Yakuza Films
Japanese Gangster films .
There are basically two sorts of yakuza films -
Those set in the late 19th / early 20th centuries , with traditional dress and swords and knives .
Modern day , 50s / 60s / 70s , with guns .The modern ones can then be split with the noir influenced , Japanese New Wave style from the 60s - ie the Seijun Suzuki , Nikkatsu films .
Then there are the more violent 70s films , and the later Takeshi Kitano style films from the 80s and 90s .
( Films like the Zatoichi series , or Red Peony Gambler , are included as Samurai films - though the characters are yakuza , they fight samurai with swords . )
Not in any order .
There are basically two sorts of yakuza films -
Those set in the late 19th / early 20th centuries , with traditional dress and swords and knives .
Modern day , 50s / 60s / 70s , with guns .The modern ones can then be split with the noir influenced , Japanese New Wave style from the 60s - ie the Seijun Suzuki , Nikkatsu films .
Then there are the more violent 70s films , and the later Takeshi Kitano style films from the 80s and 90s .
( Films like the Zatoichi series , or Red Peony Gambler , are included as Samurai films - though the characters are yakuza , they fight samurai with swords . )
Not in any order .
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- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaYukiji AsaokaShiho FujimuraAfter the victory of Japan-Russia War, boss of the Nanjo family is stabbed to death. His son abandons his naval position in order to succeed as the new boss of the family.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaMikio NaritaYumiko NogawaA former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaIchirô NakataniKô Nishimura
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaJûshirô KonoeMachiko HasegawaA debt collector visits a gambling den in search of a gambler - the gambler's wife and daughter are sick; unknown to the debt collector he kills the gambler. He learns more about his wife and family and forms a bond; as a result he tries to distance himself from his Yakuza clan.
- DirectorTai KatôStarsRyôhei UchidaJûshirô KonoeHiroko SakuramachiRichshaw man Tatsu has wandered to Osaka from Tokyo. He has quarrels with Kimiyakko, a geisha, and throws her into the river. But later, he falls in love with her. Yasaburo, the oyabun of the Nishikawa Gang, loves her very much too. However, as he likes Tatsu's dynamic personality, he volunteers to become a go-between for their marriage. Yasaburo gets tipped off by Yajima who wants to take over the territory of the Nishikawa Gang, and is arrested and imprisoned. After his release, Yajima tries to kill him. Ginjiro, a lover of Tamaryu respects Kimiyakko as an older sister and a follower of Tatsu, is murdered. After the third marriage ceremony just between Tatsu and Kimiyakko, Tatsu goes off to the place of fighting.
- DirectorTsuneo KobayashiStarsShigeru AmachiShin'ichi ChibaSumiko FujiKoji Tsuruta plays an honourable outlaw who saves an older man from an ambush. It turns out the man is the head of a hard working clan appointed to a railway construction project. A ruthless Yakuza gang is also trying to get their share of the project and attempts to sabotage the work.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraSumiko FujiTetsurô Tanba
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKinnosuke NakamuraKen TakakuraMinoru ÔkiA timber merchant and haulage firm in late 19th century Tokyo is in trouble. The widowed lady owner is being threatened by a scheming competitor who is offering much cheaper labour. X has just left the army, and his buddies in the firm beg him to rejoin them as second in command, which he does. Thus emboldened, the firm tries to make a deal to stay in business, which launches a serious turf war.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraHideo MurataAsao Uchida
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraYuriko HoshiSumiko Fuji
- DirectorShigehiro OzawaStarsRyô IkebeTakuzô KawataniAkira Shioji
- DirectorKôsaku YamashitaStarsBin AmatsuTatsuo EndôSumiko Fuji
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraKanbi FujiyamaRyuko Azuma
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraSumiko FujiMinoru Ôki
- DirectorSadatsugu MatsudaStarsHashizô ÔkawaMinoru ÔkiTakashi ShimuraA good set-in-per-WW2 ninkyô type film with outstanding performances.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKôji TsurutaSumiko FujiMinoru Ôki
- DirectorKôsaku YamashitaStarsKôji TsurutaSumiko FujiMinoru Ôki
- DirectorSadao NakajimaStarsHideo MurotaShigeru AmachiKen TakakuraThis was one of director Nakajima's first films.
