"Director: Kinji Fukasaku"

• 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

• Battles Without Honor and Humanity | Blu Ray | (07/12/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £99.99

  Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) gave the world Japan’s answer to The Godfather with this violent yakuza saga, influencing filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) to Takashi Miike (Graveyard of Honor, Audition). Made within just two years, the five-film series brought a new kind of realism and ferocity to the crime genre in Japan, revitalizing the industry and leading to unprecedented commercial and critical success. Literally exploding onscreen with a mushroom cloud, and ending with Hiroshima’s A-bomb Dome, the epic story of Battles Without Honour and Humanity follows over 100 characters through twenty years of gang wars, alliances, betrayals, and assassinations, in an exciting exploration of criminal power and politics in Japan. In the opening episode, ex-soldier Shozo Hirono escapes from the post-war black markets to become a key member of the Yamamori gang, but soon finds himself disillusioned by the selfish duplicity of his bosses. Hiroshima Death Match focuses on a demobilized kamikaze pilot drifting through the early 1950’s, whose suicidal impulses find good use as a mob assassin. Proxy War and Police Tactics form a labyrinthine, two-part story of ambition and betrayal set against Japan’s rapid economic growth of the 1960’s, with Shozo caught between warring factions. Final Episode concludes the series in the 1970’s as the former Yamamori gang transforms itself into an economic conglomerate called the Tensei Group, in a bid for mainstream respectability. Fukasaku and his team broke with the longstanding studio tradition of casting marquee idols as honorable, kimono-clad heroes, defending their gang bosses against unscrupulous villains, and instead adapted true accounts torn from the headlines, shot in a documentary-like style, and with few clear-cut heroes or villains. The vibrancy and dynamism of the filmmaking, plus its shocking violence, Shakespearean plotlines, and wide tapestry of characters, launched a revolutionary new genre, establishing the series as one of the great masterpieces of world crime cinema. Limited Edition Contents: Limited Edition Blu-ray Collection High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of all five original films Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) Optional English subtitles for all five films Remembering Kinji – a new featurette about director Kinji Fukasaku and his work, featuring interviews with Kenta Fukasaku and film critic and Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane Secrets of the Piranha Army – a new documentary about the troupe of supporting actors who appeared throughout the series, featuring new interviews with original Piranha members Masaru Shiga and Takashi Noguchi, plus second-generation Piranha, Takashi Nishina and Akira Murota All the Bad Guys – a new, comprehensive video guide to the actors in the films Fukasaku Family – a new interview with Proxy War and Police Tactics assistant director Toru Dobashi Man of Action – a new interview with series fight choreographer Ryuzo Ueno Tales of a Bit Player – a new interview with supporting actor and stuntman Seizo Fukumoto Last Days of the Boss – a new interview with Final Episode screenwriter Koji Takada Yakuza Graveyard – a new interview with Takashi Miike about Kinji Fukasaku and the yakuza film genre Original trailers for the series Original poster gallery for the series Limited Edition packaging and reversible sleeves for all five films including original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist The Complete Saga - Limited Edition Exclusive English-subtitled premiere of the 224-minute compilation edition of the first four films, previously screened only as part of a limited Japanese theatrical release in 1980 and on the Toei cable channel Introduction by Complete Saga editorial supervisor Toru Dobashi The Yakuza Papers - Limited Edition Exclusive 150-page hardback book featuring writing on the history of the yakuza film genre, the background and continuing importance of the Battles series, and additional essays on the men who made them, including a newly-reprinted and fully annotated edition of Paul Schrader’s classic 1974 Film Comment essay Yakuza-Eiga: A Primer, a new, exclusive English translation of screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara’s 1974 Scenario magazine essay on his writing process for the first four films, as well as new essays and interviews from critics and authors Chris D., Grady Hendrix, Patrick Macias, Tom Mes, Mark Schilling, and Jasper Sharp.

