Street Mobster

Street Mobster, known in Japan as Gendai Yakuza: Hitokiri Yota (現代やくざ　人斬り与太), is a 1972 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Bunta Sugawara and Noboru Ando. It is the sixth installment in Toei's Gendai Yakuza series of unrelated films by different directors, all starring Sugawara. Shot on location in Kawasaki, the plot centers around Okita, a street thug troublemaker released from prison only to discover that the crime underworld in which he used to operate and the socio-political landscape of Japan has changed dramatically. Complex named it number 3 on their list of The 25 Best Yakuza Movies.[1] Home Vision Entertainment released the movie on DVD in North America in 2004.[2] Arrow Films released a special edition blu-ray in Europe and North America in June, 2018.[3]

Street Mobster
Japanese release poster
Directed byKinji Fukasaku
Written byYoshihiro Ishimatsu
Kinji Fukasaku
StarringBunta Sugawara
Noboru Ando
Music byToshiaki Tsushima
CinematographyHanjiro Nakazawa
Distributed byToei
Release date
  • May 6, 1972 (1972-05-06)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Summary

Okita and his street gang cause trouble in Kawasaki, residing in an abandoned warehouse, they extort money and sell girls to brothels. When they are beat up for refusing to give the Takigawa yakuza family a cut, Okita attacks them with a knife and is sent to jail. After being released, he teams up with the yakuza Kizaki and subsequently immerses himself in the new yakuza scene, forming his own gang. He runs into Kimiyo, one of the girls he raped and sold into prostitution, and starts a volatile relationship with her.

After crossing the Takigawa family several more times, Okita is injured and forced into joining under Takigawa's rival, the Yato family, to protect himself and effect a truce ceremony with Takigawa. This gives him control of a piece of the entertainment district, giving him an easy life that bores him. Not happy with the truce, Takigawa has talks about uniting with the large Saiei family from Osaka. When Okita disrespects the Saiei boss Owada and refuses to apologize even after Yato commits yubitsume, he is expelled from the Yato family.

After nearly his entire gang is killed off one by one, Okita and his two remaining men hole up in the abandoned warehouse. Yato has Takigawa killed and gives the turf to Saiei as a peace offering, promising to get Okita to apologize if they will spare Okita's life. Yato talks Okita into surrendering, with Okita even cutting off a finger. To Yato's surprise, the members of the Saiei family begin beating Okita to teach him a lesson but keep their promise not to kill him. Kimiyo is killed when arrives and tries to stop them, sending Okita into a frenzy that results in him getting killed and Yato getting stabbed.

Cast

Production

When he was chosen to direct the sixth installment in the Gendai Yakuza ("Modern Yakuza") series, Fukasaku decided to depict a low-ranking street thug. Scriptwriter Yoshihiro Ishimatsu brought in a first draft, however the director thought it too similar to his Sympathy for the Underdog and took to rewriting it. Residing in a cheap hotel in Shinjuku, Fukasaku could not work as he was so engrossed in watching the Asama-Sansō incident on television. He later told film critic Sadao Yamane that he tried to incorporate the "thrilling essence" of the incident into Street Mobster.[4]

The film's lead, Bunta Sugawara, who had yakuza friends, said he gave Fukasaku many suggestions while filming, such as how someone who has never shot a gun would do so.[5]

gollark: I know German a bit, and also Ancient Greek and Latin a bit.
gollark: How do you actually say "ninja of the clouds" or something though?
gollark: Fascinating.
gollark: Wait, wouldn't "ninja of the clouds" be genitive, not just... accusative plural, or something?
gollark: I don't actually know. It just sounds German and it would sort of make sense in context.

See also

References
  1. "The 25 Best Yakuza Movies". Complex. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  2. "Street Mobster". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  3. "Street Mobster". ArrowFilms.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. Macias, Patrick, Street Mobster DVD booklet, 2004, Home Vision Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-08-23
  5. Schilling, Mark (2003). The Yakuza Movie Book : A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. Stone Bridge Press. pp. 130–143. ISBN 1-880656-76-0.
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