- DirectorKiyoshi SaekiStarsKen TakakuraRyô IkebeYoshiko MitaAfter World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang take hold of goods from the US military, black-market and controlled items in order to become the most powerful group in Enko area.
- DirectorKiyoshi SaekiStarsKen TakakuraRyô IkebeYoshiko MitaA yakuza has to to kill a guy out of obligation. When he gets out of prison, he visits his victim's grave where he meets his victim's son and wife while they do not know who he is. After that, he tries to make amends for his deed.
- DirectorKiyoshi SaekiStarsKen TakakuraRyô IkebeSumiko FujiTakei Shigejiro belongs to the Shimazu family. When his boss gets killed, he takes revenge and ends up in prison.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraRyô IkebeSumiko FujiFourth film in the "Shôwa Zankyôden" series. This expression means duty, obligations, and rules obeyed by gangsters and outlaws in the pre-Shôwa era.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraRyô IkebeSumiko FujiHidejuro is sent to prison after killing the boss of a rival family. After being released, he discovers that his family has scattered and he is taking in by a company of quarry workers, whose boss has a strict code of non-violence.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKen TakakuraSumiko FujiMinoru ÔkiThis is yet another ninkyô yakuza film that seems to be (unconsciously?) trying to deal with issues of repressed homosexuality. In any case, long-lost friend.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsKôji TsurutaKen TakakuraSumiko Fuji
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraIchirô RyûzakiBin Amatsu
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsBunta SugawaraKyôsuke MachidaTomisaburô WakayamaJust released on parole, one young man hurtles towards a face-off with the gangsters controlling Shinjuku and its lucrative prostitutes.
- DirectorKôsaku YamashitaStarsKôji TsurutaTomisaburô WakayamaHiroshi NawaTokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer and suggests they choose Matsuda, who is in prison.
- DirectorSadao NakajimaStarsShin'ichi ChibaChiezô KataokaKôji TsurutaThis anthology film consists of nine incidents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when assassins changed the course of Japanese history.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaGorô IbukiSumiko FujiHaving made a fortune in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumatora Family migrates to Kyushu to take on a military-related job. There they encounter the evil and malicious interference of the Chindai family of Kumamoto, and Boss Kumatora boldly fights back with the help of O'Ryu the Red Peony.
- DirectorShigehiro OzawaStarsSumiko FujiKôji TsurutaGannosuke AshiyaTaking place in Shinshu in the 1920s, Tsumakoi Okoma, while traveling to hone her gambling skills, teams up with the vagabond Tsukuba Tsuneji and comes into conflict with gamblers plotting to take over a rustic hot-spring town.
- DirectorKôsaku YamashitaStarsTatsuo EndôSumiko FujiShôtarô HayashiIt is hard to think of another ninkyô yakuza film that leaves the main protagonist - a chivalrous female at that - in so much pain and sorrow, such an emotional abyss of desolation at the climax. Yamashita and writer have fashioned a bleak, haunting, exciting and beautiful film.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsSumiko FujiKen TakakuraKôji TsurutaIt is almost unheard of for a ninkyô or jitsuroku yakuza to have an even halfway happy ending.
- DirectorHideo SuzukiStarsAkiji KobayashiAkiko NomuraGypsy Rose
- DirectorToshio ShimuraStarsSusumu FujitaMichiko MaedaKen UtsuiA story of sex and survival, Toshio Shimura's REVENGE OF THE PEARL QUEEN stars voluptuous Michiko Maeda as an office worker and future pearl diver trapped on a tropical beach with five lustful male castaways.
- DirectorSeiichirô UchikawaStarsKen UtsuiNaoko KuboShôji Nakayama
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsKatsuko WakasugiJûzaburô AkechiTetsurô TanbaBiopic of female Japanese murderer Takahashi Oden.
- DirectorAkira MiwaStarsRokurô MatsubaraKinuko ObataJun Otomi
- DirectorKôzô SaekiStarsAkira TakaradaTatsuya MihashiAkemi KitaCrime thriller about the investigation of a man murdered at a Tokyo race track, Clues lead Detective Yoneyama (Misashi) to Kobe where a narcotics gang is smuggling drugs in golf balls with the aid of an ex-cop (Takarada).