• Battle Royale (3 Disc Edition) | Blu Ray | (30/04/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  One Dead. 41 To Go. Battle Royale is back. It’s time to return to the island and kill your friends, because the cult Japanese movie that defines twisted action and sickening violence is ready to shock you all over again. In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now, see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island, arm them and then give them a simple choice... Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison, cross-bows, machetes and dynamite. ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Zatoichi) is a teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Kidnapped and gassed, his class wake up with exploding metal rings around their necks. If they rebel, they could lose their heads. Now they have three days and only one is permitted to survive this grisly battle to the death. Directed by the master of 70s Yakuza thrillers Kinji Fukasaku and featuring Kill Bill star Chiaki Kuriyama, Battle Royale is the movie that helped to define extreme Asian cinema in the 21st Century. 3 Disc Edition Features: Collector’s booklet by Tom Mes, author of ‘The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film’ illustrated with stills, artwork and a printed interview with director Kinji Fukasaku Brand new restored transfer in glorious high definition 1080p of the Theatrical Version and Director’s Cut Brand new subtitle translation on both features Disc 1 – Theatrical Cut: Special Features Original theatrical trailer The making of Battle Royale: The Experience of 42 High School Students Disc 2 – Special Edition [Director’s Cut]: Special Features Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra Special Edition Trailer TV Spot: Tarantino Version Shooting the Special Edition Takeshi Kitano Interview The Correct Way to Make Battle Royale [Birthday Verion] Tokyo International Film Festival Presentation Disc 3 – Special Features Opening Day at Marunouchi Toei Movie Theatre The Slaughter of 42 High School Students Premiere Press Conference The Correct Way to Fight in Battle Royale Royale Rehearsals Masamichi Amano conducts Battle Royale Special Effects Comparison Behind the Scenes Featurette Filming on Set TV Spots, Promos and Commercials Kinji Fukasaku Trailer Reel

• Virus (1980) | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £9.30   |  Saving you £-5.31 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  The entire world is a graveyard.....863 people were not so lucky - they survived..... A military-engineered virus released during a plane crash kills the entire human population. The only survivors are scientists in Antarctica who desperately try to find a cure and save what is left of the planet from further destruction.

• Virus | DVD | (26/03/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The time it could be tomorrow. A secret substances smuggled out of a classified military installation in East Germany. The plane crashes into an alpine peak whilst attempting to carry the package to Switzerland its contents MM-88 a deadly bacteriological warfare weapon is splattered into a unsuspecting world U.S. President (Glenn Ford) and top Senator Barkley (Robert Vaughn) struggle to stop the panic started by the epidemic of Virus which rapidly starts to wipe out the world's population. As the earth slowly dies chief of Staff Garld (Henry Silva) arms the total American nuclear arsenal to fight the Enemy Virus. 855 men and eight women protected by the numbing cold of an Antarctic research station attempt to prevent a nuclear holocaust triggered by the dead hand of a crazed military chief. The time is rapidly running out... there are only two minutes left...

• Shogun's Samurai | DVD | (23/04/2007) from £8.08   |  Saving you £-0.09 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Directed by veteran Japanese filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku (Tora! Tora! Tora! Battle Royale) and starring one of the greatest martial arts stars Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill: Volume I Street Fighter) Shogun's Samurai is an all out action epic tale of loyalty and betrayal political intrigue battles and spectacular sword fights in true Japanese style. It's Imperial Japan 1624 the current Shogun General Hidetada has died under mysterious circumstances leaving the succession in doubt - his eldest son Lemestsu (Hiroki Matsukata) should succeed but he is disfigured and stammers. His younger brother Tadanaga (Teruhiko Saigo) seems better suited to the role and had the backing of his father before his untimely death as well as most of the powerful lords. A war between the two brothers soon erupts both recruiting not only government officials but also anybody who is looking for one last fight. Meanwhile the Emperor and his courtiers plot behind the scenes to exploit the chaos and return to power and it soon becomes clear that in a winner takes all struggle for power there are no heroes and villains only winners and losers.

• Battle Royale 2 - Two Disc Special Edition Tin (2003) | DVD | (27/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  This time it's war! Louder longer even more brutal! Battle Royale 2 gets an extended version (with a new sobriquet) in a new and very collectible double DVD tin set! Three years after the events of the original Battle Royale the survivor of the game Shuya Nanahara is now an internationally-known terrorist and leading his group known as Wild Seven is determined to bring down the government. To counter this new threat the government enacts the ""New Cent

• The Yakuza Papers: Police Tactics | Blu Ray | (08/08/2016) from £13.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Continuing the storyline begun in episode three of the Battles Without Honor / Honour and Humanity series, Police Tactics sees director Kinji Fukasaku and screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara further depicting the life-and-death struggle of the gangsters of Hiroshima and Kure, even as the rest of Japan is beginning to tire of their old-fashioned codes. 1963. Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara), expelled from the Yamamori gang, has allied himself with the cowardly Uchimoto (Takeshi Kato) and the Akashi family, who are engaged in a power struggle with the Shinwa Group, allied with the Yamamori. But mainstream society, enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity, will no longer tolerate their violent criminal activities. The police begin a major crackdown, putting the gangs on the defensive. But rogue soldiers on both sides still refuse to keep the peace, earning the wrath of both their bosses and the forces of law and order. The last film of the series written by Kasahara, Police Tactics was intended to be the final episode, until its phenomenal success led to one additional entry. A fîn de siècle mood permeates throughout, with characters fully aware of their impending obsolescence, yet striving for a return to the less prosperous, but simpler post-war glory days.

