Overview: Tetsuo (Hideki Takahashi, Fighting Elegy), a low-level yakuza is double-crossed by his boss and attacked. His younger brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto, This Transient Life), an aspiring artist with no connections to crime, comes to his aid and kills Tetsuo’s assailant.

Fearing repercussions from the yakuza they flee to Manchuria where they risk coming under suspicion of rival gangs. Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) remains loyal to the conventions of the yakuza film, but Tattooed Life contains flashes of his later creative genius, including a final act of explosive visual excess that has become one of the director’s all-time classic scenes.

Blu-ray Verdict: Suzuki is back into the yakuza genre with another movie where two siblings see themselves not only finding love, but also on the run from the criminal group and the police after the killing of one of the former’s members in a double cross.

Unsurprisingly, the action is well choreographed, though I wouldn’t personally place it on the top list from the director. Well, maybe except for the climax. There’s some great and subtle work done with the blocking of the scenes. The cinematography is also excellent and held me throughout, especially the little moments; such as the killing scene of the boss with the rain and all. The main performances are also really great, especially by our two on-screen siblings. I mean, the final shot had me in tears!

All in all, another very good entry in the director’s filmography that sees him once again nailing the action with the romance. Not his best work in this regard, but still an enjoyable one.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by William Carroll, author of Seijun Suzuki and Postwar Cinema (2024)
Newly edited archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki
Newly edited archival interview with art director Takeo Kimura
Trailer
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Vick and a newly translated archival review of the film

www.radiancefilms.co.uk