Tag Archives: Kinji Fukasaku

Green Slime, The (1968) Review

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Ian Whittle

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, Luciana Paluzzi, Bud Widom, Ted Gunther, Robert Dunham, David Yorston, William Ross, Gary Randolf, Eugene Vince Running Time: 90 min. By Ian Whittle The late Japanese New Wave director Fukasaku Kinji has a formidable reputation for his many Yakuza classics of the 1970s, his contributions to the Hollywood production Tora! Tora! Tora!, and his latter day masterpiece Battle Royale. He also directed … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss (1976) Review

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Kelly Warner
"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Isao Bito, Takeo Chii, Takuya Fujioka, Seizo Fukumoto, Eiji Go, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Chieko Matsubara, Kan Mikami, Michiro Minami, Sanae Nakahara, Kōji Nanjo Running Time: 91 min. By Kyle Warner 1976 just happened to be a leap year. And on February 29th, a woman with a drug problem is murdered. The first suspect is the yakuza Imamura, her known supplier. But then Imamura … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, Reviews | Tagged , |

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss’s Head (1975) Review

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Kelly Warner
"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Seizo Fukumoto, Yuriko Hishimi, Meiko Kaji, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Ryuji Katagiri, Nenji Kobayashi, Hideo Murota, Mikio Narita, Ko Nishimura, Bunta Sugawara, Asao Uchida Running Time: 94 min. By Kelly Warner Now this is more like it. I was a bit disappointed with the first New Battles film, and if writer Koji Takada’s account of things is correct, so was director Kinji Fukasaku. The first film of the trilogy is … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1974) Review

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Kelly Warner
"New Battles Without Honour & Humanity" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Tsunehiko Watase, Kunie Tanaka, Noboru Ando, Seizo Fukumoto, Reiko Ike, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Yoko Koizumi Running Time: 98 min. By Kelly Warner When Toei’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity came to a close in 1974 with Final Episode, audiences still in love with the series demanded more, and the studio was more than happy to oblige. Over the next three years, … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , |

Doberman Cop (1977) Review

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Kelly Warner
Doberman Cop | Blu-ray & DVD (Arrow Video)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Buronson, Koji Takada Cast: Sonny Chiba, Janet Hatta, Eiko Matsuda, Masaru Shiga, Tatsuo Endo, Hideo Murota, Koichi Iwaki, Takuzo Kawatani, Hiroki Matsukata, Ryuji Katagiri Running Time: 90 min. By Kelly Warner An Okinawa girl’s been murdered, the latest in what appears to be the work of a serial killer. She was strangled and then her apartment was set on fire, making any positive identification unlikely. The Tokyo cops … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

Cops vs. Thugs (1975) Review

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Kelly Warner
Cops vs Thugs | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike, Hiroki Matsukata, Toru Abe, Mikio Narita, Akira Shioji, Tatsuo Umemiya, Shotaro Hayashi, Hideo Murota, Masaharu Arikawa Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner No one dies well in a Kinji Fukasaku gangster movie. A director who fuels nearly every scene with rage or panic, his characters always seem to either be screaming at each other or tripping over one another in an attempt to escape … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 5: Final Episode (1974) Review

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Kelly Warner

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Koji Takada Producer: Goro Kusakabe Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Kinya Kitaoji, Joe Shishido, Junkichi Orimoto, Kunie Tanaka, Shingo Yamashirom Hiroki Matsukata, Goichi Yamada, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Asao Uchida, Isao Konami Running Time: 98 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series was hugely successful when they were first released in the early 1970’s and the films remain highly regarded … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , |

Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 4: Police Tactics (1974) Review

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Kelly Warner

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Kazuo Kasahara Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Hideo Murota, Shingo Yamashiro, Kunie Tanaka, Shinichiro Mikami, Ichiro Ogura, Asao Koike, Asao Uchida, Harumi Sone, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 101 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series is best viewed back-to-back and never is that more true than with Proxy War and Police Tactics. … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |

Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 3: Proxy War (1973) Review

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Kelly Warner
"Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 3" Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Mikio Narita, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Shingo Yamashiro, Nobuo Kaneko, Tsunehiko Watase, Hideo Murota, Tatsuo Umemiya, Asao Uchida, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 102 min. By Kelly Warner Hiroshima Death Match is a strong film and a fine example of the yakuza film genre. However, it was little more than a side-story in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series and … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , |

Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 2: Hiroshima Death Match (1973) Review

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Kelly Warner
"Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 2" Blu-ray Cover

AKA: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Kinya Kitaoji, Sonny Chiba, Bunta Sugawara, Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Hiroshi Nawa, Asao Koike, Shingo Yamashiro, Hideo Murota, Tatsuo Endo, Yoshi Kato, Kinji Nakamura, Gin Maeda, Nobuo Kaneko, Toshie Kimura Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner After the huge financial success of Battles Without Honor and Humanity in January 1973, two sequels were fast-tracked and released that same year. Based … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 1 (1973) Review

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Kelly Warner
"Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 1" Blu-ray Cover

AKA: The Yakuza Papers Vol. 1 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka, Eiko Nakamura, Tsunehiko Watase, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Toshie Kimura, Tamio Kawaji, Mayumi Nagisa, Asao Uchida, Shinichiro Mikami, Hiroshi Nawa Running Time: 99 min. By Kelly Warner Throughout the 1960s, yakuza were typically depicted as honorable outlaws in Ninkyo eiga, or “chivalry films.” Often starring fan-favorites like Ken Takakura or Koji Tsuruta, these films … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Japanese, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Battle Royale (2000) Review

Posted on March 4, 2011 by JJ Hatfield
"Battle Royale” Japanese Movie Poster

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Yuko Miyamura, Yuuki Masuda, Sousuke Takaoka Running Time: 114 min. By JJ Hatfield “Battle Royale” is very interesting – interesting beyond the usual curiosity and opinions about books and films. What is most interesting is that those who have not read the book nor viewed the movies are the same ones who … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

Battle Royale 2: Requiem (2003) Review

Posted on January 6, 2011 by JJ Bona

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Co-director: Kenta Fukasaku Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Shugo Oshinari, Ayana Sakai, Riki Takeuchi, Natsuki Kato, Ai Iwamura, Masaya Kikawada, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano, Sonny Chiba Running Time: 134 min. By Equinox21 When good ideas go bad. Ok, so I can understand the point of Battle Royale. I loved the first movie. It made sense (in a sadistic sort of way) to have hooligan kids killing each … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , |