A would-be assassin loves the lifestyle but can’t pull the trigger in the Yakuza Cult Classic, Aesthetics of a Bullet. New to Blu-ray from Radiance Films.
The Film
Aesthetics of a Bullet is the kind of contemplative gutter crime film that would go on to inspire Scorsese’s Mean Streetsand Taxi Driver and some of the very best of Yakuza and Asian crime cinema. Director Sadao Nakajima’s film is as astute about the low-level criminal as his Japanese Godfather trilogy was about the heads of organized crime.
Kiyoshi (Tsunehiko Watase) wastes his time attempting to sell rabbits to unsuspecting passers-by. Any money he makes from those rabbits or cons from his sex worker girlfriend (Mitsuru Mori) is lost gambling and drinking his nights away. Kiyoshi is too simple to realize that when the local crime family tempts him with money to become a “bullet” (aka an assassin), he is being conned into his own demise. Armed with more money than he can spend, a gun, and a newfound sense of ego, Kiyoshi goes off script and decides to live it up and play the part but not actually do what he was asked to do. Those actions have consequences that cause Kiyoshi to spiral out of control.
What separates Nakajima’s genre films from his contemporaries is his sense of social and political awareness. His films are not mere genre exercises but exploration of people, time, place, a society, and how they interact with specific individuals. Aesthetics of a Bullet’s Kiyoshi is just a lout because he wants to be. His position and station in early 1970s Japan dictate it. The economic boom has passed him by.
As much of a braggart as Kiyoshi is, he cannot rise above being a restaurant dishwasher and selling goods on the streets. It’s only when the local Yakuza family wants to use him to start a proxy war that he gets his chance. Even then he’s expendable, but he’s just too dense to do the job they’ve told him to do. The way that Tsunehiko Watase plays Kiyoshi is as compelling a performance as there has been in a Yakuza film. Watase recalls DeNiro’s Johnny Boy, the feral man-child of Mean Streets. Both have no understanding other than their needs at that moment and the consequences of their pile-up.
All of this could seem pedestrian or even pedantic in its execution, but Aesthetics of a Bullet is electrifying as its proto-punk rock score. Nakajima’s film is a short-fuse firecracker concoction of violence, excess, and contemplation.
The Transfers
The High-Definition digital transfer for the film is another standout release for Radiance. The care they’ve taken with this release again speaks to how they’ve quickly become a standout boutique label of a specific type of release. The film looks wonderful on Blu-ray without any blemishes or artifacts. The noirish look of this early 1970s Yakuza film (which is a trademark of Toei Studios’ 35mm widescreen films of the era), shot by cinematographer Toshio Masuda (the cinematographer of the masterful Japanese Godfather Trilogy), is another example of the care that Toei Films has taken in their transfers/restorations given to Radiance (and other companies). Radiance continues to provide collectors with Blu-rays with wonderful transfers that rival anything that other labels produce.
The Extras
They include the following;
- Robert Schwentke on Sadao Nakajima and Aesthetics of a Bullet
- New interview with filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
- Sadao Nakajima’s Movie Chats
- Trailer
Robert Schwentke on Sadao Nakajima and Aesthetics of a Bullet (29:52) – in this all-new interview, filmmaker Robert Schwentke begins with how his interest in Japanese film early and came to full fruition during film school in Los Angeles and how he came across Nakajima. Schwentke goes on to discuss Nakajima’s styles and approach towards violence, the chabara films, the yakuza film, and his application of style and storytelling through his career. The filmmaker spends most of the interview discussing Aesthetics of a Bullet, its meanings, its themes, its cynical nature, its characters, its social implications, its production and release of the film, the way that Nakajima imposed his directorial authority and tone through shooting and editing choices, and much more.
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri on Aesthetics of a Bullet (16:17) – in this all-new interview, filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri begins with a discussion of how, as he was teaching, Nakajima was beginning his last film and literally begged to do anything and got hired on as one of the Assistant Directors. Kumakiri goes on to discuss his experience working with Nakajima, including how different their styles were, the time and stories told during preproduction, and what he learned from working on the production. The director does discuss Aesthetics of a Bullet, which is one of his favorites of the director’s filmography, and what makes it such a powerful and bold favorite of his. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
Sadao Nakajima’s Movie Chats (19:28) – in this archival interview from a 2023 web series from director Sadao Nakajima, which begins with an introduction and a discussion of the importance of actors and specifically his work with actor Tsunehiko Watase (who was the star of Aesthetics of a Bullet), both his personal friendship and professional work with the star, and much more. In Japanese with English Subtitles.
Trailer (2:57) – Japanese with English subtitles.
The Final Thought
Radiance continues to deep dive into undiscovered Yakuza films, and film fans are rewarded for it. Highest Possible Recommendations!!