Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) The "Japanese Godfather" Part 1This movie is told through three parts: First is the gang's come-up in the Yamamori clan and backstabbing their former boss Doi to please an Elder who's in competition, the second is Yamamori's drug business scandal which makes the gang war with each other, and the third is Tetsu going to war with Yamamori----------------------------------------------------------------------- It begins with Shozo getting introduced into the Yamamori clan after he becomes blood brothers with Wakasugi (Doi captain) watching over him as he commits harakiri to get out on early bail. The Yamamori clan bails out Shozo and they become a family under Okubo and Doi testimony. After the gang gets into a altercation with Ueda, Okubo nephew, Okubo orders Yamamori to fix a ballot of an upcoming election involving 50 billion yen. The gang completes the mission and upset Boss Doi at the same time who received the back-end of the fix. Doi, upset Yamamori fixed the ballot, sets out to kill him but Wakasugi gets in his way. Upset in his captain's betrayal, he punks Kunihiro to join his clan and betray Yamamori. Shozo is put on the hit on Doi life, and after he completes the mission Yamamori sends Kunihiro to hit Shozo. Wakasugi, suspicious of Yamamori, kills Kunihiro but is killed by police as he hides out.The Korean War has begun and Yamamori is on to new business. He enlists Arita and Shinkai to run his drug business under Tetsu nose, while enlisting Tetsu to periodically break up the racket so Yamamori can ship the drugs to Hiroshima. Tetsu and Ueda upset with the bosses secrets, tell him they will now run business legislations and expel Arita and Shinkai from the clan. Yamamori decides to stage a kill on Ueda which then ignites an all out war between Tetsu, Shinkai clan, and former Doi members. Tetsu decides to break free and start his own clan and Yamamori bails Shozo out of jail once again to commit a murder.Yamamori stages Yano's death to get Shozo to join his side against Tetsu. Shozo sees through Yamamori's lies and connects the dots he's involved with his blood brother Wakasugi's death. He decides to play neutral, helping neither Tetsu or Yamamori, but Yamamori prepared for this, sends hitmen out to kill Tetsu. Yamamori stages an elaborate funeral to honor Tetsu and all the fallen men over the past decade to please the elder Okubo. Shozo decides to crash and shoot up the place, and as he makes his exit he vows to avenge Tetsu.

marta2046 Oh, yeah, this is one brilliant, edgy, dark piece of film-making! It moves at the speed of light starting with the American Occupation of the devastated city of Hiroshima after WWII up to the early 1970's.It has great actors playing complex characters, and cinematography and editing way ahead of its time.Turn off your phone and don't look away for even a second, or you'll miss something critical. There are many characters and lots of information to absorb.I've read that the script was based on the life of a real Yakuza, but whether it's fact or fiction, it's a hell of a ride.And though it's a serious film, sometimes it's also hilarious-- intentionally so.Warning--not for the squeamish. Unlike the Tarentino films this has been compared to, the violence here is NOT cartoonish or funny. It's brutal, bloody, and serious. (as it should be, in my opinion)

fertilecelluloid The yakuza of this series arose from the social and economic fallout of Japan's nuclear annihilation. Even the occupying forces jumped into bed with them so mighty was their influence.Fukusaku's DEATH OF HONOR, which was made later, depicted one man torn asunder by his own fractured obsessions. BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR depicts clans so fractured they spend most of their time tearing each other apart.Bunta Sagawara, who was to Fukasaku what Deniro was to Scorsese, is scorching as a man whose personal honor is continuously tested by betrayal and seismic shifts in the leadership plate.The late, great director's considerable skill was to illuminate gritty humanism in arenas of total chaos. His is a breathless, kinetic cinema that perfectly personifies his preferred subject matter.The details in this outing are fascinating. A scene in which yakuza buddies and a boss's wife discuss the correct procedure for sawing off a finger is priceless. Another scene in which the devoted girlfriend of a wanted man hides him under a blanket with her children is funny and horrible at the same time.The violence is sudden, bloody and realistic. Not a directorial foot is put wrong and the use of freeze frames is inspired. The pacing is brisk, the cutting sharp and unconventional.The world portrayed is absolute and absolutely convincing.This is tornado cinema.

el_strong_bad *spoilers* this movie and its 4 sequels are about yakuzas(Japanese mob)in Hiroshima after WWII and beyond. the film begins with the main character Shozo Hirono being pulled into a yakuza battle and being sent to jail. when he gets out, a crime boss enlists him as an under boss. The traditional yakuza structure involves complete devotion to your direct superior,and also your superior respecting you, something that everyone except shozo seems to try to disregard. shozo stays loyal to his treacherous and undeserving boss much longer than most others did, but leaves at the end of the film when most of the other under bosses who he had known for years were dead. this movie is extremely violent and seems to portray yakuza life very honestly. the complex web of characters is hard to follow, but scenes usually depict something important to the story of the crime family overall, and there is a still shot with a caption whenever someone important dies.