When an argument comes up as to who made the best gangster films in the ’70s and ’80s with the choices being Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Brian De Palma; I ask: Where’s the Kinji Fukasaku option? During the ’70s, the director made the monumental Battles Without Honor and Humanity that over the course of five films and a three-part sequel series looked into the rise of the Yakuza in Hiroshima. He did away with the dignity and loyalty that had marked previous films about the Japanese version of the mafia. He showed them as dangerous men who will turn on each other if given a chance. Screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara wrote the original film and three of the sequels. While he didn’t work on the three New Battles, Kasahara produced memorable Cops vs. Thugs script for Fukasaku which is considered a masterpiece of the genre. The duo teamed up one last time for a movie that gave light to another aspect of mobster life in Yakuza Graveyard. This final outing would give us characters dealing with not only the relationship between law enforcement and organized crime, but national identity.
Kuroiwa Ryu (Graveyard of Honor‘s Tetsuya Watari) is a plainclothes cop who has recently been transferred Osaka because of how rough he’d get when dealing with Yakuza foot soldiers. This included killing one member and taking up with his widow. He’s a bit of a mess when he arrives for his new assignment which involves dealing with the Nishida crime family. They mainly work in gambling. This makes them suspectable to a takeover from the bigger Yamashiro family which has a more diversified crime portfolio. He goes full force against the Nishida until he finds he’s found a soft spot for one of their under bosses. Keiko (Lady Snowblood‘s Meiko Kaji) is maintaining her husband’s seat at the table while he’s serving 14 years in prison. She’s kind of single. Iwata (Cops vs. Thugs‘ Tatsuo Umemiya) and others want her to get tight with Kuroiwa so he can get them details about Yamashiro. But things get more than professional between the cop and the mobster’s wife. The cop gets too cozy with the crime family. He discovers that there’s a reason why the police seem to be out to bust members of Nishida while making Yamashiro a back burner issue.
The three main characters of Yakuza Graveyard turn out to be people that face discrimination in Japan. Kuroiwa explains that while he is Japanese, he grew up in China as part of Japan’s occupied State of Manchuria. When the family moved back to Japan, the other children treated him as a foreigner. This is part of why he’s extra angry when being a cop. Keiko was also an outsider since her parents were Japanese and Korean. Even her mobster husband doesn’t think she’s worthy to be treated as a full Japanese wife. Iwata is all Korean, but born and raised in Japan. This adds to the dynamic when faced with the arrival of Yamashiro into their turf.
As the final collaboration between Kinji Fukasaku and Kazuo Kasahara, Yakuza Graveyard is the cherry on top of the cherry that was Cops vs. Thugs. Tetsuya Watari shines as the grubby cop who keeps discovering he’s not even the dirtiest person at the police headquarters. While he’s gruff and nasty, we see a bit of love in him when he gets involved with Keiko. This brings us to the devastating performance by Meiko Kaji. When we first meet her, she seems a dutiful wife filling in for her husband. But we learn so much as she reveals her true self to Kuroiwa. If you’re a fan of hers from Lady Snowblood and Female Prisoner Scorpion series, you’ll be amazed at how much she brings to the character. She really works well in the cinematic mobster work director Kinji Fukasaku builds with a camera that dives into the action and characters that won’t back down. She adds an extra dimension to his mobster world that is normally all about the male leads. After you watch Yakuza Graveyard, you’ll understand why Kinji Fukasaku is the King of ’70s gangster films.
Radiance Films is only putting out 3,000 copies of Yakuza Graveyard‘s Limited Edition so act fast.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p image will let you see the complete mess of Kuroiwa’s apartment. The Audio is Japanese PCM Mono. The sound is crisp as you hear the violence burst out the speakers. The movie is subtitled in English.
Kazuya Shiraishi (14:36) lets the director of Blood Of Wolves discuss what he enjoyed about the work of director Kinji Fukasaku and screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara. He points out that they made more than Yakuza films, but Battles Without Honor and Humanity is their epic creation. He talks about about resident Koreans in Japan.
The Rage and The Passion (12:10) lets Tom Mes explore the three films Kinji Fukasaku made with actress Meiko Kaji. Even though Kaji was a major actress, she was willing to take smaller roles to work with Fukasaku in their first two films. Yakuza Graveyard finally gave her the major part.
Trailer (3:12) shows that this is about a disgraced cop that gets in too deep with the Yakuza. They even show the characters shooting up.
Gallery has 24 images of press photos and the poster.
Booklet has an essay on the “Zainichi Koreans” in Japan by Mika Ko. You might want to read this before watching the film in order to have a deeper understanding of what’s going on with the characters.
Radiance Films present Yakuza Graveyard. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara. Starring Tetsuya Watari, Meiko Kaji, Tatsuo Umemiya, Hideo Murota, Nobuo Kaneko, Harumi Sone, Takuzo Kawatani & Jirō Yabuki. Running Time: 96 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: May 16, 2023.
