Battles Without Honour and Humanity
Encyclopedia
is a 1973 yakuza film
by director Kinji Fukasaku
. It is adapted from a series of newspaper articles, by journalist Kōichi Iiboshi
, that were rewrites of a manuscript originally written by real-life Yakuza
, Kōzō Minō, while he was in prison. It is the first film in a five-part series also known as The Yakuza Papers. Due to the series' enormous commercial and critical popularity it was followed by another three-part series, New Battles Without Honor and Humanity, and concluded with a final installment, Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity. It is often called the "Japan
ese Godfather
."
Hiroshima
. Starting in the open-air black markets of bombed-out Hiroshima in 1945, the film spans a period of more than ten years. The plot consists of a changing of the guard of new families and organizations with the same feuds and people, punctuated by the gritty violence. It gave way to four sequels, which form a sprawling yakuza epic. The overall tone of the series is bleak, violent and chaotic, expressing the futility of the struggles between yakuza families.
set in pre-war Japan. It is also a parody of an ancient Chinese fable about a foolish king who respected honor and humanity too much in a war and consequently lost his kingdom. A commercial and critical success, Battles Without Honor and Humanity portrayed a darker and more cynical world, and set the stage for much subsequent Japanese cinema
.
In the western market it is known under the titles:
box set in 2004. The bonus DVD contains interviews with director William Friedkin
, discussing the influence of the films in America; subtitle translator Linda Hoaglund, discussing her work on the films; David Kaplan
, Kenta Fukasaku
, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
, a Toei producer and a biographer among others.
Yakuza film
is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...
by director Kinji Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
. It is adapted from a series of newspaper articles, by journalist Kōichi Iiboshi
Kōichi Iiboshi
was a famous Japanese journalist and writer for Yomiuri Shinbun.-Career:Iiboshi was an alumnus of Kyoto University. He was the vice copy chief of the social news division of the national Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun....
, that were rewrites of a manuscript originally written by real-life Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, Kōzō Minō, while he was in prison. It is the first film in a five-part series also known as The Yakuza Papers. Due to the series' enormous commercial and critical popularity it was followed by another three-part series, New Battles Without Honor and Humanity, and concluded with a final installment, Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity. It is often called the "Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
."
Synopsis
The violent, documentary-like film chronicles the underworld tribulations of Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara), a young ex-soldier and street thug in post-WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
. Starting in the open-air black markets of bombed-out Hiroshima in 1945, the film spans a period of more than ten years. The plot consists of a changing of the guard of new families and organizations with the same feuds and people, punctuated by the gritty violence. It gave way to four sequels, which form a sprawling yakuza epic. The overall tone of the series is bleak, violent and chaotic, expressing the futility of the struggles between yakuza families.
Etymology
The title refers to the post-war yakuza's lack of jingi, a Japanese term loosely translated as "honor and humanity". Previous yakuza movies had, for the most part, been tales of chivalryChivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
set in pre-war Japan. It is also a parody of an ancient Chinese fable about a foolish king who respected honor and humanity too much in a war and consequently lost his kingdom. A commercial and critical success, Battles Without Honor and Humanity portrayed a darker and more cynical world, and set the stage for much subsequent Japanese cinema
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
.
In the western market it is known under the titles:
- Battles Without Honour and Humanity (Canada)
- Tarnished Code of Yakuza (Australia)
- The Yakuza Papers
- War Without a Code
Sequels
- Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima DeathmatchBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatchis part two of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Sonny Chiba as Katsutoshi Otomo*Kinya Kitaoji as Shoji Yamanaka*Meiko Kaji as Yasuko*Toshie Kimura as Mrs...
(1973) - Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy WarBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy Waris part three of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Bunta Sugawara as Shozo Hirono*Akira Kobayashi*Tsunehiko Watase as Kuramoto Takeshi*Shingo Yamashiro*Reiko Ike*Koshinitsue Hori*Hideko Nakamura*Nobuo Kaneko*Toshie Kimura as Mrs...
(1973) - Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police TacticsBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tacticsis part four of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Bunta Sugawara as Shozo Hirono*Akira Kobayashi*Tatsuo Umemiya*Toshio Kurosawa*Hiroki Matsukata*Kunie Tanaka*Nobuo Kaneko*Takeshi Katô*Asao Koike*Shingo Yamashiro...
(1974) - Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final EpisodeBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episodeis part five and the final installation of a series of yakuza films directed by Kinji Fukasaku.-Cast:*Gorou Ibuki*Nobuo Kaneko*Kinya Kitaoji*Akira Kobayashi*Hiroki Matsukata*Bunta Sugawara as Shozo Hirono*Kunie Tanaka*Asao Uchida*Shingo Yamashiro...
(1974) - New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1974)
- New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head (1975)
- New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Last Days (1976)
- Aftermath of Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1979)
DVD release
The first 5 films in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series were released as The Yakuza Papers by Home Vision Entertainment in a 6-disc DVDDVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
box set in 2004. The bonus DVD contains interviews with director William Friedkin
William Friedkin
William Friedkin is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 and The Exorcist in 1973; for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director...
, discussing the influence of the films in America; subtitle translator Linda Hoaglund, discussing her work on the films; David Kaplan
David Kaplan (author)
David E. Kaplan is an investigative reporter and director of the Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Prior, he was with the American newsweekly U.S. News & World Report.-Works:...
, Kenta Fukasaku
Kenta Fukasaku
is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter. He is the son of filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku and actress Sanae Nakahara.-Biography:He made his writing debut in the popular Japanese cult film Battle Royale, which his father directed. He wrote the screenplay to the sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, and took...
, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre.-Biography:Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not related to director Akira Kurosawa...
, a Toei producer and a biographer among others.
External links
- Yakuza Papers, Vol. #1: Battles Without Honor & Humanity at Image EntertainmentImage EntertainmentImage Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
, with trailer - Battles Without Honor and Humanity at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...