Blackmail Is My Business (1968)
"Kyokatsu koso Waga Jinsei" (original title)

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writer:

Shinji Fujiwara (book)

Stars:

Hiroki Matsukata, Tomomi Satô, Yôko Mihara

Cast

Credited cast:
Hiroki Matsukata	...	Muraki
Tomomi Satô	...	Otoki
Yôko Mihara
Tetsurô Tanba
Bin Amatsu
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shigeru Amachi
Akira Jo	...	Zero
Hideo Murota	...	Seki
Eriko Sono
Ryôhei Uchida

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

based on book

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Also Known As:

Blackmail Is My Business

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shochiku Company, Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Tokyo Drifter (1966)

User Reviews

Excitingly and beautifully shot

Very stylish and innovative, this also moves at a furious pace. Excitingly and beautifully shot, this is a tale of four youngsters setting out on a career as blackmailers as they seem to have been passed by in the post-war Japanese boom. It can be a bit confusing with so many characters and the usual, bluff, double bluff and downright betrayal. The story is told both backwards and forwards and often the only way to tell of a flashback is that it begins in b/w, slowly turning to colour for most of the sequence, except for the times that it doesn't! There are so many stand out sequences but a colour sequence of consensual lovemaking intercut with one that is certainly not consensual in b/w is particularly effective. Outstanding camera-work and direction ensure that this looks and feels great all the time and if the ending is a little melodramatic, it is still enthusiastically shot with hand held and whirling cameras.