Doberman Cop

Martial arts movie icon Sonny Chiba stars as Joji Kano, a tough Okinawa cop who arrives under the neon lights of Tokyo in a straw hat with a pig in his arms in this 1977 crime thriller based on the popular manga and styled on violent American crime movies from the 1970s. Doberman Cop opens with the investigation of an arson murder believed to be the work of a serial killer. Kano wants to see if the victim is a girl from his village; the Tokyo police--backed by state-of-the-art forensics and high-tech analysis--insists that she is, but Kano believes that Miki (Janet Hatta), a drug-addicted singer groomed by a former gangster to be a pop superstar, is actually his missing person. Chiba plays his part for country bumpkin humor but pulls out all of the stops in a couple of martial arts fights (shot with a handheld camera that swoops and tilts with his movements) and a spectacular stunt scene in which he rappels down a skyscraper and crashes through a window to rescue a hostage. The film also tosses drug addiction, show business conspiracy, musical numbers, strip club nudity, ancient superstitions, modern forensics, car chases, gun battles, and that (squealing) pig into the mix. A fast-paced crime drama directed by Japanese gangster movie veteran Kinji Fukasaku, Doberman Cop borders on incoherence and careens from goofy comedy to brutal violence to sleazy sex scenes and throughout, but it is certainly entertaining. A minor cult film for fans of Chiba and Japanese genre movies, extras include interviews with Chiba, screenwriter Koji Takada, and Fukusaku biographer Sadao Yamane, and a booklet. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)