ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Film Club: Tokyo Drifter directed by Seijun Suzuki
Date
Wednesday 3 June 2026
Time
6.30pm (BST)
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Booking Details
Online meeting on Zoom
Please register for the meeting in advance from the link below. After registering, you will receive an automated confirmation email with meeting access details (please check your spam folder if you don't receive any emails).
Free for members of The Japan Society
Please remember to watch the film in advance. Tokyo Drifter is available to rent and buy on Apple TV.
Please help us to keep this event free and open to all!The Japan Society is a charity and its activities are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!   |
For our Film Club in June, we invite you to explore Seijun Suzuki’s stylish and subversive yakuza film, Tokyo Drifter (1966), a vibrant tale of loyalty, identity, and life on the run during post-war Japan.
A cult classic of Japanese cinema, Tokyo Drifter follows a reformed yakuza forced back into a life of violence after his former boss dissolves their gang. Known as “Phoenix” Tetsu (played by Tetsuya Watari), the loyal drifter finds himself pursued by rival gangs, struggling to reconcile duty with a desire for freedom. With its striking use of colour, stylised sets, and jazzy score, Seijun Suzuki crafts a bold, unconventional crime film that redefines the yakuza genre, blending cool detachment with moments of melancholy and surreal flair.
Seijun Suzuki (1923–2017) was a pioneering Japanese filmmaker known for his highly stylised and unconventional approach to genre cinema. After joining Nikkatsu in the 1950s, he directed a wide range of low-budget genre films, developing a distinctive visual style marked by bold colour, surreal imagery, and dark humour. His most celebrated works include Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967), the latter leading to his dismissal from the studio due to its experimental nature. Despite this, Suzuki’s later work as an independent filmmaker rose to critical acclaim, with his Taisho trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991), earning him a Japanese Academy Award. He is now regarded as a cult icon whose influence continues to shape contemporary cinema.