5 Star

Binge Watch For a Sonny Day.

Nineteen-seventy-two was a busy year for the man who has already had a frantic career, in the martial arts scene. Now Sonny Chiba (The Street Fighter Trilogy, The Executioner Collection, THE BULLET TRAIN [SHINKANSEN DAIBAKUHA], The Fall of Ako Castle (AKA Swords of Vengeance)) takes a step into a modern Chow mein western and a jump back into the world of Yakuza revenge. Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder is directed by Ryûichi Takamori (Yakuza deka: Oretachi ni haka wa nai, Yakuza deka: Kyofu no doku gasu) a man who has worked with Chiba previously. With Yakuza Wolf: Extend my Condolences, Chiba plays the bad man seeking revenge, this time directed by Buichi Saitô (The Spiders; the Reckless Operation, Your Life). What we get with this Special Edition by Eureka is nearly three hours of the action man of action men in these Sonny Chiba classics.

Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder:

Someone is murdering Yakuza, and the only clue is that it is a man in black who moves in silently, then takes out their men. Family names are banded about, and the one that comes up is the Himuro. They cannot be allowed to take control, so action is taken and Boss Himuro (Tôru Yuri, After Life) is taken out, and his daughter Kyoko (Yayoi Watanabe, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable) kidnapped and sold as a personal slave.

If the bugs kill each other, it’ll save us a lot of trouble.

We know that Gosuke Himuro (Chiba) is the man in black, and he is out to avenge his father and find his sister at all costs, because we know, even an anti-hero must feel great pain before he can achieve his goal.

Yakuza Wolf: Extend my Condolences.

A military transport plane lands at an American airbase, and soon a jeep is headed for the docks, and an empty warehouse, where suited Ibuki (Chiba) and his partner Masao meet with the buyer Semba (Shôki Fukae, Poruno jidaigeki: Bôhachi bushidô) who was sent by Sakurada (Asao Uchida, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Samurai Reincarnation). This is a set-up, and Semba wants all of Ibuki’s gun shipment for the knockdown price of nothing. The police sirens ring out as Ibuki and Masao flee, but Masao doesn’t make it, and Mr Kambe (Mikio Narita, Message from Space, Water Moon) makes his biggest arrest, as Ibuki is sent to prison. Where he meets fellow inmate and ex-boxer Goro Yuki (Tatsuya Fuji, In the Realm of the Senses, Great Absence), at first they fight, but in the end they are firm friends and are released from prison early.

They are soon targeted for execution, until they are rescued by Masao’s brother Arakita (Ryôhei Uchida, 13 Assassins, Demon’s Room) who gives them shelter, as Ibuki plans his revenge on the Touchi-Kai, to get the billions he was to make off of his gun smuggling.

The Touchi-Kai today can’t be crushed with two guns. Go have fun.

Yakuza Wolf 1 & 2 is a fest of machine-guns and Katanas, with Chiba leading the destruction. With great action, choreography and some amazing stunts, this is a definite must own for those over eighteen. Action, and Crime at its best.

YAKUZA WOLF 1 & 2 (Eureka Classics) Special Edition Two-Disc is available on Blu-ray

SPECIAL EDITION TWO DISC BLU-RAY FEATURES*:

Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Chris Malbon | 1080p presentations of both films across two Blu-ray discs, from new restorations of the original film elements by Toei | Original Japanese mono audio | Optional English Subtitles | Brand-new feature length audio commentaries on both films | Brand-new featurette by Howard Hughes looking at the Spaghetti Western influences on Yakuza Wolf, and the broader influence Japanese cinema had on the Western genre | Original theatrical trailers | PLUS: A Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Tom Mes and Howard Hughes