down violent bikers after they commit heinous acts against their loved ones.

2.9

Overkill

Dec 16, 1987

A Tokyo cop is sent to Los Angeles to help an LAPD detective break up a yakuza ring operating in the city.

7.0

Chinpira

Nov 11, 2000

Osamu rescues a girl who was being chased by two punks and is soon mixed up with the Yakuza

8.7

Eighteen Years in Prison

Feb 24, 1967

A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman.

7.5

Key Largo

Jul 16, 1948

A hurricane swells outside, but it's nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up - and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.

5.7

Mother's Elling

Oct 10, 2003

Elling has lived with his mother all his life. Mom is the practical one, while Elling ponders the more theoretical aspects of life. He spends his time in their apartment reading books and looking at the neighbours through the living room window. Elling doesn't seem to need to be around others like most people. That's why Elling is less than enthusiastic when his mother suddenly decides to take her son on a beach vacation to Spain. Reluctantly, Elling agrees. After all, a lady at her age needs a good man by her side. But what Elling refuses to realize is that Mom is not only old, but also sick. Very sick. On her last vacation she tries to get Elling to see that life is bigger than their living room.

6.6

French Fried Vacation

Nov 11, 1978

Holidaymakers arriving in a Club Med camp on the Ivory Coast are determined to forget their everyday problems and emotional disappointments. Games, competitions, outings, bathing and sunburn accompany a continual succession of casual affairs.

6.3

Bugsy

Dec 10, 1991

New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womanizer with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.

6.4

Tea with Mussolini

Mar 25, 1999

In 1930s fascist Italy, adolescent Luca just lost his mother. His father, a callous businessman, sends him to be taken care of by British expatriate Mary Wallace. Mary and her cultured friends - including artist Arabella, young widow Elsa, and archaeologist Georgie - keep a watchful eye over the boy. But the women's cultivated lives take a dramatic turn when Allied forces declare war on Mussolini.