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The Yakuza Papers - Battles Without Honor & Humanity (Complete Box Set) Actor: Bunta Sugawara Number of Items: 6 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Box set Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-12-14 Buy from Amazon

From Amazon.com While The Godfather romanticized the American Mafia in the early 1970s, Kinji Fukasaku's five-film series known as The Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity revolutionized the Japanese yakuza film with unprecedented intensity. A post-World War II epic that broke Japanese box-office records, this complex, utterly authentic cycle of gangster films replaced the popular ninkyo or "chivalry" films of the '60s with jitsuroku, an entirely new breed of gangster film that rose from the ashes of Hiroshima and post-war reconstruction, depicting a meticulously detailed "alternate history" (as Japanese film expert Tom Mes observes in the accompanying booklet) that had been ignored by the "official" factual record. Beginning with 1973's Battles Without Honor and Humanity and continuing through four hugely popular sequels, these are bracingly intricate studies in shifting loyalties and gangland chaos, tracking the yakuza career of Shozu Hirono (played by charismatic star Bunta Suguwara), who rises from lowly soldier status in 1946 to "sworn brotherhood" and respected retirement in 1970. Across this quarter-century of death, power, and betrayal, Fukasaku orchestrates nearly 50 characters in four major cities, all vying for dominance in a familial structure so complex that a helpful flow-chart is provided to follow the shifting balance of power. Western viewers may struggle with the social context of these films, but as a gangster epic of escalating scope and power, The Yakuza Papers offers a universally energizing DVD experience. Fukasaku (who died in January 2003 while filming his 62nd film, Battle Royale II) was a master of cinematic pulp, and these films represent the pinnacle of his frenetic, deliberately chaotic hand-held camera style, which strongly influenced American urban crime films of the '70s (as French Connection director William Friedkin notes on the feature-packed supplement disc). Rough-edged and thematically rich, the five films presented here--all in pristine digital transfers and brilliantly translated by ace subtitler Linda Hoaglund--combine to form a sprawling milestone of Japanese cinema. Home Vision's packaging and comprehensive supplements pay honorable tribute to Fukasaku's achievement, with bonus features that provide all the necessary background needed to fully appreciate The Yakuza Papers as a raw, ambitious masterpiece that fully deserves its widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon From Description In the wake of the Bomb, ex-soldier Shozo Hirono [Bunta Sugawara] joins a Hiroshima yakuza gang, the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia–and then the shootings, slashings, betrayals, and scheming begin. Premiering a year after The Godfather, The Yakuza Papers also broke box office records and spawned sequels, but, in contrast, took a ruthlessly de-romanticized view of the underworld. Based on an actual gang boss's memoirs, The Yakuza Papers plunges the audience into a gritty, brutal, violent newsreel of a three-decade struggle for power of Shakespearean complexity, a nihilistic epic unlike any other.

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 "Buy these movies now!" Kinji Fukasaku rips apart the yakuza genre in this series of 5 films about the Hiroshima and Kansai underworld. They're brutal and realistic, with violence, treachery and such a labyrinthine plot that the DVD set comes with a fold-out chart detailing the relationships between the characters and the various crime syndicates. One can say without fear of exaggeration that these films, together, form a masteriece of Japanese cinema. They have never before been released in America; the transfer and subtitles are excellent and the special features disk has some interesting documentaries. Oh yeah and Toshiaki Tsushima's theme music is unforgettable. "Battles without Honor and Humanity" This series is without a doubt the most important series of yakuza films ever to be made. Not only are the films socially important, but they are also masterpieces in filmmaking. The series has an intriguing story which continues through all five films. Each film tells different parts of the same story, in chronological order, and for this reason I cannot help but consider the series to be one film, broken into five parts. The films were revolutionary because they were some of the first to depict the yakuza lifestyle as one without honor, as the title reveals. Films such as Pale Flower showed the emptiness of the yakuza lifestyle, but no film was as commanding as the Battles Without Honor series, which not only showed the emptiness, but also the brutality, destruction, and tragedy of the yakuza lifestyle. The message of the film is very in-your-face, because at the time almost every film glorified the gangster life and heroic bloodshed. In addition, the production quality of the series is very high and each film is very professionally made, with the filmmakers truly showing care and respect for their work. Each film provides a testament to the power of good storytelling and good filmmaking. This series is not just for yakuza fans, but for fans of all Japanese cinema, as well as fans of cinema in general. Though the series may portray a great gangster tale, they are also great films and the viewer need not be a fan of the genre. This is yet again a wonderful presentation on the part of Home Vision Entertainment. The picture quality has really been cleaned up and the transfer is excellent. Another extremely important aspect of this release is that the subtitles have been newly translated, making the films much easier to understand than other versions. The box set also contains a bonus disc full of special features, which are not available with just the regular discs. Overall, I highly recommend these films and this DVD series is the best way to see