Synopsis:
It’s brother against brother and father against son in this all-star yakuza epic. With brilliant performances from Toei’s samurai movie stars in a modern day setting the battles highlight this tale of brutality among Japanese gangster groups. Toei Film Company set the standard for high quality in the yakuza movie genre with this motion picture. Rival gangs vie for control of the prostitution racket leading to an ultra-violent confrontation. This powerful story is not to be missed!Read More »
Hiroki Matsukata
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Shigehiro Ozawa – Bakuto tai tekiya AKA Gamblers and Racketeers (1964)
1961-1970CrimeDramaJapanShigehiro Ozawa -
Sadao Nakajima – Datsugoku Hiroshima satsujinshû AKA The Rapacious Jailbreaker (1974)
1971-1980ActionAsianJapanSadao NakajimaSadao Nakajima had made his name with Toei’s particular brand of violent action movie, but by the early seventies, the classic yakuza flick was going out of fashion. Datsugoku Hiroshima Satsujinshu (脱獄広島殺人囚, AKA The Rapacious Jailbreaker) follows in the wake of seminal genre buster, Battles Without Honour and Humanity, but also honours the classic Toei ganger movie past in its exploitation leaning, cynically humorous tale of a serial escapee and his ever more convoluted schemes to avoid the bumbling police force’s noose.Read More »
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Kinji Fukasaku – Jingi naki tatakai AKA Battles Without Honour and Humanity AKA The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
1971-1980CrimeJapanKinji FukasakuThrillerSynopsis:
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara) and his buddies find themselves in a new war between fractious and ambitious yakuza. After joining boss Yamamori, Shozo is drawn into a feud with his sworn brother¹s family, the Dois. But that¹s where the chivalry of traditional yakuza film ends and the hypocrisy, betrayal, and assassinations begin. A rare and critical perspective on the history of Japan after World War II, BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY is a tour-de-force that revolutionized the yakuza genre and launched Kinji Fukasaku and Bunta Sugawara to international stardom.Read More » -
Tai Katô – Mabuta no haha AKA The Mother He Never Knew (1962)
1961-1970ActionDramaJapanTai KatôSynopsis:
The protagonist Chujiro, who possesses many attractive qualities, is a victim of unkind circumstances: his mother abandoned him as a child, so he had no choice but to live outside society. Even so, he grows up determined to reunite with her. Worried that she might be living in misery, he saves his money to help, only to find that she has married into wealth and social position and has no intention of seeing her outcast Yakuza son…Read More »