Tag Archives: Tatsuya Fuji

Teenage Yakuza (1962) Review

February 28, 2018 Kelly Warner
"Teenage Yakuza" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Tamio Kawaji, Noriko Matsumoto, Keiko Sugiyama, Kayo Matsuo, Asao Sano, Midori Tashiro, Kotoe Hatsui, Tatsuya Fuji, Toshio Sugiyama, Kaku Takashina Running Time: 72 min. By Kelly Warner Listen kids, I know that your teenage years can be rough. Your body is um, changing. You have, uh, urges. And sometimes your emotions are out of control. But you’re a good kid. You know the difference between right … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Goro the Assassin (1968) Review

May 16, 2016 Kelly Warner
"Outlaw: Goro the Assassin" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Gangster VIP 4 Director: Keiichi Ozawa Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Asao Koike, Jiro Okazaki, Kei Sato, Tatsuya Fuji, Shoki Fukae Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner The Outlaw series dabbles in many genres over the span of its six films. They’re yakuza thrillers, romantic dramas, and action movies with noirish antiheroes. Hell, director Toshio Masuda views the original Gangster VIP as a youth picture. The fourth film, … Continue reading →

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Outlaw: Gangster VIP (1968) Review

April 27, 2016 Kelly Warner

Director: Toshio Masuda Writer: Kaneo Ikegami, Reiji Kubota Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Mitsuo Hamada, Tamio Kawaji, Kyosuke Machida, Kayo Matsuo Running Time: 93 min. By Kelly Warner There are a huge number of classic Japanese films that most the world hasn’t seen yet. So it’s always great when a home video distributor like Arrow, Criterion, Eureka, and others rediscover some forgotten gem and show it to the world. And … Continue reading →

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Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 (1971) Review‏

September 1, 2015 Kelly Warner

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Crazy Riders ’71 Director: Toshiya Fujita Writer: Tatsuya Asai, Hideichi Nagahara Cast: Meiko Kaji, Takeo Chii, Tatsuya Fuji, Yoshio Harada, Takeo Chii, Yoshio Inaba, Bunjaku Han, Michiko Tsukasa Running Time: 87 min. By Kyle Warner Director Toshiya Fujita returns to the Stray Cat Rock series for the fifth and final installment, Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 (aka Stray Cat Rock: Crazy Rider ’71). While I thought that the previous … Continue reading →

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Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal (1970) Review

August 19, 2015 Kelly Warner

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Machine Animal Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Ryuzo Nakanishi Producer: Masami Kuzu Cast: Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Bunjaku Han, Jiro Okazaki, Toshiya Yamano, Eiji Go, Yasuhiro Kameyama By Kyle Warner The Stray Cat Rock series continues with the fourth entry, Machine Animal. Like the films that came before it, Machine Animal was a quick production, filmed over just two weeks and released a little over two months after … Continue reading →

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Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter (1970) Review

July 23, 2015 Kelly Warner

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Sex Hunter Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Producer: Masayuki Takagi Cast: Meiko Kaji, Rikiya Yasuoka, Tatsuya Fuji, Jiro Okazaki, Yuki Arikawa, Tomoko Aki, Yoko Takagi, Akemi Nara Running Time: 93 min. By Kyle Warner I first saw Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter almost a decade ago. At the time, I was totally unaware that it belonged to a series of films (Part 3 of 5, in fact). When I … Continue reading →

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Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo (1970) Review

July 16, 2015 Kelly Warner

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Wild Jumbo Director: Toshiya Fujita Producer: Toshiya Fujita, Shuichi Nagahara Cast: Meiko Kaji, Bunjaku Han, Takeo Chii, Tatsuya Fuji, Yusuke Natsu, Soichiro Maeno, Akiko Wada Running Time: 94 min. By Kyle Warner After the success of Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, a follow-up film was rushed into production and released just three months later. Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo is a messier, cheaper looking film than … Continue reading →

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Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970) Review

July 8, 2015 Kelly Warner
"Delinquent Girl Boss" Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Alleycat Rock: Female Boss Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Hideichi Nagahara Cast: Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Koji Wada, Bunjaku Han, Yuka Kemari, Hanako Tokachi, YĆ«ko Shimazu, Yuka Ohashi, Miki Yanagi, Toshimitsu Shima Running Time: 80 min. By Kelly Warner After Roger Corman’s 1966 outlaw biker film The Wild Angels (which starred Peter Fonda pre-Easy Rider) became a surprise hit in Japan, Japanese studios were quick to cash in and make … Continue reading →

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Retaliation (1968) Review

May 5, 2015 Kelly Warner

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Yoshihiro Ishimatsu, Keiji Kubota Cast: Joe Shishido, Meiko Kaji, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawachi, Eiji Go, Tatsuya Fuji, Jiro Okazaki, Shoki Fukae, Shoki Fukae, Kaku Takashina Running Time: 94 min. By Kyle Warner There are two primary types of yakuza film. The genre began with films about chivalrous gangsters. These classics depicted yakuza as outlaws, yes, but they lived by a code, they were often romantic, and … Continue reading →

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Massacre Gun (1967) Review

March 31, 2015 Kelly Warner

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Yasuharu Hasebe, Ryuzu Nakanishi Cast: Jo Shishido, Tatsuya Fuji, Jiro Okazaki, Ryoji Hayama, Takashi Kanda, Hideaki Nitani, Ken Sanders, Tamaki Sawa, Yoko Yamamoto Running Time: 89 min. By Kyle Warner One look at the credits of popular Japanese action movie tough guys like Jo Shishido, Ken Takakura, and Bunta Sugawara lets you know that we in the West have only seen but a sampling of their … Continue reading →

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