Yakuza Graveyard, the 1976 crime drama from director Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Fall Guy and Virus: The End) is the latest film to find its way to Blu-ray for the first time from Radiance Films, the company set up by Francesco Simeoni to distribute those often forgotten classics of world cinema. The movie stars Tetsuya Watari (Graveyard of Honour, Yukai and the Yakuza video games), Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion and Kill Bill Vol.1), Tatsuo Umemiya (Prince of Space, World War III Breaks Out and Sangyo Supai) and Hideo Murota (Kagemusha, Rashamen and Original Sin). " />

Yakuza Graveyard, the 1976 crime drama from director Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Fall Guy and Virus: The End) is the latest film to find its way to Blu-ray for the first time from Radiance Films, the company set up by Francesco Simeoni to distribute those often forgotten classics of world cinema. The movie stars Tetsuya Watari (Graveyard of Honour, Yukai and the Yakuza video games), Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion and Kill Bill Vol.1), Tatsuo Umemiya (Prince of Space, World War III Breaks Out and Sangyo Supai) and Hideo Murota (Kagemusha, Rashamen and Original Sin).

This gritty 70s Toei production sees Tetsuya Watari as detective Kuroiwa, the tough cop who falls in love with Keiko (Kaji) the beautiful wife of jailed Nishida mob boss, Matsunaga. Kuroiwa, who is initially sleeping with the widow of a man he killed, who has requested he give her enough money to buy a bar of her own, accepts the money he needs from Keiko in exchange for accompanying her on a visit to her husband in jail, where she makes the suggestion that Ezaki (Masaharu Arikawa, The Streetfighter’s Last Revenge, Sex and Fury and Ninja Chushingura) should be the new boss of the Nishida family. Her husband is furious at this and tells his wife she should have hung herself when she was incarcerated. In a state of desperation, she attempts to drown herself in the sea, only for Kuroiwa to save her.

Meanwhile, the police have decided to go after the Nishida clan, but when Kuroiwa suggests he could go after the Nishida’s rival clan, the Yamashiro family too, his suggestion is shot down and he is informed that his boss and internal affairs know all about his relationship with the widow of the man he killed, and he is being investigated for this irregularity. This is merely the backdrop to a complex plot featuring corruption, gang warfare, drugs, prostitution and violence.

Much like Fukasaku’s other Yakuza movies from the same era, Yakuza Graveyard is an underappreciated gem, that has lain undiscovered for too long by too many people. Tightly scripted and with a really gritty edge, the movie is ahead of its time, depicting links between corrupt elements within the police force and organised crime. Performances are very good, especially Watari, who is excellent as the hard-boiled cop, Kuroiwa, who navigates his way between the crime gangs and the police force. Meiko Kaji is also excellent as the beautiful Keiko, once again proving her pedigree as an actress in a role that compares favourably alongside her standout performance as Lady Snowblood in the film of the same name. 

The new Blu-ray from Radiance is excellent, the film looks better than it ever has, the new digital transfer is sharp and the colours are vibrant throughout. This Blu-ray set is limited to 3,000 copies and comes with a couple of interesting featurettes on Fukasaku and his collaborations with Kaji, as well as the usual trailers and gallery of photographs. The Blu-ray also comes with a rather tasty booklet featuring a host of essays and movie stills.

Overall, this is a beautiful package for one of the finest movies of its kind, by one of the truly great directors of crime cinema. Fukasaku, would go on to make the massively influential Battle Royale, but this is where we first see his potential begin to flower.