Kōji Tsuruta stars as a mainland yakuza who takes his skills to Okinawa to overtake the criminal activities with violent repercussions in Kinji Fukasaku’s brilliant Sympathy for the Underdog – on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
The Film
You wouldn’t know this is the 6th (of a series of 9 films) in the Gambler series. Sympathy for the Underdog feels like a one-off tale. Kinji Fukasaku’s tale of a small-time clan being pushed out of their territory to find fortune (and misfortune) in Okinawa as they begin to take the small island by force. The not-so-subtle take on the Vietnam War is as bloody and bold as a Yakuza thriller that’s been made.
Starring the unflappably cool Kōji Tsuruta as Masuo Gunji, the sunglasses-wearing (yes, even at night) Clan leader who after years in prison reassembles his old crew. Fukasaku’s never been as cool as a director in these opening moments as he gives us a breakdown of each of Gunji’s crew and their nicknames – Guy Ritchie’s thieving from this film. Once together they put together a perfect plan to literally take the small island of Okinawa by force. It doesn’t go according to plan as there are crooked US Military officers, Okinawan Yakuza, and small-time operators all on their way to fortune and glory. Just as they ascend to the top of the heap, their plans are thwarted by those who push them out – the Tokyo Clans wanting their piece of the action. Gunji isn’t going to let them take it – at least not without force.
The collaboration between Fukasaku and his star Kōji Tsuruta here is near perfect. Tsuruta by now understands how Fukasaku works and is always in the right place with the ease of a cat. I love that Gunji wears sunglasses no matter what. Like it’s his armor keeping him protected at all times, one step ahead of everyone. Even when he knows he’s lost and it’s a hopeless game, Tsuruta’s Gunji never loses that composure. It’s a truly great performance and use of his cool disposition in an entirely different way than it was masterfully used in Japan Organized Crime Boss.
This reviewer has not seen an ending in a long while that goes harder than I’ve seen in Sympathy for the Underdog. Few films have ever felt like the go-for-broke balletic display of violence in its final twenty minutes since my first viewing of Woo’s 1989 iteration of The Killer. In fact, the more I see the work of Fukasaku the more I’m convinced John Woo was as much inspired by the director’s Yakuza films as he was by the films of Jean-Pierre Melville and Sam Peckinpah. In fact, Sympathy for the Underdog plays out with a similar tenor as A Bullet in the Head in its existentialism and friendships in the midst of violence.
The Transfer
This High-Definition digital transfer is another solid transfer. There are no scratches or true blemishes on the sharp image. The beautiful, oversaturated look of the 35mm shot film is lovely in its verbose-hued image of the Okinawan neon-drenched nightlife. There is a wonderful patina of active grain that creates a wonderful feeling you’re watching a beautiful archival 35mm print at the New Beverly. Radiance continues to deliver excellent filmic transfers for undiscovered gems.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart (2024)
Interview with Fukasaku biographer Olivier Hadouchi (2024)
Visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow (2024)
Trailer
The all-new audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart begins with how this is a part of the Gambling series – an omnibus for Toei by director Fukasaku and mostly starring Kōji Tsuruta. Some of the details include how these films were based in part of real-life events; how the producers Koji Shundo and Toru Yoshida would go around to various Yakuza clans to interview them about their lives and stories; a discussion of how Fukasaku introduces each of the characters in the film; the iconic use of sunglasses worn by Tsuruta – the reasons why Fukasaku make the actor wear them; the real life mixture between actors and Yakuza during this era including a discussion of some anecdotes of the era of filmmaking and how they relate to the verisimilitude of Yakuza films beyond just Sympathy for the Underdog; a discussion of Noboru Ando a real life Yakuza boss turned actor; how The Battle of Algiers influenced Fukasaku here and changed not just the script but his approach to the film; the critique of the US occupation of Japan – and Fukasaku’s subtle approach; a larger discussion of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama – both here and larger discussion of his work; the research that Stuart has done in the mainland Yakuza’s history in trying to get a foothold into Okinawa; a discussion of Fukasaku’s action scenes and how he creates them within his films; a larger discussion throughout of the details and touchstones within the Yakuza, Japanese, and Okinawan cultures; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
Olivier Hadouchi (27:05) – is an all-new interview with the Fukasaku biographer that opens with a discussion of Fukasaku’s childhood and eventual rise through the ranks as a director for Toei. Some of the details from the interview include Fukasaku’s rise to acclaim because of directors like Tarantino and Friedkin’s praise of his films; the critical reassessment because of writings of critics like Tom Mes on the director’s work; the director’s style in Sympathy for the Underdog – how The Battle of Algiers influenced Fukasaku; the themes of the film and how the director works them into the film; and much more. In French with English subtitles.
That Distant Territory (25:51) – is an all-new visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow. The essay charts the changing views and meaning of the island as it is used in Japanese films not just exclusively Yakuza films. Gerow begins with an account of the history of Okinawa and how different they were from than Japanese and the oppression they’ve faced even currently. The essay begins to go into the island’s portrayal in Japanese films leading up to the current era all the while how the Japanese condescending views did not change though some do not and examples are given, mostly documentaries. A rise of filmmakers from Okinawa and how they fared with the depiction of the island’s culture. A discussion of the Okinawan Yakuza wars from real life and how that translated into feature films from Japan including Sympathy for the Underdog is discussed. The visual essay is wonderfully produced by Tom Mes, edited by George Pursall, and written by Gerow.
Trailer (2:47) – Japanese with English subtitles.
The Final Thought
Radiance Films’ continued curation of the work of Kinji Fukasaku’s work has produced another winning Blu-ray Edition. Highest Recommendations!!!
