Overview: A yakuza gang selects a good-for-nothing street vendor to stir up trouble in enemy territory. With a flashy suit, a gun and a pocketful of money, he feels like a king but when trouble comes knocking, he realizes that waving a gun and pulling the trigger are two very different things.

After the major studios refused to finance it, director Sadao Nakajima (The Japanese Godfather Trilogy) took this project to New Wave bastion the Art Theatre Guild. With a deeply impressive performance by Tsunehiko Watase (Sympathy for the Underdog) that predates Robert DeNiro’s indelible turn as Travis Bickle in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver by three years, Aesthetics of a Bullet is a lost gem of 1970s Japanese cinema ripe for rediscovery.

Blu-ray Verdict: Nakajima Sadao’s Aesthetics Of A Bullet is a yakuza eiga brimming with energy. It’s a film with a specific focus, not so much, as you’d expect, on a bloody gang war but more so on a hotblooded young man who doesn’t really know what he wants, Koike Kiyoshi (Toei regular Watase Tsunehiko).

He has tried many different trades: he sold rabbits, contemplated selling dogs (as they would be more profitable than rabbits) and he also tried his luck as a cook (later in the film, he even prepares a stuffed chicken for his girl). What a guy! Not before long, the Yakuza will turn his head. Alas, to the yakuza he is nothing more than “a bullet”.

Nakajima is a great director, proven here again by fully showcasing his versatility. The typical jitsuroku grittiness is present, but there’s more: by placing the focus on this doomed character and his yearning for the consumerist heaven, more expressionistic, introspective and, for lack of a better word, artistic notes are hit.

Watase is awesome in this - a performance for the ages! Befitting the grotesqueness of his dreams and ambitions, Kiyoshi absolutely wanted to visit Kirishima, where the gods allegedly descended to earth. His enthusiasm was endearing to see, especially since he was eventually able to make it onto the bus heading there. [K.D.]

Bonus Contents:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Robert Schwentke (2026)
New interview with filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (2026)
Archival interview with Sadao Nakajima (2023)
Trailer
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing

Hi, Mom! (1970) Original Trailer

Official Purchase Link