Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"The Assassin" is Trans-Continental Film Corp.'s 1980 American release title of the second Yakuza Deka film. I can't determine its exact export title, but in "UniJapan Film Quarterly 51," it's advertised as "Kamikaze Cop, Marihuana Syndicate."
August 15, 2025 edit: thanks to @redcomet_622 , we now know the on-screen English title, as released in Italy, was originally "International Secret Police: Death Mission".
The content here comes from the 1983 CBS/Fox video release (note the "FOX VIDEO" watermark barely visible in the upper left overscan), which leaves roughly 1/3 or more of the film in unsubtitled Japanese. The remaining dialogue is dubbed by Hal Archer, Barry Haigh, Matthew Oram (dubbing Chiba), Michael Ross and other less-familiar Hong Kong voices who growl all possible variations of "you goddamn bastard!" Although a 1970 Toei release in Japan, I think the voice cast puts the dubbed version somewhere between 1972-74.
I don't know what to make of the quasi-dubbing here, i.e. whether it was originally exported that way or rather just shoddily assembled as such for the American theatrical and/or video release. Also confusing are the fictitious names in the credits. I know that practice occurred in some continental European releases of East Asian films, but I can't recall seeing it to this degree before, especially on film.
A dubbed trailer for another of the Yakuza Deka films can be seen here at the Duke Mitchell Fan Club: youtu.be/cLIvdSE-q6w?feature=shared
"The Assassin" is Trans-Continental Film Corp.'s 1980 American release title of the second Yakuza Deka film. I can't determine its exact export title, but in "UniJapan Film Quarterly 51," it's advertised as "Kamikaze Cop, Marihuana Syndicate."
August 15, 2025 edit: thanks to @redcomet_622 , we now know the on-screen English title, as released in Italy, was originally "International Secret Police: Death Mission".
The content here comes from the 1983 CBS/Fox video release (note the "FOX VIDEO" watermark barely visible in the upper left overscan), which leaves roughly 1/3 or more of the film in unsubtitled Japanese. The remaining dialogue is dubbed by Hal Archer, Barry Haigh, Matthew Oram (dubbing Chiba), Michael Ross and other less-familiar Hong Kong voices who growl all possible variations of "you goddamn bastard!" Although a 1970 Toei release in Japan, I think the voice cast puts the dubbed version somewhere between 1972-74.
I don't know what to make of the quasi-dubbing here, i.e. whether it was originally exported that way or rather just shoddily assembled as such for the American theatrical and/or video release. Also confusing are the fictitious names in the credits. I know that practice occurred in some continental European releases of East Asian films, but I can't recall seeing it to this degree before, especially on film.
A dubbed trailer for another of the Yakuza Deka films can be seen here at the Duke Mitchell Fan Club: youtu.be/cLIvdSE-q6w?feature=shared