them. "A blood-soaked epic" Kinji Fukasaku's series of films known as The Yakuza Papers is largely seen as the veteran filmmaker's answer to The Godfather. Grouped together, these five films are a towering achievement of visceral B-moviemaking at its finest. The very first image over the opening credits of Battles Without Honor and Humanity is that of a mushroom cloud. The dropping of two atomic bombs would forever change and shape Japan's history. It is an event that shaped and changed Fukasaku's life. It also informed many of his movies. In a nice touch, a booklet is included that maps out the various clans, their significant members and their relation to each other over the course of all five films. This is extremely helpful to neophytes who have trouble remembering who's who and what happened when. The bonus disc starts off with "Friedkin on Fukasaku," an interview with the legendary director who talks about meeting Fukasaku. He recounts his impressions of the man and how his style of filmmaking differed from the masters of classic Japanese cinema (Ozu, Kurosawa, et al). "Jitsuroku: Reinventing a Genre" examines this sub-genre of Yakuza films in which the events are based on true stories or historical record. "Boryoku: Fukasaku and the Art of Violence" is an examination of how violence is depicted in his movies. There is interview footage with the man himself as he talks about expressing the violent and restless tendencies that came out of the postwar period. "Kantoku: Remembering the Director" features Fukasaku's son and two of his collaborators talking about what it was like to work with him. David Kaplan, co-author of Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld, talks about the history and evolution of the Yakuza on the "Kaplan on the Yakuza" featurette. Rounding out the extras is "Translating Fukasaku" with Linda Hoaglund talking about working on the subtitling into English of his movies. For quite some time Home Vision has released some of the finest examples of Yakuza cinema. They've hit the mother load with this fantastic box set that features some of Fukasaku's best work. For people only familiar with his controversial swan song, Battle Royale, The Yakuza Papers is an exciting, crime epic influenced by the dropping of two atomic bombs that helped defeat Japan, bring about an end to World War II and shape the prevailing attitude of its people for years to come. "Amazing Set of Films" First off, I am a Japanese film afficianado. I am an Akira Kurosawa nut, I own ALL of his films.......I own ALL of the Zatoichi films as well, and pretty much every decent Yakuza movie out there. I was deseperately awaiting the Yakuza Papers on DVD, and I can say they do not disappoint! This entire set of films piece together extremely well, and give you great insight into how the Yakuza world functions. The acting is superb, the plot twists unexpected and it always keeps you guessing. If you're not familiar with Japanese history/culture the reactions in certain situations may seem odd to you (for instance a Yakuza mob boss openly weeping in front of his soldiers), but this is about as authentic as it gets. After watching all 5 films, I'm still in awe. The FIRST film is a bit intese in the first 15 minutes, as it is focusing on the revival of VIOLENT Yakuza culture in Japan immediately after Japan's surrender to the US after WW2. Get past that first 15 minutes, the films are not that bloody nor is the dialogue that grotesque. I think the filmmaker was merely attempting to portray the insanity which was running rampant amongst both Japanese and American troops after the surrender. I count this set of films as a single "film", and rank it right after Red Beard and Seven Samurai as my favorite Japanese film ever......and that's coming from someone who owns over 50 pre 1985 Japanese films. "Killer set" "The Yakuza Papers" consists of five sequential films made in the 1970s and only now making their U.S. debut, in this killer six-DVD set from Home Vision. Comparisons to the first two "Godfathers" seem inevitable, but "Yakuza" is a singular film experience -- deeply rewarding for those with the stomach for its kinetic violence; overwhelming in scope and complexity. The set thoughtfully provides a printed chart that helps viewers track the Japanese crime families that do battle over the quarter-century covered in the series. They'll need it. "Yakuza" rarely pauses to allow for reflection -- this is a dizzying eight-hour hell-ride through a time and place as foreign as they come. William Friedkin, whose talking-head interview kicks off the extras disc, calls director Kinji Fukasaku "a master," comparing "Yakuza Papers" to James Joyce's "Ulysses." No doubt a contemporary influence on the frantic hand-held camerawork was Friedkin's own "The French Connection," which the U.S. director says "very easy could have been done by Fukasaku." Fukasaku looked past the stars of romanticized old-school yakuza films to find his lead, Bunta Sugawara, with whom he had just worked on "Street Mobster" (also out via Home Vision). No one in "Yakuza" gets off easy, but Sugawara's existential Hirono character comes closest to a traditional hero as he makes his way from the streets to the top of the underworld. More typical is weepy crime boss Yamamori (Nobuo Kaneko), a cross between Don Corleone and Floyd the barber. Home Vision, which has busied itself importing gritty yakuza films, gives Fukasaku's epic first-class treatment, starting with a metal container and an artful fold-out for the discs. Video looks tremendous, coming from films of their era and budget, with almost no speckling or other overt wear. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1, enhanced for 16.9 TVs. There are a few scenes with flashes of polarization and occasional image stretching near the sides of the letterboxed frames. Mono audio is gun-metal solid. One don't-miss extra is the interview with tough-talking translator Linda Hoaglund, who grew up in Japan as the daughter of missionaries. The films of "Fukasaku-san" were all about rage, she says. "He's ripping the lid off Japanese society: 'Take a look -- it's wild here.' "