Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana (1976) YTS

Reviewed by dustin d 9 / 10

If Fukasaku's Battles without Honor or Humanity series

If Fukasaku's Battles without Honor or Humanity series could be distilled down to its best parts and condensed to one film, it would resemble Yakuza Graveyard. It has all the yakuza intrigue and gritty/occasionally funny violence of his other films, but he gets the human element down better.

Reviewed by DanTheMan 2 8 / 10

Even with its sombre and bleak tone that

Even with its sombre and bleak tone that puts many of his other works to shame, once the smoke clears, there are more than enough corpses to fill this graveyard. Yakuza Graveyard is one of Kinji Fukasaku's more psychological approaches to his Yakuza films, dripping with nihilism and crammed full of energy, the film has all the hallmarks of Fukasaku's other movies. Here, he chooses to focus on the complicated and damaged psyche of Tetsuya Watari's investigator Kuroiwa with the chemistry he shares with Meiko Kaji's Keiko adding some beautiful tenderness to this gripping tale of violence and interpersonal deception. The camera tilts, dives and chases after the exceptional action, at no point becoming lost in the haze of bloody knuckles and muzzle flashes; combining this with Toshiaki Tsushima's prog rock style score and Yakuza Graveyard remains just as emotional, hard-hitting and badass as Fukasaku's other works, maintaining a standard of quality few could rival.

Reviewed by R T 7 / 10

Appearing just two years after the conclusion of

Appearing just two years after the conclusion of the five-film Battles without Honour and Humanity yakuza saga, Kinji Fukasaku's Yakuza Graveyard shows a lot of stylistic similarities. (His late controversial success with Battle Royale was still decades away). Tetsuya Watari plays a rogue cop who feels more sympathy (and develops more of an allegiance) with the yakuza involved in a gang war than he does for the corrupt police force to which he belongs. Again, it's the yakuaza's code of honour that appeals to him â" although this doesn't stop him (and them) from gambling, drinking, using drugs, and supporting prostitution. They do take care of the women who are left alone when their husbands die or are put in prison. Perhaps these obligations are akin to strictly economic (exchange) relationships rather than love (communal) relationships; the latter are reserved for the male bonds. Once bonded (even between cop and yakuza, as here), the "brothers" will do anything for each other. Fukasaku's style is incredible â" he makes full use of freeze frames, jump cuts, and even some psychotronic colouring when necessary (Watari is drugged). It isn't surprising that boundary-crosser Nagisa Oshima has a cameo. The film speeds along at a very healthy clip, spiked by violence, and although the plot is occasionally muddled, it isn't hard to follow the central action. At times, there is a resemblance to the films of Jean-Pierre Melville (also a master of the "gangster's honour" genre) and therefore to film noir. But truly the yakuza film (and specifically those of Fukasaku) are a genre unto themselves and definitely worth checking out.

Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana

1976 [JAPANESE]

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller

Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana

1976 [JAPANESE]

Action / Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller

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Movie Reviews

If Fukasaku's Battles without Honor or Humanity series

Even with its sombre and bleak tone that

Appearing just two years after the conclusion of

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