Kōji Tsuruta stars as a mainland yakuza who takes his skills to Okinawa to overtake the criminal activities with violent repercussions in Kinji Fukasaku’s brilliant Sympathy for the Underdog – on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
The Film
You wouldn’t know this is the 6th (of a series of 9 films) in the Gambler series. Sympathy for the Underdog feels like a one-off tale. Kinji Fukasaku’s tale of a small-time clan being pushed out of their territory to find fortune (and misfortune) in Okinawa as they begin to take the small island by force. The not-so-subtle take on the Vietnam War is as bloody and bold as a Yakuza thriller that’s been made.
Starring the unflappably cool Kōji Tsuruta as Masuo Gunji, the sunglasses-wearing (yes, even at night) Clan leader who after years in prison reassembles his old crew. Fukasaku’s never been as cool as a director in these opening moments as he gives us a breakdown of each of Gunji’s crew and their nicknames – Guy Ritchie’s thieving from this film. Once together they put together a perfect plan to literally take the small island of Okinawa by force. It doesn’t go according to plan as there are crooked US Military officers, Okinawan Yakuza, and small-time operators all on their way to fortune and glory. Just as they ascend to the top of the heap, their plans are thwarted by those who push them out – the Tokyo Clans wanting their piece of the action. Gunji isn’t going to let them take it – at least not without force.
The collaboration between Fukasaku and his star Kōji Tsuruta here is near perfect. Tsuruta by now understands how Fukasaku works and is always in the right place with the ease of a cat. I love that Gunji wears sunglasses no matter what. Like it’s his armor keeping him protected at all times, one step ahead of everyone. Even when he knows he’s lost and it’s a hopeless game, Tsuruta’s Gunji never loses that composure. It’s a truly great performance and use of his cool disposition in an entirely different way than it was masterfully used in Japan Organized Crime Boss.
This reviewer has not seen an ending in a long while that goes harder than I’ve seen in Sympathy for the Underdog. Few films have ever felt like the go-for-broke balletic display of violence in its final twenty minutes since my first viewing of Woo’s 1989 iteration of The Killer. In fact, the more I see the work of Fukasaku the more I’m convinced John Woo was as much inspired by the director’s Yakuza films as he was by the films of Jean-Pierre Melville and Sam Peckinpah. In fact, Sympathy for the Underdog plays out with a similar tenor as A Bullet in the Head in its existentialism and friendships in the midst of violence.
The Transfer
This High-Definition digital transfer is another solid transfer. There are no scratches or true blemishes on the sharp image. The beautiful, oversaturated look of the 35mm shot film is lovely in its verbose-hued image of the Okinawan neon-drenched nightlife. There is a wonderful patina of active grain that creates a wonderful feeling you’re watching a beautiful archival 35mm print at the New Beverly. Radiance continues to deliver excellent filmic transfers for undiscovered gems.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart begins with how this is a part of the Gambling series – an omnibus for Toei by director Fukasaku and mostly starring Kōji Tsuruta. Some of the details include how these films were based in part of real-life events; how the producers Koji Shundo and Toru Yoshida would go around to various Yakuza clans to interview them about their lives and stories; a discussion of how Fukasaku introduces each of the characters in the film; the iconic use of sunglasses worn by Tsuruta – the reasons why Fukasaku make the actor wear them; the real life mixture between actors and Yakuza during this era including a discussion of some anecdotes of the era of filmmaking and how they relate to the verisimilitude of Yakuza films beyond just Sympathy for the Underdog; a discussion of Noboru Ando a real life Yakuza boss turned actor; how The Battle of Algiers influenced Fukasaku here and changed not just the script but his approach to the film; the critique of the US occupation of Japan – and Fukasaku’s subtle approach; a larger discussion of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama – both here and larger discussion of his work; the research that Stuart has done in the mainland Yakuza’s history in trying to get a foothold into Okinawa; a discussion of Fukasaku’s action scenes and how he creates them within his films; a larger discussion throughout of the details and touchstones within the Yakuza, Japanese, and Okinawan cultures; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film; and much more.
Olivier Hadouchi (27:05) – is an all-new interview with the Fukasaku biographer that opens with a discussion of Fukasaku’s childhood and eventual rise through the ranks as a director for Toei. Some of the details from the interview include Fukasaku’s rise to acclaim because of directors like Tarantino and Friedkin’s praise of his films; the critical reassessment because of writings of critics like Tom Mes on the director’s work; the director’s style in Sympathy for the Underdog – how The Battle of Algiers influenced Fukasaku; the themes of the film and how the director works them into the film; and much more. In French with English subtitles.
That Distant Territory (25:51) – is an all-new visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow. The essay charts the changing views and meaning of the island as it is used in Japanese films not just exclusively Yakuza films. Gerow begins with an account of the history of Okinawa and how different they were from than Japanese and the oppression they’ve faced even currently. The essay begins to go into the island’s portrayal in Japanese films leading up to the current era all the while how the Japanese condescending views did not change though some do not and examples are given, mostly documentaries. A rise of filmmakers from Okinawa and how they fared with the depiction of the island’s culture. A discussion of the Okinawan Yakuza wars from real life and how that translated into feature films from Japan including Sympathy for the Underdog is discussed. The visual essay is wonderfully produced by Tom Mes, edited by George Pursall, and written by Gerow.
Trailer (2:47) – Japanese with English subtitles.
The Final Thought
Radiance Films’ continued curation of the work of Kinji Fukasaku’s work has produced another winning Blu-ray Edition. Highest Recommendations!!!
Radiance Films’ Blu-Ray edition of Sympathy for the Underdog is out now
Share this:
Like this:
Discover more from The Movie Isle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.