A great Yakuza movie, which is a precursor to the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. You get the lieutenant that’s just been released from prison and finds the world has changed, and his gang has moved on. But moving shop to Okinawa, which is occupied by the US Military, takes them back to the free-for-all days of post-war Japan. This time was a boom for Yakuza (and detailed extensively in BWHH). These guys are old school and live by a code. And even when they should run and give up, they stick things out, satisfied to die old school. Rather than try to outsmart the mainland gangs, they charge on full force-- literally stabbing the rival bosses to death as they’re being shot to pieces. Fukasaku’s camerawork is so wild, so frenetic, and the gunplay scenes are absolutely nuts. I suspect I’ll be busting out that Yakuza Papers box sooner rather than later.

A great Yakuza movie, which is a precursor to the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. You get the lieutenant that’s just been released from prison and finds the world has changed, and his gang has moved on. But moving shop to Okinawa, which is occupied by the US Military, takes them back to the free-for-all days of post-war Japan. This time was a boom for Yakuza (and detailed extensively in BWHH). These guys are old school and live by a code. And even when they should run and give up, they stick things out, satisfied to die old school. Rather than try to outsmart the mainland gangs, they charge on full force-- literally stabbing the rival bosses to death as they’re being shot to pieces. Fukasaku’s camerawork is so wild, so frenetic, and the gunplay scenes are absolutely nuts. I suspect I’ll be busting out that Yakuza Papers box sooner rather than later.