Overview: 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 organized 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.

Blu-ray Verdict: In truth, and in my own humble opinion, Fukasaku’s film Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana, also known as Yakuza Graveyard, is a compelling Japanese crime drama, from the director of the incredible Battle Royale.

The plot centers on a cop on the edge, played by Tetsuya Watari, a character far more disturbed than, say, Dirty Harry or Popeye Doyle from The French Connection. Indeed, Watari’s rebelliousness seems far more shocking in the context of Japanese society, where respect for authority and conformity are supposedly ingrained.

Equally interesting is the portrayal of the Yakuza. It is a crime family in the mold of The Godfather, but more prosaic and less self-important than the clan created by Francis Ford Coppola. Above all, the film’s theme is the lack of honor in Japanese society. The police are corrupt, and in many respects indistinguishable from the Yakuza.

The central character develops a close relationship with one of the mobsters, whom he discovers is far more honorable and trustworthy than his police colleagues.

What easily stands out about the film is its breakneck, furious pace. The viewer will be forgiven for scratching his head in several occasions, wondering how the movie got where it is, and the convoluted plot doesn’t really help orientation. It’s basically plot-plot-plot only with torrents of mean ass-kicking, relentless and blistering, as only Fukasaku knows how to shoot it.

In closing, Yakuza Graveyard has a great premise and a strong opening half-hour and is also really well filmed throughout, inclusive of some great, albeit frantic camerawork, and all the performances are solid. But, in some respects, it did get a little bit too messy for my liking, with a plot that could have gone in numerous interesting directions, but didn’t really seem to commit to one solidly enough. That said, I loved it and it kept me glued to the screen, as I hope it will you also.

Special Features:
High-Definition digital transfer
Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi (2022)
The Rage and the Passion - A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku’s collaborations (2022)
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
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

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