"Actor: Tetsuya Watari"

• Tokyo Drifter (1966) | Blu Ray | (18/02/2019) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colours got director Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anythinggoes, inyourface aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima. Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. Features: New highdefinition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Video piece featuring new interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu Interview with Suzuki from 1997 Original theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton

• Graveyards of Honor | Blu Ray | (31/05/2021) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Two peerless masters of Japanese cinema Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Battle Royale) and Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive, Audition) present their own distinctive adaptations of yakuza expert Goro Fujita's gangster novel Graveyard of Honor, each tapping into the zeitgeist of a distinct period of Japanese history. Set during the turbulent post-war years, Fukasaku's original 1975 film charts the rise and fall of real-life gangster Rikio Ishikawa (Tetsuya Watari, Outlaw Gangster VIP). Shot through with the same stark realism and quasidocumentarian approach as Fukasaku's earlier Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Fukasaku nonetheless breaks new ground through his portrayal of a gangster utterly without honor or ethics, surviving by any means necessary in a world of brutal criminality. Meanwhile, Miike's 2002 retelling transplants the story to Tokyo at the turn of the millennium. Less a direct remake of Fukasaku's film than a radical reimagining of the same overarching premise, Miike's film captures both the hedonism and nihilism of the modern Japanese crime scene in deliriously stylish fashion, resulting in a fascinating companion piece to the original that nonetheless stands as its own entity. Arrow Video is proud to present these two intertwined but unique crime thrillers from two celebrated filmmakers at the peak of their creative powers. Special Features Two-disc set featuring two different versions of Graveyard of Honor, the 1975 film by Kinji Fukasaku and the 2002 film by Takashi Miike Special edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan DISC ONE GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (1975) High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation Original lossless Japanese PCM 1.0 mono soundtrack Optional English subtitles Audio commentary by author and critic Mark Schilling Like a Balloon: The Life of a Yakuza, a visual essay by critic and Projection Booth podcast host Mike White A Portrait of Rage, an archival appreciation of Fukasaku and his films, featuring interviews with filmmakers, scholars, and friends of the director On the Set with Fukasaku, an archival interview with assistant director Kenichi Oguri Theatrical trailer Imagery gallery DISC TWO GRAVEYARD OF HONOR (2002) High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation Original lossless Japanese PCM 2.0 stereo soundtrack Optional English subtitles Audio commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes Men of Violence: The Male Driving Forces in Takashi Miike's Cinema, a visual essay by author and critic Kat Ellinger Archival interview special featuring Miike and cast members Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori Archival making-of featurette Archival making-of teaser Archival press release interviews featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori Archival premiere special featuring Miike, Kishitani and Arimori Theatrical trailer Imagery gallery

• Yakuza Graveyard | Blu Ray | (20/11/2023) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari, Graveyard of Honour). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favour Nishida's rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, Yakuza Graveyard sees director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honour and Humanity) at the peak of his powers. Product Features High-Definition digital transfer Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi The Rage and the Passion - A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku's collaborations Gallery of promotional imagery Easter Egg Trailer Newly translated English subtitles

• Outlaw: Gangster VIP Collection Dual Format DVD & Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (18/04/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  In 1968, acclaimed director Toshio Masuda (Rusty Knife, Tora! Tora! Tora!) and rising star Tetsuya Watari (Tokyo Drifter) teamed up for Outlaw: Gangster VIP, a gritty yakuza yarn based on the writings of real life ex-gangster Goro Fujita. The series offers up a depiction of the Japanese underworld that was unprecedented in its realism and its sympathetic portrayal of its protagonist as a man haunted by his past, unable to escape a life of crime. The success of the initial instalment spawned five sequels, continuing the story of the lone wolf Slasher Goro and his quest for redemption. The films presented a new kind of realism and violence that would prefigure Kinji Fukasaku's Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, with their winning combination of brutal violence, gang warfare and sweeping romance, these films make for a unique and unforgettable viewing experience. The set includes six films in the Outlaw series released for the first time in the west: Gangster VIP, Gangster VIP 2, Heartless, Goro the Assassin, Black Dagger, and Kill! Limited Edition Content: Limited Edition Box Set (3000 copies) containing all six films in the Outlaw series, available with English subtitles for the first time on any home video format High Definition digital transfers of all six films, from original film elements by Nikkatsu Corporation High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations Original uncompressed mono audio Newly translated English subtitles Audio commentary on Outlaw: Gangster VIP by Jasper Sharp Visual essay covering the entire series by Kevin Gilvear Original trailers for all six films Extensive promotional image galleries for all six films Exclusive gatefold packaging featuring brand new artwork by Tonci Zonjic Booklet featuring an interview with director Toshio Masuda by Mark Schilling, plus new writing by Schilling, Chris D and Kevin Gilvear

