The yakuza of this series arose from the social and economic fallout of Japan's nuclear annihilation. Even the occupying forces jumped into bed with them so mighty was their influence.
Fukusaku's DEATH OF HONOR, which was made later, depicted one man torn asunder by his own fractured obsessions. BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR depicts clans so fractured they spend most of their time tearing each other apart.
Bunta Sagawara, who was to Fukasaku what Deniro was to Scorsese, is scorching as a man whose personal honor is continuously tested by betrayal and seismic shifts in the leadership plate.
The late, great director's considerable skill was to illuminate gritty humanism in arenas of total chaos. His is a breathless, kinetic cinema that perfectly personifies his preferred subject matter.
The details in this outing are fascinating. A scene in which yakuza buddies and a boss's wife discuss the correct procedure for sawing off a finger is priceless. Another scene in which the devoted girlfriend of a wanted man hides him under a blanket with her children is funny and horrible at the same time.
The violence is sudden, bloody and realistic. Not a directorial foot is put wrong and the use of freeze frames is inspired. The pacing is brisk, the cutting sharp and unconventional.
The world portrayed is absolute and absolutely convincing.
This is tornado cinema.
Fukusaku's DEATH OF HONOR, which was made later, depicted one man torn asunder by his own fractured obsessions. BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR depicts clans so fractured they spend most of their time tearing each other apart.
Bunta Sagawara, who was to Fukasaku what Deniro was to Scorsese, is scorching as a man whose personal honor is continuously tested by betrayal and seismic shifts in the leadership plate.
The late, great director's considerable skill was to illuminate gritty humanism in arenas of total chaos. His is a breathless, kinetic cinema that perfectly personifies his preferred subject matter.
The details in this outing are fascinating. A scene in which yakuza buddies and a boss's wife discuss the correct procedure for sawing off a finger is priceless. Another scene in which the devoted girlfriend of a wanted man hides him under a blanket with her children is funny and horrible at the same time.
The violence is sudden, bloody and realistic. Not a directorial foot is put wrong and the use of freeze frames is inspired. The pacing is brisk, the cutting sharp and unconventional.
The world portrayed is absolute and absolutely convincing.
This is tornado cinema.