• Japan Organised Crime Boss | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Yakuza is in turmoil when Osaka's ruthless Danno Organisation has ambitions to take over and control the entire Japanese underworld. After staging a series of successful territorial battles they make their way to Yokohama's busy port district with the intention of ruling that too. An alliance is formed between the remaining Yakuza clans to take on the might of the Danno organization. From the acclaimed international director of Battle Royale.

• Battle Royale 2 - Requiem | DVD | (28/01/2013) from £12.39   |  Saving you £0.60 (4.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It's been three years since Battle Royale's survivors Nanahara and Noriko escaped from the island and the world has descended into an age of terrorism. The wild seven led by Nanahara is an anti-state organisation that has declared war upon the adults that force teenagers to kill each other under the murderous BR Act. Fearful and desperate the government has now passed a Millennium Anti-Terrorism Act better known as BRII. On their way to a ski vacation a coach load of Junior High School children are abducted by the military and forced to put on uniforms with lethal explosive necklaces. They are given 72 hours to hunt down and kill Nanahara and the Wild Seven or they will face certain death at the hands of the authorities. This explosive and much anticipated sequel to Kinji Fukusaku's celebrated and controversial original seriously ups the ante both in terms of bloody violence and dark social satire. This is one war on terror that will definitely get your vote.

• Yakuza Papers | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  This nihilistic chronicle of the gang-wars that ravaged Hiroshima in post-war Japan centres on the character Sugawara. Based on the prison diary of a yakuza involved in the wars (Kozo Mino) Sugawara is distinguished through extreme callous brutality. The villainous godfather Yamamoru initiates him into his ruthless gang which inevitably wins the power struggle through titanic gruesome battles. Once more with 'The Yakuza Papers' director Kinji Fukasaku elevates brutality and abrup

• Cops vs Thugs | DVD | (01/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It is 1963 and the police of Kurashima City have spent the past seven years eradicating the Yakuza gangs which have caused so much strife in the city. The last two remaining gangs Ohara and Kawade are in tatters with the Ohara Boss in prison. But with the police force full of corrupt officers the gangs begin to flourish once again. The Kawade gang sensing the opportunity to strike their enemies while their leader is incarcerated decide to stage a raid on a club owned by their rivals but the attention of the police is drawn to both gangs again. Ken Hirotani is running the Ohara gang while the Boss is in jail and he soon discovers that a childhood friend Kuno is now a police detective assigned to clean up the underworld. But Kuno's loyalties lay more with his friend than his career and his honour is tested time and time again. When a major property deal goes bad the police are able to persuade the two gangs to come to a truce but there are elements of both sides who don't like what their superiors are negotiating. Soon it's not only Cops vs Cops as loyalties are strained and honour pushes the boundaries of the law with an epic showdown looming.

• Battle Royale 3 Disc Edition | Blu Ray | (07/03/2011) from £39.13   |  Saving you £-10.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £28.99

  ONE DEAD. 41 TO GO. Battle Royale is back. It's time to return to the island and kill your friends because the cult Japanese movie that defines twisted action and sickening violence is ready to shock you all over again. In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island arm them and then give them a simple choice... Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison cross-bows machetes and dynamite. `Beat' Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop Zatoichi) is a teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Kidnapped and gassed his class wake up with exploding metal rings around their necks. If they rebel they could lose their heads. Now they have three days and only one is permitted to survive this grisly battle to the death. Directed by the master of 70s Yakuza thrillers Kinji Fukasaku and featuring Kill Bill star Chiaki Kuriyama Battle Royale is the movie that helped to define extreme Asian cinema in the 21st Century.

