Yuya Uchida Movies
Under scrutiny by his superiors for allegedly dipping into confiscated drug money, New York vice cop Michael Douglas can expect no sympathy from his ex-wife, who is gouging him for alimony. Douglas gets a chance to redeem himself when he is assigned to escort Japanese mob boss Yusaku Matsuda back to his own country to stand trial. Upon arriving in Osaka, Douglas and his partner Andy Garcia are tricked into releasing their prisoner. Now on the outs with both the American and Japanese police authorities, Douglas is forced to deal with the Yakuza-the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia-to retrieve the elusive Matsuda. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, (more)
Shuji is a good-looking lad, one of the up-and-coming assassins for the Daito mob of the yakuza, Japan's answer to the mafia. Despite his pretense of toughness, he frequently has overwhelming longings to return to his childhood and the innocent games he played then with his best friend's younger sister. When he is sent to assassinate the members of a rival gang, childhood memories lead him to permit one of the men to live. Rather than being grateful, the survivor of the killings plots his revenge despite the fact that the two gangs are now merging into one operation. Meanwhile, Shuji has run across his childhood sweetheart, and the two of them realize that they share a similar view (common to many Japanese, apparently) that their childhood was a special, golden time to be cherished. She is not a member of the gangs, and through her inspiring presence, Shuji attempts to reform himself, though he must kill a lot of people in order to win that chance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kazuya Kimura
- 1986
Comic Magazine is a powerhouse reenactment of a 1985 ethics scandal that rocked the Japanese journalistic world. Pop star Yuya Uchida plays a TV entertainment reporter who is egged on by his bosses to "pump up" his telecasts. He gets his opportunity when a prominent investment manager, caught in the middle of a fraudulent gold investment scheme, locks himself in his lavish home. While Uchida and the other reporters try to gain entrance, two disreputable-looking gentlemen, announcing that they've been paid to assassinate the crooked investor, walk into the home unmolested--then walk out a few moments later, soaked in blood. No one lifts a finger to stop the two hit men from leaving....and it sure makes a swell TV story. Astonishingly, many of the characters in Comic Magazine--reporters, investors, even a pair of Yakuza mobsters-are the genuine article. Voyeuristic to the nth degree, Comic Magazine was highly praised when it was first released in Japan under the title Komikku Zasshi Nanka Irani. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuya Uchida, Yumi Asou, (more)
- 1983
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence was the first English-language project of Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses). In tune with his previous filmic essays on racism and brutality, Merry Christmas concentrates on a war of wills between rebellious POW David Bowie and camp commandant Ryuichi Sakomoto. Assuming that his other prisoners' unwillingness to protest their cruel treatment is a sign of weakness, Sakomoto is most impressed by Bowie's enigmatic defiance. While Bowie and Sakomoto seem to be operating on a high spiritual and intellectual plane, bilingual prisoner Tom Conti (the "Mr. Lawrence" of the title) engages in a more standard adversarial relationship with sadistic sergeant Takeshi Kitano. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bowie, Tom Conti, (more)
- 1983
With a story that many could readily understand, this film is about a divorced policeman whose salary does not expand far enough to support his ex-wife, to handle his bills at the local bar, and to manage all the hand-outs his semi-delinquent daughter demands of him. The man is close to bottoming out, as few respect him for his low-paying job -- not because of what he does but because of his pay scale. He buys a computer to fill the hours when he is alone, which gets him into more debt that he hopes to eliminate by gambling. That leads to a vicious circle, hard to break unless someone can come and help him out of this quagmire. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuya Uchida, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, (more)
- 1982
A married man who has been driven to the edge by a boring job, a talkative wife, unbearable children, and their cramped living quarters, becomes inspired when he envisions a way to end this oppressiveness yet still keep all the amenities that come with a family and home. He gets some chloroform and a gas mask, gains illegal entry into the quarters of an attractive waitress he likes, puts on his gas mask, sprays chloroform around her room as she sleeps, and when she is thoroughly knocked out, he has sex with her. Although he carries out these nightly activities with other women as well, he keeps on coming back to the waitress, and in order to offer something in return, he sometimes washes her clothes or fixes her food before she wakes up. One time, however, he recklessly removes his mask and ends up unconscious until morning when he is found out. This is something he had not counted on, and he immediately thinks of the repercussions as he can find no way to get out of his predicament. Reiko Nakamura as the waitress, was awarded the 1982 Pink Ribbon prize for "Best Actress" in a softcore movie -- quite a feat considering she was inert for much of her role. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuya Uchida, Reiko Nakamura, (more)
