MANHUNT (1976 UMBRELLA)

Outrageously over-the-top, MANHUNT (HOT PURSUIT a.k.a Kimi yo fundo no kawa wo watare) is the fugitive thriller epic to rival all that followed.

Tokyo District Public Prosecutor Fuyuto Morioka (Ken Takakura, The Drifting Avenger, 47 Ronin) is suddenly accused of a crime he didn't commit and arrested in the middle of a bustling Shinjuku street.

Taking advantage of a lapse in police procedure, Morioka escapes and starts a search for the witnesses, who have disappeared, with police in hot pursuit.

What follows is a legendary chase across the length and breadth of the country Morioka fights bears, falls in love, flies a plane, escapes an asylum, finds dead bodies and survives multiple near catches from the relentless Police Inspector Yamura (Yoshio Harada) on his tail. Will Morioka expose the conspiracy that framed him before they catch him?