Review: Big Time Gambling Boss
Blu-ray: Big Time Gambling Boss (1968)
1934 Tokyo, and gang boss Arakawa is nearing his final days and must appoint a successor.
Nakai (Kôji Tsuruta) is chosen but refuses the position due to being an outsider, so he suggests Matsuda (Tomisaburô Wakayama) in his place. Unfortunately Matsuda is in jail and the elders of the gang won’t wait for his release, so they appoint Ishido (Hiroshi Nawa) instead.
When Matsuda is released and hears what has happened he refuses to accept the situation, and so begins a twisting tale of friendship, loyalty, betrayal and bloodshed.
Big Time Gambling Boss had me glued to the screen with its dialogue and characterisation. Here is a yakuza movie that shuns any reliance on swordplay and violence to keep you entertained, though when that does happen it is hard hitting and visceral, the narrative here is driven by the complex relationships between all of the characters and the dialogue that keeps you on your toes as to who you can fully trust…only to have that trust ripped away as double crossing and changes of heart propel the story to a perfect climax.
Director Kôsaku Yamashita and cinematographer Nagaki Yamagishi are to be applauded for creating a world dripping with atmosphere, whether it be in scenes with many characters or few, the tension is palpable.
As in life outside of the yakuza, following every rule to the letter can not always necessarily lead to the best outcome, and here it is shown that even the most loyal of yakuza may not always be travelling along the correct path.
Big Time Gambling Boss is a movie that I’ve thought about many times since watching it back in December (this is a review I’m catching up on after being offline for a while), and it is a sure sign of a great movie when it keeps popping back into your consciousness months later.
Again I have to thank Radiance Films for bringing to my attention an engrossing movie that otherwise may well have passed me by.
The special features and packaging are once again fantastic, something which Radiance Films has already become known for.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- High Definition digital transfer of the film
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Serial Gambling: A video essay by Chris D., author of Gun and Sword: An Encyclopedia of Japanese Gangster Films 1955-1980, on Big Time Gambling Boss‘s origins in the Toei studio’s serialized yakuza movie production and what sets the film apart (2022)
- Ninkyo 101: In this video essay, Mark Schilling, author of The Yakuza Movie Book, delves into the history and impact of the classical style of yakuza film, the ninkyo eiga or “chivalry films” (2022)
- Gallery of original promotional stills
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Stuart Galbraith IV, and critic Hayley Scanlon
- Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Radiance Films via Fetch Publicity.