{"id":33550,"date":"2026-05-19T00:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33550"},"modified":"2026-05-19T00:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:29:17","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-aesthetics-of-a-bullet-1973","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33550","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: AESTHETICS OF A BULLET (1973)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is now available from\nRadiance Films.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are many genres of Japanese films (at least as many as\nin any other country), but the one that may be most familiar to North American\naudiences is the yakuza picture. A great many have been produced over the years\nand it\u2019s easy to see commonalities between many of these pictures. However,\nthere are several that stand apart from the crowd, largely because they present\na unique point-of-view or a different approach to a crime story. Aesthetics\nof a Bullet<\/em> aka Tepp\u00f4dama no Bigaku<\/em> is one of those titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, Radiance Films is putting the film out on\nBlu-ray. The movie has been given a high-definition digital transfer, meaning\nthis is likely the best it has ever looked\u2026 and frankly, it\u2019s likely the first\ntime many in this part of the world will have ever laid eyes on it. The disc\nalso comes with several informative extras that help identify what is so unique\nabout this particular effort. It\u2019s another title from the distributor that\nAsian film aficionados should certainly pick up.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kiyoshi Koike (Tsunehiko Watase) is a young man in his 20s\nexperiencing hard times. Admittedly though, these problems are largely the\nresult of his own failings. He wants wealth and power, and will do anything to\nget it quickly. As the story opens, he is flailing with a new, flawed\nget-rich-quick scheme selling rabbits. If that wasn\u2019t bad enough, his gambling\nhabits are resulting in even more debt. Kiyoshi has a sympathetic girlfriend\nwho works as a prostitute to help make ends meet. But he\u2019s absolutely horrible\nto her, abusing her and borrowing money for his next plot. Simply put, he\u2019s a\npathetic individual. The lead thinks he may have finally gotten lucky when a\nyakuza outfit takes notice of him and offers a proposition. He can join their\nsyndicate if he proves his loyalty. They give him one million yen and a gun,\ntelling him to visit a district run by an enemy group and cause some trouble.\nKiyoshi is thrilled by the opportunity. Little does he know that the gang\nsimply wants a war and are using him as collateral damage, hoping his slaying\nwill help start an all-out conflict.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie spends much of its time following Kiyoshi around\nas he ventures into unfamiliar territory and gets into scuffles. It is shot in\npart with hand-held photography and maintains a gritty and authentic feel\nthroughout. Since Kiyoshi is very intense and impulsive, there is a great deal\nof tension in the story from its unpredictability. You\u2019re never quite sure what\nhis motivation or intent is at any given moment, other than the fact that all\naround are expecting violence. Flashbacks (as well as a dark vision of the\nfuture) are interspersed here and there, showing the young man working as a\ncook and watching wealthy people walk by in clothing carrying goods that he\nwill never be able to afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In spite of his rash behavior, the lead does appear to\nrealize that he is in over-his-head. Despite his posturing, he can\u2019t pull the\ntrigger when he is asked to. Essentially, the character is unwilling to work a\nnormal job, but is no better skilled at being a criminal. He finds himself in a\nhopeless and deadly situation that leads to grim but expected results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What makes it all interesting is the character work.\nEssentially, seeing the youngster try to behave like a thug, but ultimately\nbecome aware that, deep down, he is no killer and has merely been acting out in\nfrustration. And, of course, viewers will understand that It is only a matter\nof time before everyone around tires of his antics permanently. As his time in\nthis new place nears its end, Kiyoshi ends up focusing on visiting a scenic\nmountain summit he wouldn\u2019t have had the opportunity to see otherwise. And\nsomehow, the finale does manage to be strangely moving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a tragic and impressively told tale that focuses its\nattention not on criminal bosses and skilled assassins, but instead on a deeply\nflawed wannabe gangster of low-standing. He\u2019s terrible, but as noted, one can\u2019t\nhelp but feel a flicker of sadness at seeing this doomed, manipulated young man\nspin his wheels until those around decide to stop it all.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blu-ray looks good, with a minimum amount of grain and a generally crisp picture that still emphasizes the grittiness of the story. It also contains exceptional extras. First off, there is a lengthy critical appreciation with moviemaker Robert Schwentke (Flightplan, Red, The Captain, Snake Eyes<\/em>). He describes attending film school in Los Angeles and befriending Japanese students, who introduced him to various filmmakers and yakuza pictures. This movie made a major impression on him, and Schwentke explains why in detail. He discusses this film’s director, Sadao Nakajima, and his unique approach to the genre, pointing out his specific, dynamic rhythmic approach in the way characters speak and behave within each shot. It\u2019s a fascinating and informative analysis, making for an excellent bonus feature.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also an interview with filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri\n(Hole in the Sky<\/em>), who goes into his experiences working as an assistant\nfor Nakajima on a later production. The speaker notes how in awe everyone was\nof his work, and that he was very decisive and knew exactly what he wanted on\nset. Kumakiri suggests that, with certain established actors cast, he would\nknow what he was getting and allow them to act, but would also perform bits for\nother cast members so they would deliver and perform exactly as he wanted\n(which does tie-in to what Schwentke notes about the specific rhythm of the\nscenes in the movie).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also an archival talk with director Nakajima\nhimself. This bonus is amusing, as he appears as a kindly old man happy to\ndiscuss his work on these dark projects. Nakajima explains how he worked with\nthe stars and what excited him about making this picture. All of the added\nfeatures add extra layers that help newcomers to these films develop a better\nunderstanding of the title and what is being attempted onscreen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It all comes packaged with a booklet containing writing on\nthe movie, and a reversible sleeve with artwork based on the original posters\nfor the film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aesthetics of a Bullet<\/em> is another excellent title from Radiance Films. The picture quality is solid, and the bonuses help specify the director\u2019s particular approach to storytelling. I\u2019ll be honest and admit that this reviewer wouldn\u2019t have even known about this movie were it not for the distributor\u2019s fine work bringing this and other international classics to the western world. In summation, crime movie fans should definitely pick this Blu-ray up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray is now available from Radiance Films. There are many genres of Japanese films (at least as many as in any other country), but the one that may be most familiar to North American audiences is the yakuza picture. A great many have been produced over the years and it\u2019s easy to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,796,797,798,2933,3067,4910,10385,12427,16584,23340,24579,24580],"class_list":["post-33550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-104","tag-aesthetics-of-a-bullet","tag-aesthetics-of-a-bullet-blu-ray-review","tag-aesthetics-of-a-bullet-review","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blu-ray","tag-crime","tag-japan","tag-limited-edition","tag-radiance-films","tag-tsunehiko-watase","tag-yakuza","tag-yakuza-film"],"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\/33550","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=33550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33550\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}