Top 5 Yakuza Flicks
Welcome to the thrilling world of drugs, sex and gratuitous violence, AKA the gangster film. It’s one of the most exciting genres in cinema, and definitely one that Japanese filmmakers have made their own. Yakuza Apocalypse, the wacky but gripping tale of vampire mobsters, is the latest in a long line of Japanese gangster greats, and is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on May 2nd – to get ourselves pumped up, we’re counting down our top 5 yakuza films!
Dead or Alive (1999) – Takashi Miike
From Yakuza Apocalypse’s very own Takashi Miike comes this gory, ultra-violent gangster offering about the tensions between Japanese police and the yakuza underworld. In a frenzy of sex, gore and rock ‘n’ roll, we meet yakuza member Ryuichi and seasoned cop Detective Jojima. Obsessed with crushing the gangs that plague his city, Jojima has let his job take over his home life, destroying his relationship with his wife. On the other hand, the violent and ruthless Ryuichi is determined to provide for his family, using his dirty money to fund his younger brother’s studies. The two men wage a bitter war, each protecting their turf and culminating in an explosive showdown. It’s nasty, no-holds barred filmmaking that demands your attention. Forcefully.
Sonatine (1993) – Takeshi Kitano
Seasoned filmmaker Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano directs and stars in this darkly funny yet deliciously thrilling mobster movie. Tired of his work as a gang enforcer in Tokyo, Murakawa (Kitano) is considering leaving the yakuza for a quieter life when he is suddenly sent away to Okinawa to settle a gang dispute. Suspicious that is is a ploy in order to facilitate his murder, Murakawa ends up fleeing with his men to the seaside where they while away their time playing… frisbee. The film treads a fine line between unsettlingly light-hearted and overtly violent, and often weaves tension into its most innocuous scenes. Not your regular yakuza flick, that’s for sure.
Drunken Angel (1948) – Akira Kurosawa
The oldest film on our list comes from critically acclaimed cineaste Akira Kurosawa, known for such Japanese classics as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. Drunken Angel takes place just after WW2, telling the story of the alcoholic Doctor Sanada who strikes up a rocky friendship with a young yakuza named Matsunaga, diagnosed with tuberculosis. Whilst Sanada tries to convince Matsunaga to give up his life of excess to take better care of his health, the gangster’s former boss has been released from prison and is looking to reform his old gang. Matsunaga is torn between the two worlds he now inhabits, and must decide which path to follow while Sanada can only look on in dismay.
Velvet Hustler (1967) – Toshio Masuda
Let’s just say, Velvet Hustler is probably the best mobster movie title we’ve ever heard. Also known as Like a Shooting Star and Crimson Cornet, this film follows Goro, a yakuza hitman who murders his boss and travels to Kobe in the hopes of avoiding suspicion and escaping the wrath of his fellow gangsters. Taking a job as security for a group of yakuza prostitutes, Goro hopes to hide in plain sight – but when he falls in love with a mysterious woman and spills his secret, things take a turn for the worse. The truth will out, and when the yakuza is involved, retaliation is swift…
Battles Without Honor & Humanity (1973) – Kinji Fukasaku
Widely regarded as one of the best yakuza films of all time, Battles Without Honor and Humanity is the first in a series of five films entitled The Yakuza Papers. Directed by the incredible Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale), the film is set in postwar Japan and chronicles the underworld tribulations of Shozo Hirono, an ex-soldier who finds himself drawn into a feud with his sworn brother’s family. Shot in a documentary-like style, this film not only gives you a glimpse into the ferocious world of the Yakuza – but also allows you to see what Japan was like shortly after the end of the second world war.
Remember to enter our competition to Yakuza Apocalypse on Blu-ray here.
By Fraser Overington and Darcy Giles
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