• Battle Royale | DVD | (18/11/2013) from £10.08   |  Saving you £2.91 (28.87%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One Dead. 41 to go. Battle Royale is back. It s time to return to the island and kill your friends because the cult Japanese movie that defines twisted action and sickening violence is ready to shock you all over again. In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island arm them and then give them a simple choice... Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison cross-bows machetes and dynamite. Beat Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop Zatoichi) is a teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Kidnapped and gassed his class wake up with exploding metal rings around their necks. If they rebel they could lose their heads. Now they have three days and only one is permitted to survive this grisly battle to the death. Directed by the master of 70s Yakuza thrillers Kinji Fukasaku and featuring Kill Bill star Chiaki Kuriyama Battle Royale is the movie that helped to define extreme Asian cinema in the 21st Century.

• Battle Royale - Special Edition | Blu Ray | (13/12/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  At the dawn of the new millennium Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers a beleagured and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act. Overseen by a former teacher (Takeshi Kitano) and requiring that a randomly chosen school class be taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death the Act dictates that only one pupil be allowed to survive the punishment. He or she will return not as the victor but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government are prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobediance. One of the most controversial films of all time clever creepy and ultra-violent Battle Royale is the jewel in the crown of Japanese Shock Cinema.

• Yakuza Papers / Yakuza Graveyard / Street Mobster | DVD | (07/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Yakuza Papers: This nihilistic chronicle of the gang-wars that ravaged Hiroshima in post-war Japan centres on the character Sugawara. Based on the prison diary of a yakuza involved in the wars (Kozo Mino) Sugawara is distinguihed through extreme callous brutality. The villainous godfather Yamamoru initiates him into his ruthless gang which inevitably wins the power struggle through titanic gruesome battles. Once more with 'The Yakuza Papers' director Kinji Fukasaku elevate

• The Geisha House | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A moving and entrancing exploration of a culture that has fascinated the Western world for centuries, Kinji Fukasaki's Geisha House was released in 1998, presaging a flurry of literature and memoirs that have helped to broaden our understanding of the geisha's role in Japanese society. Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omacha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house. Fukusaki's film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty, and his tender direction, often touched with a sense of wonder, fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes. At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept, for the most part, on its periphery, like perpetual mistresses. On the DVD: Geisha House is presented with subtitles in widescreen anamorphic format. The string-laden Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is occasionally overpowering. The only extra is a short, text biography of Fukusaki. --Piers Ford

• Battle Royale - Two Disc Special Edition | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as A Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolkids, whose bad behaviour provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial Lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale". Their only chance of survival in the "Battle" is through the death of all their classmates. Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you view the film as an important social commentary or simply enjoy the adrenalin-fuelled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer-game generation and beyond. On the DVD: Battle Royale comes out fighting in a special edition format only a few months after the initial DVD release became cult viewing. But don't get too excited about the new cut of the film, only a few additional scenes have been added and the alternate ending simply offers a series of Requiem sequences. Disc 2 contains a whole heap of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, unfortunately many of these tend to repeat material. The Q&A with the cast (in full costume) and the director is repeated in the Tokyo Film festival. The special effects comparison feature is a case of "spot the difference" the S-FX hardly being in the Star Wars league and the instructional video on how to direct a film proves that the DVD makers have tried to grasp irony and failed. The disc also includes trailers and text filmographies for "Beat" Takeshi and director Kinji Fukasaku along with a written statement by the master of extreme cinema. Lacking in commentary and substance this DVD is redeemed by a superior sound and visual print to its predecessors. –-Nikki Disney

• Tora! Tora! Tora! | DVD | (18/12/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tora! Tora! Tora! Is the Japanese signal to attack - and this movie meticulously recreates the attack on Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to it. Opening scenes contrast the American and Japanese positions. Japanese imperialists decide to stage the attack. Top U.S. brass ignore its possibility. Intercepted Japanese messages warn of it - but never reach F.D.R.'s desk. Radar warnings are disregarded. Even the entrapment of a Japanese submarine in Pearl Harbor before the attack goes unreported. Ultimately the Day of Infamy arrives - in the most spectacular gut-wrenching cavalcade of action.

• Street Mobster | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £6.98   |  Saving you £9.01 (129.08%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Explosive Japanese cool hits the retail DVD market in the shape of Eureka Video's 'Street Mobster'. Internationally acclaimed guru director Kinji Fukasaku the highly distinguished exponent of ultra violence with a purpose. Street mobster Isamu Okita likes fighting and girls and is just out of prison for killing a rival in a bath-house. On release he finds things have changed: old gangs no longer have the power they once enjoyed. So he teams up with Kizaki an aspiring gangster who suggests he revive his old gang to take on existing mobs and claim their territory.