BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY: THE FULL FIVE-FILM SERIES. 1973-1975. DIRECTED BY KINJI FUKASAKU. MUSIC BY TOSHIAKI TSUSHIMA. NARRATED BY ASAO KOIKE. STARRING BUNTA SUGAWARA. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
Arrow Films have a treat in store for film buffs this December. Namely, they'll be releasing a gorgeous new limited edition boxset of Kinji Fukasaku's epic yakuza five-film series, BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY, in both DVD and Blu-Ray format. Plus, there's a whole host of delicious extra features for fans of the films that are commonly referred to as 'the Japanese 'GODFATHER.''
The series of films was made by Kinji Fukasaku over a period of two years, a feat which is mind-boggling in itself, given the complexity of the subject matter. The five films include: BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY, HIROSHIMA DEATH MATCH, PROXY WAR (my personal favourite!), POLICE TACTICS and the appropriately-named FINAL EPISODE.
The boxset would make a fantastic Christmas (or anytime!) present for the fan of the yakuza film genre, of which BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY is generally considered the absolute pinnacle. In fact, it's seen as a masterpiece of world crime cinema, hence its nickname of 'the Japanese GODFATHER.''
I've seen THE GODFATHER and its sequels many times. While there's no denying its brilliance, it's never captivated me the way BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY did when I recently watched it in three instalments over a period of one week. Frankly, I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's a stunning piece of work on a major scale. I was glued to it, which was surprising in itself given that I've never considered 'gangster' films to be of particular interest to me. But this is different. It's pure genius. Simple as that.
So what's it all about, anyway? Based on newspaper footage of real-life events, the five films basically follow the fortunes of Shozo Hirono, masterfully played by Bunta Sugawara. He's an ex-soldier, street thug and black marketeer in post-war Hiroshima who rises through the ranks to become the boss of his own 'family' and crime syndicate, the Hirono Family.
Shozo is an immensely likeable character. Yes, he commits some dodgy acts, but he's good-humoured, too-cool-for-school and I think he's basically honourable. He seems to want what's right, at the end of the day. He's also fit-bodied and hugely fanciable. It was no hardship to watch his journey over the course of the five films, which by the way have a terrifically catchy soundtrack by Toshiaki Tsushima and great staccato narration throughout by Asao Koike.
Over the course of the twenty-five years spanned by this epic saga of a series, we see Shozo alternately living the high life of a yakuza boss and being chucked in the slammer, often for years at a time, for what, after all, are his crimes. I read in the promotional material that Quentin Tarantino and Takashi Miike were both influenced by these films. Will I tell you who else I think studied them carefully before going on to make the biggest and best HBO series of all time...?
That's right, folks. David Chase, creator of legendary Mob drama, THE SOPRANOS. The whole way through watching BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY, I was reminded of THE SOPRANOS. There were so many cool similarities. Mob bosses and underbosses in and out of prison like it has a revolving door, and being welcomed like kings when they finally get out of 'the can.'
Underlings carrying out half-assed and poorly-thought-out hits on enemies of 'the family' on their own initiative because they think it'll get 'em in good with their bosses. Remember Matt Bevilacqua and his dopey crony shooting at Christopher Moltisanti to impress that nasty piece of work Richie Aprile...?
I was thrilled to notice the similarities between these two awesome series. It just makes me love THE SOPRANOS all the more to think that their creator may have been influenced by BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY, my new favourite slice of crime cinema.
Anyway, we see Shozo and the other rival 'families' cleaning up in post-war Hiroshima and cornering the market in illegal dealings. Cleaning up in the sense of making money, by the way, not doing good deeds in the community...! As the years go by, however, the people of Japan get sick and tired of the violence and dodgy dealings of the yakuza (ordinary civilians are being caught in the crossfire) and the cops are forced to crack down on the 'families,' throwing the bosses in the clink and trying to stamp out the yakuza influence once and for all.
Subsequently, the 'families' feel that they have no option but to appear to be disassociating themselves from the yakuza image of the ultra-violent gangsters who cut off their little fingers to make amends to a boss for poor performance. The 'families' even form a 'political coalition' which they pretend is nothing to do with the yakuza, but of course it's just the yakuza under a different guise. Consequently, the violence and the killings and the assassinations continue right up to the final frame. Does Shozo manage to make it to the very end of the series? You'll have to watch this incredible series for yourself to find out, folks!
Shozo is joined on his journey by a dramatis personae of villains and false friends straight out of Shakespeare. There's his odious and cowardly boss Yamamori (until he breaks from him, that is!); the sideburned and sneaky Makihari; the dark-glasses-wearing Takeda, Shozo's sort-of friend, who kept reminding me of Roy Orbison because of the specs; the vile and horrible Uchimoto; the hot-headed Yamanaka, with his tragic love affair with boss Muraoka's niece; and another young hot-head, Matsumura with the rather tasty six-pack, who takes over from Takedo while he's in the slammer.
The violence in the films is unbelievable. It's blood-curdling. Also, just to mention that the portrayal of women in the series is not too flattering. Women are either whores to be used and abused or elderly mothers sobbing bitterly over the deaths of their beloved sons in yakuza-related violence. Ah well. The films are too good to get het-up about a bit of political incorrectness, haha. In all honesty, the films are outstandingly good. Do yourself a big favour and ask Santa to get you the boxset for Christmas. Happy Christmas, film-lovers.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based performance poet, novelist, film blogger, sex blogger and short story writer. She has given more than 200 performances of her comedy sex-and-relationship poems in different venues around Dublin, including The Irish Writers' Centre, The International Bar, Toners' Pub (Ireland's Most Literary Pub), the Ha'penny Inn, Le Dernier Paradis at the Trinity Inn and The Strokestown Poetry Festival.
Her articles, short stories and poems have appeared in The Metro-Herald newspaper, Ireland's Big Issues magazine, The Irish Daily Star, The Irish Daily Sun and The Boyne Berries literary journal. In August 2014, she won the ONE LOVELY BLOG award for her (lovely!) horror film review blog. She is addicted to buying books and has been known to bring home rain-washed tomes she finds on the street and give them a home. In 2003, she was invited to be a guest on Niall Boylan's 98FM late-night radio talk show purely on the basis of having a 'sexy voice.'
She is the proud possessor of a pair of unfeasibly large bosoms. They have given her- and the people around her- infinite pleasure over the years. She adores the horror genre in all its forms and will swap you anything you like for Hammer Horror or JAWS memorabilia. She would also be a great person to chat to about the differences between the Director's Cut and the Theatrical Cut of The Wicker Man. You can contact her at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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