Description

In the tradition of Takeshi Kitano, Sergio Leone, and George Romero, Japanese action director Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale I and II, The Yakuza Papers) brings to life Street Mobster, the story of a violent killer who will stop at nothing to satisfy his lust for blood.Released from prison, gangster Isamu Okita plans to start his own gang and begins a reign of terror using beatings, prostitution, stabbings, and murders to fight his way to the top of the gangland world. Street Mobster is a look into the dark realm of Japan's criminal underworld, where anything can be had for a price. ... Read more

Description

As the fireworks explode overhead, the blood runs under foot. Zatoichi is provoked into a fury of sword slinging by a disreputable gang leader trying to oust a rival, good-natured boss. A houseguest of the peaceful Bunkichi boss, Ichi attempts to help his gracious host fight the greedy boss Yasugoro, but as a fugitive, Ichi’s honorable host must ask the blind swordsman to leave. With Ichi temporarily out of the way, Yasugoro makes his bloody move. But being a man of fairness and equality, Zatoichi makes sure Yasugoro gets what he deserves in the end. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Blind Swordsman = Incredible viewing
This is one of my favorite Zatoichi films. The best thing about Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) is that he can play a role with such sincerity and emotional involvement that he can pull you in to any one of his roles. He has had quite an acting career in Japan, this being his 7th Zatoichi full length feature. I think this is where the movies started going in a different direction. All of the movies are great. But this one in particular starts to show the true cinematography and action that really defined these movies and Katsu as truly ahead of there time.
The funny thing about these movies are,you don't even need to like martial art movies to like Zatoichi. ALL of the movies have an intricate plot and story line. Very impressive!
I'm extremely excited that they finally came out with good transfers to DVD of the Zatoichi movies. Very good Quality and a very good movie. ... Read more

Description

As Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic games, the cops start to crack down under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.Akira Kobayashi's Takeda tries to keep a lid on things, but hotheaded underlings create chaos, with one boss whacked in neutral territory, and the craven boss, Uchimoto, informing on an assassination attempt by his own minions.While the police round up hundreds of yakuza foot soldiers, Bunta Sugawara's Shozo Hirono plots to finally take out longtime nemesis, boss Yamamori. ... Read more

Description

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

Description

Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka (Kinya Kitaoji, who went on to star as Rhett Butler in the Tokyo stage version of GONE WITH THE WIND), finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hit man and falls in love with boss Muraoka¹s niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo (Sonny Chiba, KILL BILL) draws our series¹ hero, Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara), into a new round of bloodshed, culminating with the tragic demise of the young Yamanka. ... Read more

Description

The successor to Hiroshima¹s most powerful yakuza family, the Muraokas, is whacked in broad daylight on a busy city street. What unfolds is a yakuza succession crisis, as the weaseley Uchimoto (Takeshi Kato) dithers and the slimy, backstabbing boss Yamamori steps in as the Muraoka's new boss. Bunta Sugawara's would-be independent yakuza, Shozo Hirono, is caught in the middle, having to play powerbroker. But the opposing factions seek support from powerful families in Kobe, making all out war inevitable. ... Read more

Description

In the wake of a big police crackdown, Akira Kobayashi's icily sun- glassed Takeda attempts to transform the Hiroshima yakuza families into a legitimate political organization: The Tensei Coalition. When the young Matsumura ascends to the chairmanship of the coalition, the older, hardened yakuza led by Jo Shishido (BRANDED TO KILL) seize one last opportunity to stir up chaos and bloodshed. Culminating with the arrests, deaths, or retirement of the first postwar yakuza generation, this milestone series draws to an ambivalent close. ... Read more