Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode [Blu-ray/DVD] [2 Discs]

Director: Kinji Fukasaku Kinji Fukasaku

Overview

In this violent and morally ambiguous crime drama from master genre filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku, Takeda (Akira Kobayashi), a longtime leader of one of Hiroshima's Yakuza families (the Japanese Mafia), attempts to resolve the longtime war between various mob factions by reshaping his organization into a political organization that would be both powerful and legal. But not all of Takeda's men take to this new way of doing things, and a rash act by one veteran gangster (Jo Shishido) leads to a final turf war between the families. Jingi Naki Tatakai: Kanketsu-Hen (aka Yakuza Papers, Vol. 5: Final Episode) was the last film in the landmark series Fukasaku began with Jingi Naki Tatakai.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/09/2016
UPC:	0760137806493
Original Release:	1974
Rating:	NR
Source:	Arrow Video
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[stereo, Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00

Special Features

Last Day of the Boss - a new interview with Final Episode Screenwriter Koji Takada ; Orginal Poster Gallery for the series; Original Trailer; Reversible sleeve featuring orignal and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bunta Sugawara	Shozo Hirono
Jo Shishido	Old Yakuza
Akira Kobayashi	Takeda
Nobuo Yana	Ryôsuke Kaga
Goro Ibuki	Actor
Nobuo Kaneko	Actor
Kinya Kitaoji	Actor
Hiroki Matsukata	Actor
Kunie Tanaka	Actor
Asao Uchida	Actor
Shingo Yamashiro	Actor
Toshiaki Tsushima	Composer

Technical Credits

Kazuo Kasahara

Kinji Fukasaku	Director
Kazuo Kasahara	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The finale of The Yakuza Papers ends the series in a manner befitting its unconventional, humanist approach. The script delivers all the violent skirmishes and political infighting that fans expect from the series but it's all tempered with a certain sadness as it explores the theme of the yakuza code becoming outdated in a civilized era driven by big business. The performances match the somber tone of the material, with Akira Kobayashi creating a subtle, effective portrait of a crime boss weighed down by the system he works in and Kinya Kitaoji adding an intense turn as Kobayashi's upstart replacement, who struggles to prove himself while being undermined on all sides. Bunta Sugawara's character of Shozo Hirono is more of a supporting role than a lead in this entry but Sugawara brings his usual charisma to the role while keeping his work subtle enough to lend his performance a somber, thoughtful tone. Director Kinji Fukasaku keeps the complex narrative moving at a sharp pace and deftly blends the story's combination of action and drama into a compelling whole. It all adds up to a movie that hits the expected genre marks but does so in an adult-friendly manner, ending things on a well-earned philosophical note. In short, Yakuza Papers 5: Final Episode is a fine, mature capper to this series and well worth the time for fans of the yakuza genre.