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 organised 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.

For thoughts on Yakuza Graveyard, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/Ulnm4-JZ-EI?t=2428]

Video Quality

Yakuza Graveyard comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Radiance Films sourced from a pretty solid high definition master provided by Toei in the original aspect ratio. This source appears to be in good shape with no overwhelming damage to be found in this presentation and only minor instances of dirt and specks. The film sports a pretty nice, natural grain structure that preserves the filmic look of the picture, always resolving well while showcasing solid details in the interiors and in the urban environments.

While not the most colorful movie, hues show up on the screen in a pleasant manner, notably in elements of the costumes and production design. The color timing also seems to mostly be natural to the intention of the filmmaker, but there are a few odd fluctuations towards a blue or green tint. Black levels hold up decently with some admirable depth to the image. A handful of shots contain apparent softness, but these moments are not a persistent issue. While we sometimes wish Toei would allow labels to do more work on their titles, this is a really good effort overall.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). The film leans heavy on dialogue, but there are numerous moments when things get more kinetic. Dialogue comes through clearly without sound effects or the score trouncing on important information. When things do get more thrilling, the track responds with the appropriate weight within the mix. The score comes through pretty well in relation to the competing sounds, but there are times it can sound a bit bright. This track presents everything admirably with pleasing fidelity and only a minor amount of hiss and distortion in the peaks. Radiance Films offers up something enjoyable with this one.

Special Features

The first-pressing of the Radiance Films Blu-Ray of Yakuza Graveyard includes a 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. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Kazuya Shiraishi: A new 15-minute analysis of the film by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi in which he discusses the career of director Kinji Fukasaku, how this film stands apart in his output, the way the film captures the dark side of humanity, how this story was a reaction to a lack of minorities in other portrayal, how the film fits into the mood of society at the time it was released and more.

The Rage and The Passion: A 12-minute visual essay in which critic Tom Mes dives into the collaborations between actress Meiko Kaji and director Kinji Fukasaku as a means to discuss the shifting attitudes in Japanese cinema, how the actress fits into these male-dominated worlds and more.

Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.

Image Gallery: A collection of images from the film are provided here.

Final Thoughts

Yakuza Graveyard is not tremendously groundbreaking in its basic plotting, but it is a really cool cinematic experience thanks to how well everything is executed. Director Kinji Fukasaku elevates this feature to another level through his collaboration with his cinematographer to provide dynamic and deliberate movement throughout. The performances are very strong throughout the ensemble, and the gritty realism of the picture lends a lot of weight to its effectiveness. Radiance Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a mighty A/V presentation and a couple of cool special features. If you are a fan of yakuza films, this one is a great entry into the genre. Recommended

Yakuza Graveyard will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on May 16, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Radiance Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.