Proof of the Man (Blu-ray) Limited Edition slipcase version

PROOF OF THE MAN (1977) directed by Junya Sato (THE BULLET TRAIN, MAN HUNT) is a ground-breaking all-star cast crime action movie.

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, Kyoko’s 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 Johnny’s background.

Here he is partnered with local detective Ken Shuftan (George Kennedy, AIRPORT), whose own links to Japan dredge up painful memories from Munesue’s childhood.

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.

Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Seiichi Morimura 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 post-war occupation period framed in the form of a whodunnit.

Arrow Video present the film for the very first time outside Japan for the home-video market in a brand new transfer sourced from a new 4K restoration by Kadokawa.