Yakuza keibatsu-shi: Rinchi!

This rousing, splendidly blood-thirsty portmanteau of lurid Yakuza conflict erupts in a bloody tsunami of gruesome eye-gouging, grisly evisceration, throat slashing and sanguineous Katana kills! Maestro, Teruo Ishii's infamously brutal trilogy of dramatically vengeful, gratuitously gore-grizzled Yakuza mayhem has manifestly lost none of its power to shock! Dynamic performances, visceral action scenes, diabolical treachery, desperate love, and hard won honour, 'The Yakuza's Law Lynching' is eventful, intelligent, bracingly violent Japanese exploitation at its most excitingly mean spirited. Vicious betrayals, Machiavellian plots, and savage, bullet-blasted reprisals,'The Yakuza's Law Lynching' remains entirely credible, a brutish, extraordinarily bellicose, generously crimson-splattered, eye-bogglingly cruel Torture classic. These three indelibly barbaric tales graphically portray the grimly mortal fates of those individuals who break the gleefully enforced Yakuza laws, since they do so at their own considerable peril!

I have seen other films of Teruo Ishii, including his torture films like "Orgies of Edo," which I liked immensely. This Yakuza genre film however, lacks the artistic merits of those other films. It also lacks a coherent or interesting story-line, offering only cheap and ugly gore effects. There are actually 3 stories told in one film, which is the same formula Ishii used for "Orgies of Edo." Unfortunately the stories were so insipid and uninteresting that I couldn't tell when the first one ended and the second began. This film really has nothing to offer, and it is the worst film of it's kind that I have seen. It is a waste of time.

YAKUZA LAW: LYNCHING! is one of the latter films in Teruo Ishii's JOYS OF TORTURE series, and is honestly the only one I've had the chance to see as of this writing. It is a strong entry that deals with the subject of Yakuza principles, and the penalties for not abiding by their codes.

The film is divided into three parts - the first two taking place in feudal Japan, the last segment being more "modern" and set in the late 1960's. All three deal with those that have broken the Yakuza code, and their subsequent torture and dispatch. The last part is played more like a 70's style crime film, and feels somewhat mis-matched against the other two segments - but is still an enjoyable addition to the film.

There's plenty of violence in this one for those that are looking for that - a good bit happening before the opening credits are over. I think that this one will be of interest to most who enjoy the 60's/70's era samurai/pinky films. Strangely enough - there's no actual lynching taking place. There is a scene where a guy is hung (by his torso) from a helicopter and dragged around a beach - but I don't think that really qualifies as "lynching". Not as strong as the "unofficial sequel" to Ishii's first JOYS OF TORTURE film - SHOGUN'S SADISM (aka OXEN SPLIT TORTURE) - but definitely in the same vain. LYNCHING! is definitely worth a look to Japanese exploit fans. 8/10

Yakuza Law is an anthology that portrays three different stories abot organized crime in Japan. The three stories are presented in chronological order as they take place during the Edo period, followed by the Meiji period and finally present-day Japan when the movie was released. The title is quite ironic since the three tales portray that the common laws don't matter to organized crime syndicates and that they even break with their own conventions when conflicts are at hand.

This movie has aged quite well since the three tales portray their respective periods in authentic fashion. The cinematography is quite vibrant with dynamic cuts and zooms. The film's pace is frantic without lacking depth. The three different tales offer suprisingly profound conspiracies with a few intersting twists and turns. This movie is also quite violent as all tales end in sinister confrontations. This shouldn't come as a surprise as the opening credits already portray grisly torture sequences.

In the end, Yakuza Law finds a surprisingly timeless balance between brutal special effects, intelligent plots and dynamic cinematography. Veteran director Ishii Teruo offers one of his most concise films that features numerous skilled veterans such as prolific actor Sugawara Bunta and television star Miyauchi Hiroshi. If you like brutal gangster movie without wanting to sit through the extensive length of contemporary Western cinema, then you should certainly give this overlooked gem a try.

Didn't like this one very much. It's an anthology film, with three chapters, progressing from what appeared to be the Tokugawa Shogunate, to Meiji era, to the 60's (can't be positive about any of the time periods).

Basically the flimsy plots are just an excuse to have Yakuza commit brutal acts on each other and throw lots of fake blood around. I can see how this may have been shocking or trail-blazing at the time of release, but I found it quite boring now. Without the shock value, the movie really has no center. The stories get progressively better - the first (amazingly, starring Bunta Sugawara, who usually improves anything he's in) is terrible, the second and third are slightly better.

Sidenote - the actor who plays the alien in Goke has a small role in the final piece as a weird yo-yo obsessed Yakuza.