Combat sans code d'honneur

Japan post-war was a lawless land where many mobster created his own gangster families called Yakusa, this first episode covers since 1945 until 1956, introducing several sub plots each one are linked altogether, on many phases of those enemy families working in black market, prostitution, guns and narcotic drugs, as always they had betrayal, cheating, murders and many twists and turns, also too much complex in numerous splited stories, the characters have been killing along the picture, few them remained until the end as the leading role Shozo Hirono as low profile hired killer, Japanese cinema is regarded to me the fifth best in the world, those amazing pictures brings to us an eastern unusual culture!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

I don't get what's with those people who think "Battles Without Honor Or Humanity" has something to do with "The Godfather". The only notable similarity is that both delve into the criminal underworlds. But so what ? "The Godfather" didn't invent this genre. Furthermore the story in "Battles" was adapted from newspaper articles describing various yakuza activities. What Kinji Fukasaku created is a brilliant, violent tale about the dark and unforgiving nature of the Japanese crime syndicates it is also a story about friendship and betrayal.

This is a tale about a group of young men who after the end of the Second World War find themselves outcasts from society, under pursuit by the authorities. They inevitably bond together and form a new crime syndicate under the leadership of boss Yamamoto. As their organization grows in power so do the internal struggles between them begin to escalate. Slowly, either from pure greed and the corruption of power or by Yamamoto's careful manipulations. It's hard not to draw comparison with "Battle Royale" Fukusako's most notable film released in the late nineties. Both present a similar in a way situation: friends fight friends for their own survival.The only difference being that here that is done in a much more subtle way. But the elements are still the same, characters are likable well fleshed-out and the viewer is thrown into an internal struggle of his own when he sees them killing each other. Fukasaku's type of narration is one that involves multiple points of view, we don't have such a strong focus on main character as most movies do, there is one of course Shozo Hirono (played by the ever great Bunta Sugawara) but he serves the role of executing the movie's catharsis, he is the one who becomes a witness to all the madness and senseless killings and it is his final actions that define that, his realization and his rebellion to it all, his final display of grief to friends lost for nothing.

The acting is superb on all fronts, with a diverse cast of characters who offer a different perspective with their own point of view. Fukasaku demonstrates his great skill as a director, his technique perfectly fitting to the movie's tone. By using a fast-paced, erratic, nearly chaotic style the action scenes offer us that taste of brutality we wouldn't have felt had they been directed in a more traditional manner. Fukasaku strays from the established formula of people getting killed fast and easy with one or two bullets instead he shows us an alternative to that : a slow, painful exercise, one that more accurately portrays the yakuza's violent lifestyle. Yet there are no large body counts, the battles are often predetermined with one side attacking an individual or small group from the other, by surprise and in overwhelming force. There really is no honor in the Japanese underworld.

"Battles Without Honor Or Humanity" is the epitome of humanity's own self-destructive nature. The one that drives us to aim for a higher financial and social standing on any means. With no regard for friends, family, honor or trust.

After just finishing the entire series (5 films in all) I must say that this series is DEFINITELY worth a watch, especially for fans of dramas centered around crime families with a healthy dose of violence to help spice things up.

It follows mainly Shozo Hirono, and his journey from an ambitious and stoic slum-dweller in the bombed out crater of the Hiroshima bomb site. As him and his war buddies climb the ranks of the Yakuza, greed, honor and betrayal force the families into various conflicts in a never ending cycle of power struggles.

Stylistically this film, and all the others, are excellent, with a consistent jazzy theme accentuating the more important points and giving each entry a familiar feel to the last one, yet not one which ends up feeling boring or overused. The camera work is fantastic and the scene composition is where I am most reminded of the Italian-American titan of cinema that this review invokes. Many of the scenes are around crowded tables at family meetings or in shadowy bars with table lamps and cigarette smoke twirling in the air.

All in all I love this series and if you have a chance, absolutely watch all five. If anything give this first entry a chance and you will not be disappointed.

I was shocked and awed from the first scene by the blisteringly kinetic and colorful cinematography. This movie is beautifully constructed and performed.

Bunta Sugawara is so endlessly fascinating to watch. What a face. Keiji Takamiya was great too.

WHY is this not better known?

Oh, yeah, this is one brilliant, edgy, dark piece of film-making! It moves at the speed of light starting with the American Occupation of the devastated city of Hiroshima after WWII up to the early 1970's.

It has great actors playing complex characters, and cinematography and editing way ahead of its time.

Turn off your phone and don't look away for even a second, or you'll miss something critical. There are many characters and lots of information to absorb.

I've read that the script was based on the life of a real Yakuza, but whether it's fact or fiction, it's a hell of a ride.

And though it's a serious film, sometimes it's also hilarious-- intentionally so.

Warning--not for the squeamish. Unlike the Tarentino films this has been compared to, the violence here is NOT cartoonish or funny. It's brutal, bloody, and serious. (as it should be, in my opinion)