Limited Edition version.

Proof of the Man (1977) is a Japanese crime thriller adapted from Seiichi Morimuras bestselling novel. When a young Black man is murdered in Tokyo, an American detective (George Kennedy) and a Japanese inspector (Yūsaku Matsuda) uncover secrets that reach into class, race, and postwar identity. Blending murder mystery, social commentary, and East-West cultural tensions, it stands as a key 1970s Japanese thriller with international appeal.

Arrow Video

Movie mogul Haruki Kadokawa changed the landscape of Japanese cinema for good when he introduced the concept of the blockbuster to the country with this gripping crime drama featuring an all-star cast.

When mixed-raced Johnny Hayward (Flower Travellin Band vocalist Joe Yamanaka) heads from his Harlem home to Tokyo, he becomes the victim of a brutal stabbing in the elevator of a plush hotel hosting a catwalk show by elite fashion designer Kyoko (Mariko Okada). That same night, Kyokos son with her powerful politician husband Yohei (Toshiro Mifune) is involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident and flees the country. Suspecting the incidents may be linked, Detective Munesue (Yusaku Matsuda, The Game Trilogy) heads to New York to investigate Johnnys background. Here he is partnered with local detective Ken Shuftan (George Kennedy, Airport), whose own links to Japan dredge up painful memories from Munesues childhood.

Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Seiichi Morimura by director Junya Sato (The Bullet Train, Manhunt) and screenwriter Zenzo Matsuyama (The Human Condition trilogy), and shot on location in Japan and New York by veteran cinematographer Shinsaku Himeda (Pigs and Battleships, Vengeance is Mine), Proof of the Man is a compelling exploration of racial identity and the trauma of the postwar occupation period framed in the form of a whodunnit. Arrow Video is proud to present the fil