Street Mobster

A pivotal movie in Fukasaku career and the development of yakuza genre in which he turns away from the more romanticized portrayal of criminals as chivalrous characters in the 1960s to his realistic depiction of them as violent greedy and self-centered. The movie is highly energetic moving on a frantic pace which is enhanced by the camera work including a lot of dutch angles. Meanwhile Bunta Sugawara moves through the movie as a force of nature. Biggest flaw is that the story is hard to follow.

This movie is high-energy and rad. Its style is incredibly wild for its time, filled with bloody violence, shaky camera movement, dutch angles, and rapid editing. There are a TON of brawl scenes and the action never slows down. It also features a love story with a prostitute that culminates in a tragically great ending. I'm only just starting to dive into the world of classic Yakuza cinema, but I liked what I saw here.

Good film.