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Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: May 16th, 2023.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Meiko Kaji
Year: 1976
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Yakuza Graveyard – Movie Review:
One of many gritty and cynical Yakuza films directed by the late, great Kinji Fukasaku (best known stateside for Battle Royale and The Green Slime!), 1976's Yakuza Graveyard follows the story of Detective Kuroiwa (played by the uber-tough Tetsuya Watari of Graveyard Of Honor) who has recently been sent to work at the local precinct. Soon after he arrives, he strikes up an awkward friendship with a local Yakuza boss and the two begin a symbiotic relationship, feeding information to each other. Kuroiwa allows the Yakuza boss to help his clan stay one step ahead of the rival gangs in the prefecture and Kuroiwa is given enough information to uncover a money laundering operation going on in his territory involving an ex police chief and a few other high ranking police officials.
Kuroiwa, now hot on a few leads in the investigation that were supplied to him by his pigeon, becomes enraged when he finds the Yakuza boss murdered by a rival gang. Conveniently, he also starts to fall for the late bosses wife, Keiko (the iconic Meiko Kaji of the Female Convict Scorpion and Lady Snowblood films). Their relationship blossoms quickly and with her help, he begins to uncover more and more about the Yakuza gangs and the way they operate in hopes of apprehending his friend's murderers and bringing the money laundering ring to an end. Unfortunately for Kuroiwa and Keiko, there's a lot more going on under the surface of all of this than they realize, and there just might be some insiders working against them…
While it plays with a lot of the same themes as Cops Vs. Thugs, made by Kinji Fukasaku a year earlier in 1975, also for Toei Studios and also written by Kazuo Kasahara, Yakuza Graveyard is a more personable film with its smaller cast and concentration on a lone detective fighting against a system in which loyalty and honor are so important to the society that has spawned it. It represents post war Japan as an angry place, a society in which honor means more than right or wrong and in which a messed up cop can make a difference and find love even if it’s in the completely wrong place and it could mean the end for him.
Fukasaku's direction is flamboyant and kinetic with a great color scheme, some fast paced editing tricks, and a lot of handheld footage used in the action scenes. He also uses still pictures to accent scene transitions to good effect and the film is never unappealing to the eye. He had used some of these techniques in earlier films and would use them even more in later ones but here in Yakuza Graveyard he seems to have found the right balance, using them to punctuate certain scenes and accentuate certain characters rather than beat us over the head with useless exercises in style over substance.
Watari plays Kuro tough as nails and although he comes close to those he's trying so hard to bring down, the viewer has to question his motives and especially his methods… is he really any better than they are? He's a violent man and has no qualms whatsoever about beating a suspect for information or shooting first and asking questions later. His scenes with the stunning Meiko Kaji are great as the two have an obvious and strong on screen chemistry together which Fukasaku makes the most of. They're shot in a very flattering manner when they're on camera together, and their messed up romance is even idealized in spots, or so it would seem.
Yakuza Graveyard comes very highly recommended for fans of films like Dirty Harry and Death Wish as it has a similar style and holds its own against some of the best action films made during the 70s. It's not a pretty film but it is an intense one that benefits from some exceptionally good performances, a gritty and compelling storyline and some fine direction from one of the best director's Japan has given us. It's violent, it's mean, and it's completely uncompromising and for that reason it stands as an exceptionally good action film with some more cerebral moments, a few moments in fact that actually make you think and make you feel for the characters. If you picked up the semi-recent Home Vision Kinji Fukasaku Yakuza movie releases and enjoyed those films, than this one should be right up your alley.
Yakuza Graveyard – Blu-ray Review:
Yakuza Graveyard arrives on Blu-ray from Radiance Films in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer provided by Studio Canal framed at 2.35.1 widescreen taking up just over 22GBs of space on the Region A/B locked 25GB disc. The transfer is a good one, presenting the film in very nice shape. Colors are reproduced nicely and quite accurately and the image is free of any noise reduction or edge enhancement issues. The picture is very clean, showing really no real print damage at all while retaining the expected film grain. Detail is quite nice, looking much better than the older domestic DVD edition that came out years ago. Compression artifacts are never a problem and there’s good depth and texture to take in.
The only audio option on the disc is a 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track in Japanese with optional subtitles provided in English only. This is a fairly dialogue heavy film despite frequent scenes of intense action, but the track handles everything well, giving things some punch when the movie calls for it and doing a very nice job with the score and the punchy gunshot sound effects. No problems with any hiss or distortion and the levels are balanced nicely. The subtitles are clean, clear, easy to read and free of any noticeable typos.
There are few interesting extras included here, starting with an Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi recorded in 2022. He speaks about Fukasaku's work in genres outside of the Yakuza movie, how the Yakuza movies can be confusing with so many characters, the Toei formula and how Fukasaku broke from it, the director's ability to capture the dark side of humanity, how the Yakuza Graveyard shows the conflicts between the police and the Yakuza, the film's script and story and what makes this and other Toei Yakuza movies fascinating to him.
The Rage And The Passion is a new visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku's collaborations, also made in 2022. This twelve minute piece traces how the director and famous actress came to work together, where their respective careers were at during this period, what made them a good fit and lots more.
The disc also includes a still gallery of promotional imagery, a three minute original Japanese trailer for the feature (“Prepare for a bloodbath!”), menus and chapter selection options.
There's also an Easter Egg here that contains a four minute piece with Kazuya Shiraishi where speaks for four minutes about Fukasaku's influence on his own film, Blood Of Wolves, how the source novel was written after seeing Battles Without Honor And Humanity, appreciating the way Fukasaku shot gambling scenes, the reality of the Yakuza way of life in modern Japan, wanting to depict his characters as humans, what makes Yakuza movies of this era interesting and how they tend to mirror society.
As to the packaging, Radiance supplies, with the first pressing, some really nice reversible sleeve artwork featuring newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow on one side and art from the original Japanese theatrical poster on the reverse. This release also comes packaged with a limited edition full-color booklet featuring an essay on the film by Mika Ko titled ‘Zainichi Koreans’ In Japanese Yakuza Films that covers the representations of Koreans in the yakuza film, and newly translated re-prints of a review and writing by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara titled Could Rice Still Fall From The Screen? from 1976 and an essay by Masao Matsuda titled Kinji Fukasaku’s Boundary Crossing: An Attempt To Decipher Yakuza Graveyard, also from 1976. The nicely illustrated booklet also includes cast and crew notes and credits for the Blu-ray release. This limited edition first pressing is being pressed in 3,000 copies and comes with a removable Obi strip, which is a nice touch.
Yakuza Graveyard - The Final Word:
Yakuza Graveyard still hits like a punch in the gut but in the best way possible. This movie is tough as nails and made all the better by some really strong acting and Fukasaku’s fantastic directing style. The Blu-ray release from Radiance Films is a good one, presenting the film in a really nice high definition presentation and with some nice extras and quality packaging to go along with it. Highly recommended!
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized Yakuza Graveyard Blu-ray screen caps!
