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A Colt Is My Passport ) is a 1967 Japanese yakuza film directed by Takashi Nomura for the Nikkatsu Corporation. It is based on the novel Tobosha by Shinji Fujihara.
It stars Joe Shishido as a hitman and Jerry Fujio as his partner; reprising his usual roles of contract killer, Shishido's performance in the film launched him beyond doubt as a hard boiled action hero, not only in Japan but in the whole genre, and remained his personal favourite of the most of 100 films he made at Nikkatsu.
The film was strongly influenced by French New Wave and crime films directors such as Jean-Pierre Melville, Jacques Becker or Henri Decoin and by Sergio Leone-style westerns. Nomura's use of still shots in the opening sequence has been compared to manga art techniques.
This film was made available in North America when Janus Films released a special set of Nikkatsu Noir films as part of the Criterion Collection, also including I Am Waiting, Rusty Knife, Take Aim at the Police Van, and Cruel Gun Story.
Plot
Contract killer Shuji Kamimura (Joe Shishido) and his partner Shun Shiozaki (Jerry Fujio) are hired by yakuza boss Senzaki to eliminate a former partner, Boss Shimazu, who has embezzled from an international co-op between both men. Kamimura successfully assassinates Boss Shimazu at his home while meeting with Senzaki. Kamimura and Shun attempt to leave the country by plane, but are waylaid and kidnapped by Shimazu's men. The duo escapes by stopping their car with a specially designed second brake behind the driver's seat that Shun had installed earlier, which kills Shimazu's men.
