The Rugby Star
Release Date: 1976-05-15
Rating : 10/10
Duration : 88 minutes
Genres : Action, Comedy
Director : Akira Shimizu
Writer : Motohiro Torii, Shizuo Nonami
The success of Truck Yaro (1975-1979) initiated a whole load of movies that put "Yaro" in their title, including this semi-bonkers sports comedy/drama. Sonny Chiba's brother Jiro Chiba stars as a Rugby player whose team must find a way to beat the opponent. It's a standard storyline without any major surprises, but works surprisingly well. Training scenes are relatively nuts; much better than the actual matches actually, which tend to go on forever. There is no sex, nudity or graphic violence, making this a family friendly affair. Sonny Chiba appears for about 7 minutes during the last third as a truck driver who comes to Jiro's rescue.
Cast
Jirô Chiba
Koji Nanjo
Kentaro Maki
Gō Ibuki
Shiro Kishibe
Rinichi Yamamoto