Overview: Made at the end of the 1970s, Toru Murakawa’s Game Trilogy launched actor Yusaku Matsuda as the Toei tough guy for a new generation. Matsuda was the definitive screen icon of 1980s until his career was tragically cut short by cancer at the age of 40, following his Hollywood debut in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain.

In this career-defining triptych, Matsuda is Shohei Narumi, an ice cool hitman of few words, a steely trigger finger, and a heart of stone, hired in The Most Dangerous Game by a company bidding for a lucrative government air defense contract to take out the competition.

In The Killing Game, Narumi finds himself caught in the midst of violent yakuza gang warfare, while his own brutal past catches up with him in the form of two beautiful women still bearing the emotional scars of his past assignments.

In The Execution Game, Narumi falls for a mysterious saloon bar chanteuse who may or may not be part of the same, shadowy underworld organization as the rival hit men he is employed to rub out.

Released for the very first time outside Japan, with their cool blue cinematography by Nagisa Oshima collaborator Seizo Sengen and a sultry score by jazz legend Yuji Ohno, Murakawa’s masterful set of films raised the bar for the Japanese action movie to new heights.

Blu-ray Verdict: In The Most Dangerous Game (1978), Shohei Narumi (Yuusaku Matsuda) is a gun for hire. He’s been recruited by Tonichi Electric company to rescue the Chairman’s son in law who is the president of the company from kidnappers.

The kidnapping is a cover, and the real motive is over defense budget, and the rival company is trying to assassinate the key personnel of Tonichi Electric. It turns out ** SPOILER ** that the head of the rival company Seishiro Adachi is the ring leader of the said same kidnappers and he has no qualms over killing people to forward his business agenda.

Narumi is paid handsomely, and he accepts the contract. He finds that the story is not so straight forward as the kidnappers also includes members of the police force. Oh, and he is also asked to assassinate Adachi, but finds that Adachi is a cohort with unexpected company too!

The story is very ’70s Japan style in that it resembles the then popular action novel of Haruhiko Ooyabu. It’s supposed to be very gritty and macho with lot of sexual innuendo, but compared to today’s level of violence, it’s very tame.

Like most of Yuusaku Matsuda’s films, this is an entertaining one, chock full of comical elements as well as decent plot that’s fairly outrageous, but contains pockets of genuine escapism.

Next we get The Killing Game (1978), and trust me when I say that Yusaku continues to be a bad ass on screen. While not as good as the first one, I liked the character and build up more. Everyone is a scum and tries to back stab each other only for Yusaku to win!

There are two long sequences of shoot-outs in a house and they are really well done, but for me, what really heightens the movie is the Jazz music. We also get amazing fighting and shooting scenes that are long shots with amazing jams and while still goofy and fun at parts, it definitely felt more like a Kinji Fukasaku knock-off at times.

Lastly we get The Execution Game (1979), quirky Hitman Narumi (Yûsaku Matsuda) is back in the final part of the trilogy, much more weary and tired of it all, but drawn back in anyway.

He’s kidnapped and given an assignment, untrusting and unsure of what it’s all about, having a history of double crosses. He still has a knack for pissing off anyone who tries to get close to him, especially women, but this time he’s fallen in love with a nightclub singer.

Of course, that doesn’t usually end well in a hard boiled movie, and he finds out she was ALSO kidnapped by these guys, forcing him to do this job!

Limited Edition Contents:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all films
Original lossless mono Japanese soundtracks
Optional newly translated English subtitles
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Hayley Scanlon and Dimitri Ianni

DISC 1 - THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME:
Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow
The Action Man, a 30-minute interview with director Toru Murakawa
Original Japanese theatrical trailer
Image gallery

DISC 2 - THE KILLING GAME & THE EXECUTION GAME:
Brand new audio commentary on The Killing Game by Earl Jackson and Jasper Sharp
Brand new audio commentary on The Execution Game by Tom Mes
Remembering Yusaku Matsuda, an interview with Yutaka Oki, film critic and personal friend of Yusaku Matsuda
Game Changer, an interview with The Execution Game screenwriter Shoichi Maruyama
Original Japanese theatrical trailers for both films
Image galleries for both films