- DirectorKiyoshi SaekiStarsKôji TsurutaYoshiko SakumaTetsurô Tanba
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTetsurô TanbaNaoko KuboIssac SaxsonAfter a successful robbery the culprits, from very different backgrounds, at once turn on each other.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôji TsurutaTetsurô TanbaHitomi NakaharaKuroki, a journalist working for a newspaper, is investigating the clandestine sale of arms to Southeast Asia.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsChiezô KataokaTetsurô TanbaRyûji OkiPer aging chanbara star Katoaka's involvement, this leans more to the old-fashioned gangster film style/formula spilling over from Toei's 1950s heyday.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKôji TsurutaTetsurô TanbaTatsuo UmemiyaMizuhara did his time in jail for Boss Komori. Now that he is out, the old gang wants to say welcome back with a bullet.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôji TsurutaYoshiko SakumaTetsurô TanbaTwo rival gangs of gangsters clash for dominance of a neighborhood.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen TakakuraKôji TsurutaMamoru Ogawa
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsShin'ichi ChibaTakashi HioYôko MiharaIshihama is planning a casino robbery with his wife and mother-in-law. They meet a man named Tsuneda who was aiming to do the same thing so they decide to work together.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKôji TsurutaKen TakakuraShinjirô Ebara
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsHarumi SoneTetsurô TanbaKôji Tsuruta
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsRyôhei UchidaKei SatôKenji Susukida
- DirectorShigehiro OzawaStarsChiezô KataokaSô YamamuraKenji ImaiTakakura is a young gang boss tricked by the villainous Toru Abe. His underlings, lead by Chiezo Kataoka, start planning for revenge after Takakura dies in jail.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKôji TsurutaKen TakakuraTetsurô Tanba
- DirectorUmetsugu InoueStarsTatsuo UmemiyaKeiji TakagiKyôsuke MachidaTwo rival yakuza gangs clash over a gold shipment.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsNoboru AndôShin'ichi ChibaMasumi TachibanaJust back from the war, Noboru Ando leads a gang of war vets turned gangster in the US occupied streets of Tokyo.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen TakakuraTetsurô TanbaNaoki SugiuraA killer who only hits people who deserve it is tricked into killing an innocent man. He then seeks revenge against the people who employed him.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen TakakuraKôji NanbaraTetsurô TanbaShinichi is a good guy serving three years and approaching the end of his time. He escapes handcuffed to dangerous Gunda, who instigated the escape. Thus tethered, they start out on a journey across the desolate snow country of Hokkaido.
- DirectorKiyoshi SaekiStarsKôji TsurutaTatsuo UmemiyaTetsurô TanbaSomewhat unique as it appears to be one of the very rare appearances of master thespian Itô in a yakuza role.
- DirectorJun'ya SatôStarsTetsurô TanbaShin'ichi ChibaRyôhei UchidaA war breaks out on the streets between rivalry Yakuza clans.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôji TsurutaTetsurô TanbaJunko MiyazonoSawaki is an old skool Yakuza hitman fresh from an eight-year stint in prison. On his release, this "man of men" reunites with his old gang companions, now disbanded, and witnesses how they have fallen away from the Yakuza code of not harming civilians. Sawaki must act.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen TakakuraKanjûrô ArashiKunie Tanaka
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsTatsuo UmemiyaTeruo YoshidaKanjûrô Arashi
- DirectorRyûichi TakamoriStarsShin'ichi ChibaTetsurô TanbaHiroyuki SanadaBungo, fulfilling his duty as a Yakuza, kills a man from a rival gang. Since then, he has escaped the clan's vengeance by staying on the road with his son Kenichi. Tired of running, the two settle in a mountain town.
- DirectorJun'ya SatôStarsTetsurô TanbaFumio WatanabeHayato Tani
- DirectorMio EzakiStarsTetsurô TanbaJô ShishidoYoshirô Aoki
- DirectorMio EzakiStarsTetsurô TanbaJô ShishidoMasumi Okada