Sympathy for the Underdog

A good but not great crime film that suffers from too much downtime and every scene with the prostitute and the repeated song bored me.

good movie

How a yakuza film should be done. Hard as nails leads and the pace rarely flags. It's not a genre that I favour much but this is exceptional. Koji Tsuruta as the rebel gang leader gives a riveting performance.

Guerra de Gangues em Okinawa estreava há 50 anos no Japão. Talvez eu não estivesse no humor, mas não achei esse tão memorável quanto outros filmes do Fukasaku dos anos 70, embora tenha bons momentos como é usual ao diretor. Box Versátil Cinema Yakuza Volume 1.

Like most crime films, it's big on style and short on character development. And you can guess fairly accurately at the beginning of the film which guys are going to snuff it. But it's an engaging film nonetheless. The lead is particularly enjoyable, as he is both expressive and mysterious.

Another Fukasaku yakuza flick, with editing and movement as brassy and bold as its jazzy soundtrack. It's an exciting, dynamic picture. I really don't get off on yakuza movies. The plots and characters are all very same-y to me, and I never care about the characters. Yes, there's "sympathy for the underdog", but only because he's the center of the movie and the odds are against him. But for a yakuza movie, it's definitely one of the better ones I've seen.