Abashiri Prison , also known as A Man from Abashiri Prison, is a 1965 Japanese film written and directed by Teruo Ishii. Based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Hajime Itō, Ishii wrote the script as a remake of the 1958 American film The Defiant Ones. The film is the first entry in Toei Company's Abashiri Prison series, which stars Ken Takakura. Highly successful, it was the first hit in the yakuza film genre. Abashiri Prison made Takakura a star and was followed by 17 sequels.
Theatrical release poster
Teruo Ishii was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the Super Giant series, and for his films in the ero guro ("erotic-grotesque") subgenre of sexploitation such as Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968). He also directed the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, which helped to make Ken Takakura a major star in Japan. Referred to in Japan as "The King of Cult", Ishii had a much more prolific and eclectic career than was generally known in the West during his lifetime.
Film director Teruo Ishii