Main Cast: Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kevin Anderson
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 129 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
When Michael Crichton wrote his best-selling thriller Rising Sun, he wrote the character of hero John Connor with Sean Connery in mind. For Philip Kaufman's film version of the novel, Sean Connery, needless to say, fits seamlessly into the role of a legendary police detective who is an expert in Japanese culture. The story takes place in the towering office building of the Japanese Nakamoto Corporation in Los Angeles, who are negotiating a deal with Microcon, an American electronics firm. During a gala held one night in the Nakamoto offices, the body of a woman, Cheryl Lynn Austin (Tatjana Patitz) is found murdered in the main conference room. Arriving quickly on the scene is high-amped police lieutenant Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel), who oozes hatred for anything Japanese from every pore. When he has trouble getting cooperation from the Nakatomo executives, Graham calls in Web Smith (Wesley Snipes), a Special Services liaison, and John Connor (Connery), a man well-versed in Japanese culture and traditions. Together they form a team as they investigate the crime. Connor questions computer video expert Jingo (Tia Carrere), who works on a security system computer disc that captures the killer's identity. The only problem is that the image of the killer on the disc has been altered to conceal the murderer's face. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Philip Kaufman's adaptation of Michael Crichton's Japan-bashing potboiler is a fairly standard buddy-cop movie featuring a pair of entertaining star performances. Although the novel's overblown alarmism about the dangers of a dominant Japan would soon be undercut by the meltdown of its economy, the director shrewdly muted the xenophobic material that had made the book so controversial, transforming it into a noirishly incomprehensible film, whose byzantine plot, proliferating characters, and hints of a parallel world of unspeakable vice evokes The Big Sleep. Unfortunately, Kaufman treats this pulpy material with an undeserved seriousness, slowing the pace of the film in a way which underlines its frequently inane dialogue and whimsical plotting. Yet Sean Connery has a great time as the larger-than-life detective whose omniscience regarding all things Asian borders on the comic, and the chemistry of his mentor/student relationship with partner Wesley Snipes carries the viewer smoothly over some of the lamer moments. Also worth noting is the handsome production design of Coppola associate Dean Tavoularis ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Mako - Yoshida-san; Ray Wise - Senator John Morton; Stan Egi - Ishihara; Stan Shaw - Phillips; Tia Carrere - Jingo Asakuma; Steve Buscemi - Willy "the Weasel" Wilhelm; Tatjana Patitz - Cheryl Lynn Austin; Dan Butler - Ken Shubik; Clyde Kusatsu - Tanaka; Peter Crombie - Greg; Tom Dahlgren - Jim Donaldson; Fumio Demura - Nakamoto Yakuza; Tony Ganios - Doorman Guard; Max Grodenchik - Club Manager; Amy Hill - Hsieh; Nelson Mashita - Young Japanese Negotiator; Carl A. McGee - Guy at Window; Shelley Michelle - Blonde; Joey Miyashima - Young Japanese Negotiator; Alexandra Powers - Julia; Scot Anthony Robinson - First Brother; Toshishiro Obata - Guard at Imperial Arms; Jessica Tuck - Senator Morton's Aide; Daniel Von Bargen - Chief Olson / Interrogator; Michael Chapman - Fred Hoffman; Jeff Imada - Eddie Sakamura's Yakuza; Max Kirishima - Eddie Sakamura's Yakuza; Tadashi Yamashita - Nakamoto Yakuza; Tak Kubota - Nakamoto Yukuza; Michael Leopard - Cop; Donna Isaacson; Keith Hickles - Another Brother; Lauren Robinson - Zelly; Meagen Fay - Hamaguri Receptionist
Credit
Angelo P. Graham - Art Director, Donna Isaacson - Casting, Jacqueline West - Costume Designer, Philip Kaufman - Director, Stephen A. Rotter - Editor, William Scharf - Editor, Sean Connery - Executive Producer, Toru Takemitsu - Composer (Music Score), Ian Bryce - Production Designer, Dean Tavoularis - Production Designer, Michael Chapman - Cinematographer, Ian Bryce - Producer, Peter Kaufman - Producer, Gary Fettis - Set Designer, Peter Kelly - Set Designer, Robert C. Goldstein - Set Designer, Larry Fuentes - Special Effects, Alan Splet - Sound/Sound Designer, David MacMillan - Sound/Sound Designer, Michael Crichton - Screenwriter, Philip Kaufman - Screenwriter, Michael Backes - Screenwriter, Michael Crichton - Book Author
During a party at the United States offices of a Japanese corporation, a professional escort is found dead, apparently after a violent sexual encounter. Police Detective Web Smith (Wesley Snipes) and John Connor (Sean Connery), a former police Captain and expert on Japanese affairs, are sent to investigate.
During the initial investigation, Smith believes the evidence indicates a sexual encounter and murder, however Connor insists there is a deeper involvement by the corporation. After a grueling investigation Connor receives a disc which contains the surveillance footage from the night of the murder. This later turns out to be a digitally altered video of the actual murder.
The alteration implicates Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), who is the son of a wealthy Japanese businessman (a longtime friend of Connor). After recovering the original unaltered footage the video shows that the prostitute was only unconscious following rough sex with a powerful politician at the party, and that a company employee strangled her after the politician left. The head of the company was unaware of the crime and subsequent cover up, and exiled the perpetrator of the cover up to a desk job in Japan. The murderer himself runs away when he is identified, but is soon taken care of by Eddie's Yakuza friends.
Rising Sun was released on 30 July 1993 in 1,510 theaters across the US. It grossed $15,195,941 (24.1% of total gross) on its opening weekend. During its run in theaters, the film grossed $63,179,523 (58.9%) in the US and $44,019,267 (41.1%) overseas for a worldwide total of $107,198,790. The film spent six weeks in the Top 10.
Awards and critical reception
Rising Sun won the ASCAP Award in the category of Top Box Office Films in 1994, and was nominated for a PFS Award in the category for best Exposé in 1994.
