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Review by Roger Carpenter

Director Kinji Fukasaku and writer Kazuo Kasahara, both of the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, team up with Fukasaku’s favorite yakuza star, Bunta Sugawara—also of Battles Without Honor and Humanity fame—to create the kinetic yakuza drama Cops Vs Thugs.

Two rival gangs vie for a lucrative land deal and it’s up to the cops to keep the balance. Detective Kuno (Sugawara) has forged an unlikely relationship with up-and-coming gangster Hirotani (Hiroki Masukata) of the Ohara gang, thus ensuring they have a competitive edge over their rivals, the Kawade gang. But when violence erupts between the two gangs over the land deal, it is up to Lt. Kaida (Tatsuo Umemiya) to settle the score once and for all. Unfortunately, Lt. Kaida is a by-the-book cop, which doesn’t sit well with the thugs as they are used to Detective Kuno’s more relaxed dealings with the gangs.

Doberman Cop Starring Sonny Chiba will be Available on Blu-ray and DVD on July 4th From Arrow Video

Released just as the popularity of yakuza movies was waning in Japan, and as the country’s film industry was undergoing some fundamental shifts, Doberman Cop is a unique entry in the career of director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Cops vs Thugs), and reunited him with star Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba (The Street Fighter, Wolf Guy) in an American-style crime movie that mixes gunplay and pulp fiction with martial arts and lowbrow comedy to create one of their most entertaining films.

Based on a popular manga by “Buronson” (creator of Fist of the North Star), Doberman Cop follows the fish-out-of-water adventures of Joji Kano (Chiba), a tough-as-nails police officer from Okinawa who arrives in Tokyo’s Kabuki-cho nightlife district to investigate the savage murder and mutilation of an island girl...

Considered by many to be director Kinji Fukasaku’s greatest single-film achievement in the yakuza genre, Cops Vs Thugs was made at the height of popularity of Toei Studios’ jitsuroku boom: realistic, modern crime movies based on true stories taken from contemporary headlines. Returning to the screen after completing their Battles Without Honor and Humanity series together, Fukasaku joined forced once again with screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara, composer Toshiaki Tsushima and star Bunta Sugawara to create one of the crowning achievements of his career, and a hard-boiled classic which is still ranked as one of the best Japanese films of the 1970’s.

It’s 1963 in the southern Japanese city of Kurashima, and tough-as-nails detective Kuno (Sugawara) oversees a detente between the warring Kawade and Ohara gangs. Best friends with Ohara lieutenant Hirotani (Hiroki Matsukata), he understands that there are no clear lines in the underworld, and that everything is colored a different shade of gray.

New from Arrow Video Us Brain Damage Limited Edition [Blu-ray + DVD] (May 9th) The Climber [Blu-ray + DVD] (May 16th) Cops Vs Thugs [Blu-ray + DVD] (May 23rd) Wolf Guy [Blu-ray + DVD] (May 23rd) Evil Ed Limited Edition [Blu-ray + DVD] (May 30th) via Mvd Entertainment Group May sees the release of a fantastic slate of cult cinema from …

The post Arrow Video Us – May 2017 Release Schedule first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...

After introducing moviegoers to Belial in Basket Case, filmmaker Frank Henenlotter brought another evil entity to the big screen in Brain Damage, one of several horror films coming out on Blu-ray in the Us this spring from Arrow Video, who have now revealed the full list of special features for the 1988 film's high-def home media release.

Press Release: May sees the release of a fantastic slate of cult cinema from Arrow Video, with a healthy mix of giallo, cult crime and gore to keep fans happy.

First comes The Climber, starring cult actor Joe Dallesandro (Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula). The Climber is a prime example of Italian crime cinema and follows the rise and fall of Dallesandro's smalltime drug dealer, Aldo. Filled with brawls, fistfights, shootouts and explosions, this is an excellent action-thriller. The other big crime release of May is Cops vs Thugs, Kinji Fukasaku's masterpiece...