If I was forced to name just one favorite actor of mine, I would probably say Nakadai Tatsuya, the versatile and always captivating Japanese film presence. Besides Kobayashi, with whom he is universally associated because of their famous masterpieces, Nakadai was a central actor in the filmographies of several other directors, one of them being Gosha Hideo. In the 1960's, Gosha was in top shape, and made several highly enjoyable chanbara films. "Goyokin" (1969), starring Nakadai, would crack my all-time top 100 films list. I recommend checking it out, in the case you haven't.
Yet in his later career, the quality of Gosha's films dropped. He made several b-movies and exploitation narratives, and overall did not live up to his earlier films. "Kiryûin Hanako no shôgai" (1982) is an attempt to do a more serious yakuza picture, which was not helped by the English-language title "Onimasa - A Japanese Godfather". This title shifts the focus of the narrative away from the protagonist, who is a young girl adopted by the yakuza boss played by Nakadai. It also makes you expect and hope for a film that would be as artistically creative as "The Godfather", so all in all, the comparison does not help. (The Japanese actually made a serious of "Godfather" wanna-be's in the 1970's). This film, set in the first half of the 20th century, is a growing up narrative under difficult circumstances. There is potential, but the screenplay is all over the place, and the long film loses direction several times over.
I liked the premise, but there is still too much yakuza clichés for the audience to view this as a serious drama. Nakadai makes his first appearance in a fedora hat, and I half expected him to follow this with a dance number, the "Smooth Criminal" that he is. His performance is played too massively, and it is hard to take the father character seriously, because he has been written poorly. There is also a dog fighting sequence, which I feel will turn off many viewers, as it was unnecessary and difficult to watch.
All in all, not a top 10 film for Gosha, and not a top 50 performance for Nakadai.
Yet in his later career, the quality of Gosha's films dropped. He made several b-movies and exploitation narratives, and overall did not live up to his earlier films. "Kiryûin Hanako no shôgai" (1982) is an attempt to do a more serious yakuza picture, which was not helped by the English-language title "Onimasa - A Japanese Godfather". This title shifts the focus of the narrative away from the protagonist, who is a young girl adopted by the yakuza boss played by Nakadai. It also makes you expect and hope for a film that would be as artistically creative as "The Godfather", so all in all, the comparison does not help. (The Japanese actually made a serious of "Godfather" wanna-be's in the 1970's). This film, set in the first half of the 20th century, is a growing up narrative under difficult circumstances. There is potential, but the screenplay is all over the place, and the long film loses direction several times over.
I liked the premise, but there is still too much yakuza clichés for the audience to view this as a serious drama. Nakadai makes his first appearance in a fedora hat, and I half expected him to follow this with a dance number, the "Smooth Criminal" that he is. His performance is played too massively, and it is hard to take the father character seriously, because he has been written poorly. There is also a dog fighting sequence, which I feel will turn off many viewers, as it was unnecessary and difficult to watch.
All in all, not a top 10 film for Gosha, and not a top 50 performance for Nakadai.