When talking about the Swingin’ Sixities, the locations are usually London’s Carnaby Street or the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. This time was bigger than two locations. There was a lot of swingin’ all over the globe. One major swingin’ city was Tokyo. They made transistor radios and Godzilla movies during this time which were vital to the swingin’ community. There were quite a few movies that show how swingin’ Tokyo was, although most of them weren’t exported to American theaters. Black Tight Killers is a swingin’ affair with international intrigue, go-go dancers, female ninjas and other elements that let you know this wasn’t a samurai flick. This is a crime film with a jet setting James Bond vibe.
Daisuke Honda (Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War‘s Akira Kobayashi) is a combat photographer who has near miss in Vietnam while embedded with a U.S. military unit. He returns back to Japan in hopes of a little rest. He flirts with Yuriko Sawanouchi (Tokyo Drifter‘s Chieko Matsubara), a stewardess on the flight to Tokyo. Using his suave charms, he gets her interested in going out on a date. They end up at a happening nightclub. Just when things are going well, a group of female ninjas show up at attack. But they’re not looking for Daisuke. They want Yuriko. Also wanting her are other underworld figures including American mobsters. This is not going to be any sort of rest from the firefights of Vietnam for Daisuke. He can’t just let the police handle the case as he’s fallen hard for the stewardess. He goes deep to rescue her and uncover the mystery of why all these violent people are after such a sweet stewardess.
Black Tight Killers was produced by Nikkatsu, the same studio that gave us Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter. The film has the same outrageous quality. You know the movie is going to be a wild ride when we go from the troops being attacked in Vietnam to women in masks, tights and seductive tops dancing during the titles. We get to see a swingin’ club in Tokyo that has a wild floorshow that includes dancers painted gold (an homage to Goldfinger‘s big skin painting effect). There’s a pop feeling including the unrealistic traveling shots when the characters are in cars. Director Yasuhau Hasebe goes wild with a dream sequence with characters ripping through the backdrop with the female ninjas in pursuit. Naozumi Yamamoto gives the score a jazz tone to keep your toes tapping between the female ninja attacks. Black Tight Killers has those spy and gangster spoof elements that makes films such as Modesty Blaise, Dean Martin’s Matt Helm films and the Austin Powers movies fun to watch. The visuals and the action create a lively mix of weirdness that doesn’t back down until the final credits. Black Tight Killers is a swingin’ affair.
This version of the Blu-ray has a limited run of 3,000 copies.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the colors that pop on the screen. There’s a cartoonish element to the lighting. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono of the Japanese soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Jasper Sharp gets into the film and how it fit with other movies during this time. He points out that Michio Tsuzuki’s novel has many of the elements in the movie including the female ninjas.
Interview with Yasuhau Hasebe (8:33) has the director talk about his career and how he made Black Tight Killers. He’s hanging out in a Japanese video store that has Trainspotting on the shelf. He started as a screenwriter and assistant director on nearly 60 films over six years. He worked quite a bit with Seijun Suzuki. Black Tight Killers was based on a novel that had a James Bond flair to it. The interview is from 2000. Hasebe passed away in 2009.
Trailer (2:48) gets straight to the violence and the dancing. We’re promised “Huge Trouble.”
Booklet with essay by Chris D. about the film and filmmakers.
Radiance Films present: Black Tight Killers: Limited Edition. Directed by Yasuhau Hasebe. Screenplay by Ryūzō Nakanishi. Starring Akira Kobayashi, Chieko Matsubara, Mieko Nishio, Kozue Kamo, Tomoko Hamakawa, Akemi Kita & Archie Hays, Jr. Running Time: 87 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: Febuary 27, 2024.
