Directed by Eiichi Kudo (13 Assassins, Eleven Samurai and Shadow Warriors) in 1981, Yokohama BJ Blues is a Japanese neo-noir film starring Yusaku Matsuda (Black Rain, A Chaos of Flowers and The Killing Game),  Hyôe Enoki (The Last Dinosaur, Shogun and Female Ninja Magic: 100 Trampled Flowers), Mari Henmi (Redlove: The Art and Consequences of Illusion, Memai and Kono Ko No Nanatsu No Oiwai Ni) and Toby Kadoguchi (The Execution Game,  She Cat and The Black Battlefront Kidnappers).

The story follows BJ (Matsuda) a part-time private eye, part-time blues singer who is down on his luck. When his best friend, a police detective is gunned down in front of him, he is arrested and blamed for the murder. After being beaten and tortured by the police, BJ decides the only way to clear his name and achieve justice for his friend is to take things into his own hands and conduct his own investigation within the city’s seedy underground. BJ delves into police corruption, drug dealings gangsters and the city’s underground gay and biker scenes in order to clear his name.

Based very loosely on Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye, Yokohama BJ Blues is a really impressive change of direction for Kudo, who is best remembered for his 60s and 70s samurai movies. What he manages to bring to the screen here is a solid and sleezy neo-noir that encapsulates the look and feel of 1980s Japan. The use of a cold colour palette with lots of blues and a soundtrack filled with “blues” music helps to give the film it’s gritty depressive feeling, these things coupled with lots of scenes involving images of urban decay ensure that they viewer always feels slightly grubby watching the movie, something I think Kudo wanted to achieve, and did so with aplomb.

Overall, this is a very good neo-noir that deserves to be given so much love by Radiance Films. The Blu-ray looks great, the colours are largely muted, but that’s the intention. The print looks very clean but preserves the grain as one would expect, especially for a film such as this one. The cinematography by Seizô Sengen is excellent and a real selling point for me, but it’s a strong script by Shoichi Maruyama and a tour de force performance from Yusaku Matsuda as BJ that really seals the deal here. 

This limited-edition Blu-ray release of 3000 copies from Radiance Films also features interviews with Mari Hemni and Shoichi Maruyama, a Yokohama location tour and a booklet featuring new and archival essays and images from the film. This is a very impressive set for a very impressive film, slow and moody it won’t suit all tastes but if you enjoy your noir, dark and gritty then I think you’ll love this one.