Overview
A hitman’s peculiar obsession leads him into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- absurdist
- sardonic
- erotic
- late night cinephile viewing
- cult film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a boldly experimental, surreal, and darkly comic reinvention of the gangster thriller, despite its deliberately confusing narrative.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hanada's hitman assignments, ranking system, and professional rivalries are repeatedly turned into bizarre comic and surreal set pieces.
The black-and-white cinematography transforms apartments, streets, bodies, butterflies, and birds into sharply graphic noir icons.
Number-three hitman Gorô Hanada's obsession with the smell of boiling rice becomes an essential part of his identity and behavior.
Misako's fascination with death, dead animals, and sexual danger destabilizes Hanada's transactional world of assassination.
Films like Branded to Kill, and why
The Long Goodbye
stylized neo-noir crime, surreal humor, and a psychologically unstable assassin figure
The Ladykillers
absurdist criminal underworld, fractured storytelling, and heightened black comedy
Tokyo Drifter
experimental gangster-film conventions, eccentric characters, and bold visual stylization
Pierrot le Fou
dreamlike noir atmosphere, erotic danger, and formally unconventional crime storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Seijun Suzuki
- Release Date
- 1967-06-15
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (262)
Cast
- Joe Shishido
- Kōji Nanbara
- Isao Tamagawa
- Annu Mari
- Mariko Ogawa
- Hiroshi Minami
- Hiroshi Chō
- Atsushi Yamatoya
- Takashi Nomura
- Tokuhei Miyahara
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Branded to Kill about?
- A rank-obsessed yakuza hitman spirals through erotic danger, betrayal, and surreal professional rivalry in Seijun Suzuki’s anarchic noir fantasia.
- What is Branded to Kill like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Branded to Kill as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Branded to Kill violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Branded to Kill as moderate.
- What did critics think of Branded to Kill?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a boldly experimental, surreal, and darkly comic reinvention of the gangster thriller, despite its deliberately confusing narrative.
- Which films are like Branded to Kill?
- Films with a similar feel include The Long Goodbye, The Ladykillers, Tokyo Drifter, and Pierrot le Fou.
- How long is Branded to Kill?
- Branded to Kill runs 91 minutes.
- Where can I watch Branded to Kill?
- In United States, Branded to Kill is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
