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Burai Kurodosu
Black Dagger
Japan 1968
produced by
Nikkatsu
directed by Keiichi Ozawa
starring Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Yoshiro Aoki, Shoki Fukae, Eiji Go, Ryoji Hayama, Tamio Kawachi, Sanae Kitabayashi, Ichiro Nakatani, Kaku Takashina, Kunie Tanaka, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
screenplay by Kanao Ikegami, based on a story by Goro Fujita
Outlaw: Gangster VIP
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Goro (Tetsuya Watari) has just survived another yakuza massacre, but
Yuri, the love of his life, has been killed in the process - and seeing
all the senseless killing that happened in the process, Goro once again
vows to go straight, and he soon accepts a job at Murai's gravelpit. Sure
it's hard labour, but it's supposed to keep Goro out of trouble, that's
all. And when Goro saves the life of a co-worker, risking his own in the
process, he becomes the celebrated hero of the company, and the nurse who
treats him, Shizoku - Murai's sister by the way - falls in love with him,
even though everyone (including Goro himself) warns her to never love a
yakuza. Everything could go on happily from here, actually ... if it
wasn't for two yakuza clans fighting out a turf war, with bar owner Saeka,
one of Goro's former loves and now wife of a yakuza, being treated as a
pawn in this game, and when she's about to be raped, Goro can't but
intervene ... and all too soon things get out of hands yet again, as
everybody wants to kill Goro and thus Goro has to kill everybody, and once
again his vow to stay out of yakuza affairs adds up to nought through no
fault of his own ... Opening on an extremely violent bloodbath
that already anticipates the film's fatalist focus, Black Dagger is
another strong entry in the Outlaw:
Gangster VIP series, another movie that provides plenty of
well-shot action and violence but also portrays the futility of it all,
and the lack of reason behind another few gangland killings, clearly
portraying its protagonist as anti-hero who might be as much driving force
behind yet more violence (even if involuntarily) as he's victim of the
outcome - something script and direction carry just beautifully, as well
as Tetsuya Watari giving another great run as Goro! Even if you haven't
seen any of the other entries in the series, totally worth a look!
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amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Black Dagger at adultvideouniverse.com
