Emerging from a stint in prison, yakuza lieutenant Sumukawa discovers that his gang has disintegrated. An ambitious type, he quickly hooks up with another gang who promise him a prominent position if he helps them deal with a rival family. But bonds are made to be broken, and pledges of loyalty soon give way to competition, betrayal and — naturally — retaliation.
Direction
Hasebe's ice-cold compositions, violence as architecture.
Acting
Kobayashi's thousand-yard stare, Shishido's iconic chipmunk cheeks.
Director
Yasuharu Hasebe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Nikkatsu's 'Borderless Action' wave, blending French noir with Japanese nihilism. Hasebe and Seijun Suzuki were basically competing to see who could destroy the yakuza genre faster.
Akira Kobayashi was Nikkatsu's golden boy but this role's moral rot helped push him toward the even bleaker 'Rusty Knife' and 'Youth of the Beast' territory.
JP
