Minagoroshi no kenjû

I am so happy I randomly came across this film because it has quickly become one of my favorite Yakuza films. It is vey comparable to Youth of the Beast or Tokyo Drifter, which are two of the more well known Yakuza films. If you are remotely interested in this genre, you don't want to miss this one. Watch it!

Lots of these 1950s/1960s Japanese neo-noir crime movies have really cool titles, and honestly, Massacre Gun might be the best one I've come across yet. I can't even get mad that it's not as much of an action movie as the title sort of implies- Massacre Gun just sounds too cool, so I'm very forgiving.

As for the movie, it's pretty good, but in a standard kind of low-budget studio movie kind of way. The Japanese film industry really pumped these out, even up into the 1970s, where you have franchises like the Stray Cat Rock series that released four of its five movies within one year or release.

Massacre Gun does at least have guns and a pretty high body count, so the title gets that right. Also a simple but satisfying crime story about a trio of brothers who insistently butt heads with a powerful local gangster, leading to expectedly violent consequences.

Nothing special, but nothing bad about it. A solid sub-90-minute watch for sure.

It is tough to decide what the fellow viewer and anyone watching this will think. It will depend on if they like crime/yakuza movies, how much they've seen of them and if they are willing to have some patience. The effects are not up to any standard right now (especially apparent when a man gets shot with a wall in the back, where you can see the squibs but no blood on the person itself) - so some things have not aged well.

But this is not what makes this a good movie. It is the timeline, the characters and how everything is connected. An action will get a reacion. And while the majority will be able to guess where this is heading, it is still more than a decent movie to watch

Fine, jazzy, Japanese yakuza crime drama from 1967 and as cool as it gets. Starring, Jo Shishido (Branded to Kill and Youth of the Beast) Tatsuya Fuji (In the Realm of the Senses and Empire of Passion) and one of the first films directed by, Yasuhari Hasebe (Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion - Grudge Song and the Stray Cat series) who is considered the creator of the violent pink sub genre. Some pedigree then and not a disappointment, with non-stop action and surely more bullets than I've ever seen (or heard!) for it must have taken about 20 to 50 for each death. Performances are excellent all round, direction tight and confident with splendidly stylish photography. Low key jazz score helps maintain the atmosphere and this would be a great introduction to the world of Japanese 60s crime movies.

Massacre Gun (1967)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mob hit-man Ryuichi Kuroda (Jo Shishido) is forced to execute the woman he loves. This causes his brother Saburo (Jiro Okazaki) to stand up to the mob boss and soon his hands are smashed, which isn't good considering he's a boxer. This here sets Kuroda off and before long a gang war breaks out.

MASSACRE GUN is a somewhat interesting Japanese film that manages to play out like a film noir while working in new elements of the Yajuza story. To say this film is a complete success would be a lie but there's no question that it contains some very interesting moments that make it worth watching if you're a fan of the genre.

The highlight of the film is a terrific sequence where a character is trying to escape a hit and think he has made a getaway only to realize that he's trapped up against a wall surrounded by men with gun. This sequence was perfectly executed and you can't help but think that this was inspired by the bloody finale of BONNIE AND CLYDE but it appears both films were released the same month! The style of the film is also something worth noting and especially how crisp the B&W cinematography is. The music score is also another major plus.

For the most part the performances were very good with both Shishido and Okazaki standing out. With all of that said, MASSACRE GUN does have some major problems including the actual story, which just seems a bit too light for its own good. I'd also argue that some of the pacing was off because even at just 89-minutes there are moments where the film really drags. The film had a somewhat hard time holding my attention whenever there wasn't an action scene taking place.

Still, MASSACRE GUN has enough good moments to make it worth sitting through.