{"id":29360,"date":"2024-08-29T23:34:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T06:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=29360"},"modified":"2024-08-29T23:34:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T06:34:33","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-tokijiro-lone-yakuza-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=29360","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past Blu-ray Review: TOKIJIRO: LONE YAKUZA (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is currently available\nfrom Radiance Films.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While Hollywood pictures are in evidence everywhere, we all\nknow that there\u2019s a lot of great movies from around the world. Radiance Films\nspecializes in rediscovering and releasing well-regarded titles that (due to a\nvariety of reasons) aren\u2019t as well known in this part of the world. This week,\nthey are putting out a Blu-ray of yet another impressive Japanese feature\ncalled Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza<\/em> or Kutsukake Tokijiro – Yukyo Ippiki<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 3000 copies are being made available, so those with a\ntaste for early Yakuza cinema should definitely pick it up. It\u2019s an effective\nmovie that boasts fine picture quality (it was transferred from the best\navailable source by Toei Co.). Like other seemingly lost or forgotten titles,\nthe picture isn\u2019t crystal-clear, demo-worthy transfer, but it definitely\nbetters any previous release that will impress most viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this period picture, Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura) is a\nmember of the Yakuza, but one who takes no pleasure in killing or violence.\nWhile traveling to a new town, he encounters a woman named Okinu (Junko\nIkeuchi) and her young boy. They all get on well, before eventually heading on\ntheir separate ways. The lead stays with friend Asakichi (Kiyoshi Atsumi) at a\ngambling establishment that is warring with another gang. Due to specific codes\nof honor, Tokijiro is expected to fight for them. He is even forced into an\nassassination plot targeting their main enemy, Matsuda no Sanza (Chiyonosuke\nAzuma). Pal Asakichi is more than happy to fight, but the somber hero knows\nthey are being manipulated. He fulfills his duty, but promises victim Sanzo\nthat his family will be helped and cared for. Things get awkward when Tokijiro\ndiscovers that fellow travelers Okinu and the child were the man\u2019s wife and\nson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a mix of many different elements to the story,\nincluding dark comedy, melodrama and action. The film is also something of a\nslow burn and takes a while to really heat up. Yes, there is impressive\nswordplay early on, but it’s mixed between comic relief with pal Asakichi, the\nvarious criminal schemes occurring, and the introduction of Okinu. There are a\nnumber of goofy moments with Asakichi in the first act. But, seeing as the\njoker wants to prove himself and be promoted into being a full yakuza member,\nit all comes to a quick and painful end early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As for the central plot, it takes nearly 40 minutes for the\nmain drama to fully develop as Tokijio begins trying to take care of Okinu and\nthe boy. The idea of a character feeling obligated to care for the family of\nhis victim adds a layer of tension as the Tokijiro and Okinu try to find common\nground. One isn\u2019t sure if any sort of relationship is tenable and it\u2019s\ninteresting to see how the story progresses. The film becomes even more\nmelodramatic when the widow develops a terrible illness, but the story still\nmaintains interest. One benefit of the picture\u2019s slower pace is that the\ncharacters appear more developed than in other Yakuza movies of the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Tokijiro is an expert swordsman, you\u2019ll see a few\nviolent battles with geysers of blood spraying out of anyone who comes under\nhis blade. There are impressive action scenes, from early confrontations that\nshow off his skill, to a grand showdown late in the feature. Over the course of\nevents, Tokijiro makes it clear that he isn\u2019t impressed with any of the violent\nparties around him, even wounding those housing him for their lack of honor and\nmorality in battle. It ultimately leads to every warrior in the picture who is\nstill alive turning on him. This makes for a wild and brutal final fight with\nthe protagonist squaring off against everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is nicely photographed with wide lenses. There are\nsome pretty backdrops as the lead interacts with the family and even the fights\n(particularly the finale) feature interesting angles and compositions. As\nmentioned, the disc image quality isn\u2019t jaw-dropping, but it is a strong\npresentation that always looks good and doesn\u2019t feature any visible issues.\nThis is probably as sharp as this relatively obscure title has ever looked, or\nwill ever look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the movie stands apart as having a few unique\nfeatures story wise and even though there are no radical twists, it keeps\nviewers guessing about what might occur between several characters. The leads\nare given a chance to act and there are a few memorable and thrilling sword\nfights. It\u2019s a good movie that will impress fans of Japanese cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This Blu-ray contains two major featurettes that are\nenlightening and informative. The first is from a Japanese film historian\ndetailing the life of the director, Tai Kato. Kato was the second unit\ndirector\/assistant director on Akira Kurosawa\u2019s Rashomon<\/em>. The expert\ngives viewers a career overview, noting some of his other impressive films (Beast\nin the Shadows<\/em>) and also goes into detail about this project. Tokijiro:\nLone Yakuza <\/em>is the first film adaptation of a novel by Shin Hasegawa. In\nthe years since, it has been retold many, many times, but this effort stands\napart as one of the best.According to this genre authority, other\nversions altered events so that the hero wasn\u2019t the figure who killed the\ngangster, but Kato thought it was essential to the drama and fought for it with\nthe studio. The speaker notes how this decision was very wise and is part of\nwhat makes the picture memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another plus is a visual essay in which a historian goes\nover the fascinating career of starKinnosuke Nakamura. Nakamura was\npart of a professional Kabuki theater family. Because he was one of the\nyoungest members, he was often given small roles while his father and siblings\ntook the leads. Obviously, Nakamura did have performing skills and saw acting\nin film as a way to develop his talent and open up his professional options. He\nwas immediately successful and quickly became a leading man.This effort was a\nstrong early role that really helped develop the performer\u2019s skills. Amusingly,\nhis dad eventually applauded his success and invited him to perform on his\nKabuki productions with larger parts. Nakamura would jump back and forth\nbetween stage and screen as a result, but did focus on his film work. The\nhistorian describes several titles he appears in that are worth checking\nout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trailer for the movie is also included, as is a booklet\nwith writing on the film and a reversible sleeve with original and newly\ncommissioned artwork for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who enjoys Japanese period films or crime\/yakuza\nmovies will certainly enjoy the \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray of Tokijiro: Lone\nYakuza<\/em>. It\u2019s a well-shot and interesting genre effort. As always, Radiance\nFilms does a fine job with the transfer, giving the picture a new lease on\nlife.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is currently available from Radiance Films. While Hollywood pictures are in evidence everywhere, we all know that there\u2019s a lot of great movies from around the world. Radiance Films specializes in rediscovering and releasing well-regarded titles that (due to a variety of reasons) aren\u2019t as well known in this part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[96,697,3073,10385,11810,13672,15922,16584,19469,22984,22985,24579],"class_list":["post-29360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-96","tag-action","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-japan","tag-kinnosuke-nakamura","tag-melodrama","tag-period","tag-radiance-films","tag-swords","tag-tokijiro-lone-yakuza","tag-tokijiro-lone-yakuza-blu-ray-review","tag-yakuza"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}