• Tokyo Drifter | DVD | (29/01/2007) from £19.96   |  Saving you £0.03 (0.15%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In this ""free-jazz gangster film "" ""Phoenix"" Tetsu drifts around Japan awaiting his own extinction until he's called back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. Equal parts Russ Meyer Nagisa Oshima and Frank Tashlin this ""barrage of aesthetic violence visual gags and mind-warping color effects"" once again put director Seijin Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads who had ordered him to ""play it straight this time""...

• Yakuza Graveyard | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £8.47   |  Saving you £7.52 (88.78%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Yakuza Graveyard was one of the stylish, morally ambivalent movies with which director Kinji Fukasaki revolutionised the Japanese gangster genre in the 1970s. These days more famous for his brilliant teen exploitation film Battle Royale, Fukasaki has a proven flair for unsettlingly violent scenes in which the camera dips and twirls as his characters throw each other down stairs and across rooms. An honest cop (Tetsuya Watari) is stationed in Osaka and finds himself caught up in a nightmare world where his superiors launder money and carry out hits for several rival gangs. His sense of honour--already supporting the drunken, promiscuous widow of a man he killed--ties him ever closer to the principal heavy of the gang his superiors are gradually destroying and to the man's half-sister, with whom he falls passionately in love. A torrid interlude as waves beat on the shore--waves that somehow manage to be something other than a cliché--is just a break in the gloomy spiral of degradation and death. This is in some ways as corny as anything, in other ways a minor classic. On the DVD: Yakuza Graveyard is presented in 16:9 widescreen and comes with a short text essay explaining the importance of the film in the development of Fukasaki's career and the yakuza genre. --Roz Kaveney

• Tokyo Drifter | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In Tokyo Drifter director Seijun Suzuki transforms the yakuza genre into a pop-art James Bond cartoon as directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The near-incomprehensible plot is negligible: hitman "Phoenix" Tetsu (Tetsuya Watari), a cool killer in dark shades who whistles his own theme song, discovers his own mob has betrayed his code of ethics and hits the road like a questing warrior, with not one but two mobs hot on his trail. In a world of shifting loyalties Tetsu is the last honourable man, a character who might have stepped out of a Jean-Pierre Melville film and into the delirious, colour-soaked landscape of this Vincent Minnelli musical-turned-gangster war zone. The twisting narrative takes Tetsu from deliriously gaudy nightclubs, where killers hide behind every pillar, to the beautiful snowy plains of northern Japan and back again, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. Suzuki opens the widescreen production in stark, high-contrast black and white with isolated eruptions of colour which finally explode in a screen glowing with oversaturated hues, like a comic book come to life. His extreme stylisation, jarring narrative leaps and wild plot devices combine to create pulp fiction on acid, equal parts gangster parody and post-modern deconstruction. Mere description cannot capture the visceral effect of Suzuki's surreal cinematic fireworks. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Graveyard Of Honour | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Rikio Ishikawa is a brutal street thug who is drawn into the powerful Kawada gang in 1946 Tokyo. His insubordination and rebelliousness encourage him to start his own Yakuza family but he decides the easiest way would be to challenge his own Godfather whom he brutally attacks. This disrespect to his boss brings the ultimate form of disgrace upon himself and his 'family'. For his own safety he surrenders to the police and spends more than a year in jail. But Ishikawa's dishonourable

• Yakuza Graveyard | Blu Ray | (15/05/2023) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari, Graveyard of Honour). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favour Nishida's rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, Yakuza Graveyard sees director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honour and Humanity) at the peak of his powers. Limited Edition Special Features High-Definition digital transfer Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi The Rage and the Passion - A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku's collaborations Gallery of promotional imagery Easter Egg Trailer Newly translated English subtitles Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mika Ko on the representations of Koreans in the yakuza film, and newly translated re-prints of a contemporary review and writing by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara