Irezumi ichidai (1965)

Director:

Seijun Suzuki

Writers:

Kei Hattori (writer)
Ai Kennedy (translation)

Release Date:

7 October 1966 (USA)

Plot Keywords:

Ninkyo | Gangster

Cast

Hideki Takahashi	...	Murakami Tetsutaro
Akira Yamauchi	...	Kinoshita Yuzo
Hiroko Ito	...	Kinoshita Masayo
Masako Izumi	...	Kinoshita Midori
Kayo Matsuo	...	Oyuki
Hôsei Komatsu	...	Yamano Senkichi
Yuji Odaka	...	Ezaki Osamu
Michio Hino	...	Tokuhira
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hiroshi Chiyoda	...	Zensuke
Hiroshi Chô	...	Masayoshi
Kotobuki Hananomoto	...	Murakami Kenji
Kosuke Hisamatsu	...	Patrolman Oikawa
Masaaki Honme	...	Tsurumatsu
Take Ikezawa	...	Head Longshoreman
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Akamatsu Jugoro
Wataru Kobayashi	...	Masakichi
Hiroshi Kono	...	Kurosawa
Midori Mori	...	Waitress
Tessen Nakahira	...	Gonji
Yoko Naka	...	Waitress
Keisuke Noro	...	Kiyogimi
Zenpei Saga	...	Totsuka Iwamatsu
Eiko Takada	...	Old Woman
Akira Takahashi	...	Anzo
Hiroshi Takao	...	Sutekichi
Kaku Takashina	...	Tsuneyoshi
Shiro Toba	...	Tomeji
Yoshihiro Yamaguchi	...	Sailor
Shirô Yanase	...	Asakichi
Yoko Yokota	...	Otose

Also Known As:

Life of a Tattooed Man
One Generation of Tattoos
Tattooed Life (USA)
White Tiger Tattoo (USA)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (2007) | Sweden:15

Company:

Nikkatsu

A neglected yakuza classic from Seijun Suzuki

Part of the cycle of genre and Yakuza movies that Suzuki directed for Nikkatsu in the early to mid sixties, this film is one of his most memorable. It may not be as well known here as other films in this cycle, probably due to the period setting (1925), and the fact that the middle section has no fighting or action, as it focuses on the fugitive yakuza hiding in the crew of a tunnel construction project.

Suzuki's design sense shines here, with bridges, trains, boats serving as a modern architectural counterpoint to the beautiful Japanese open vistas. It is interesting how similar the themes of this movie are to recent genre films such as Bangkok Dangerous, and how different the execution. The action scenes are short bursts of stylized fighting mixing gunplay with samurai action. The story is more engaging than Suzuki's other Yakusa films. I got the feeling that the director was trying his best to explode the strict confines of the genre, while delivering a commercial product. The buildup to the extraordinary final confrontation, a choreographed samurai style fight inside and outside a traditional Japanese house, is very satisfying. Also interesting are the weird touches like the red boots two of the movie's characters wear.

In my humble opinion, another classic from Mr Suzuki.