Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)

During the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Koichi Iiboshi (story), Kazuo Kasahara (screenplay)

Stars:

Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bunta Sugawara	...	Shozo Hirono
Hiroki Matsukata	...	Tetsuya Sakai
Kunie Tanaka	...	Makihara Masakichi
Eiko Nakamura	...	Suzue Kunihiro
Tsunehiko Watase	...	Toshio Arita
Gorô Ibuki	...	Ueda
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Yamamori
Toshie Kimura	...	Mrs. Yamamori
Tamio Kawaji	...	Kanbara Seiichi
Mayumi Nagisa	...	Akiko Shinjo
Asao Uchida	...	Okubo Kenichi
Shin'ichirô Mikami	...	Shinkai Uichi
Hiroshi Nawa	...	Doi
Shinji Takano	...	Kaneko Shoichi
Keiji Takamiya	...	Yamakata Shinichi

Storyline

During the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.

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Plot Keywords:

post world war two | hiroshima japan | gang war | organized crime | crime epic | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

JINGINAKI TATAKAI series. #1 of 9 films.

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Goofs

In the first film, US military police show up on the scene in a jeep with "MILITALY POLICE" painted under the windshield.

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Connections

Referenced in Panti & Sutokkingu with Gâtâberuto: Jingi naki haisetsu/Desu resu nisenju (2010)

User Reviews

"The Godfather" in Hiroshima !

Although based on a true story, this film owes a lot to The Godfather, which was released a couple of years before. However, there are quite a few differences. For a start, there are many more main characters. At least twenty. And they are introduced at such a rate as to make it impossible to follow the lot. No less than ten characters are introduced (each with a name and description subtitle) in the first two minutes. The key word for this film is - chaotic. The opening scene is of Japan just after the end of WWII. The camera uses the now-familiar form of WobblyScope, tumbling all over the place as it chases the young thugs who chase misbehaving GIs and then run away. The progression is highly episodic from there. Although Shozo is the lead character and narrator, much screen time is spent on at least a dozen others. Really, if you are non-Japanese, like me, you'd need a map of all the characters and their changing relationships to have any hope of following the story. However, this is not a big problem because, mainly, it is one of the aspects which the filmmaker is trying to convey. That the people who were drawn into these gangs often had nothing much else to do, and were not particularly men of honour. The Japanese title refers to the total breakdown of the old code, where honour was everything. The only character who acts with anything like honour here is Shozo, who looks continuously stunned as powerplays and double-deals swirl around him. This film is a terrific antidote to the "honourable gangster" films. Well-worth watching. Also, it produced at least 4 sequels, all starring Bunta.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

13 January 1973 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1