Japan Synopsis
“A ferocious man sleeps here.”
Murakawa, a Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly to mediate between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, Murakawa’s headquarters are bombed and he and his gang are ambushed.
The 1992–1994 Japan Window
112 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Sonatine sits at position #25.
#1Furuhata Ninzaburo
★ 8.8 · 1994
#2Slam Dunk
★ 8.6 · 1993
#3Yu Yu Hakusho
★ 8.6 · 1992
#4Magic Knight Rayearth
★ 8.5 · 1994
#5Sailor Moon
★ 8.4 · 1992
#6Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War
★ 8.3 · 1993
#7Ranma ½: The Movie 2 — The Battle of Togenkyo: Rescue the Brides!
★ 8.1 · 1992
#8Sailor Moon R: The Movie
★ 7.9 · 1993
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Sonatine. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Shochiku
The 1990s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1990s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Sonatine premiered. 447 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,173 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (74th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.6 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #518 of 1,714 (top 30%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Shochiku, Bandai Visual |
| Runtime | 1h 34m |
| Release Date | April 10, 1993 |
| IMDb | tt0108188 |