OUTLAW: GANGSTER VIP (1968)

無頼より　大幹部

dir: Toshio Masuda

Nikkatsu

Jan 13, 1968

93 minutes Nikkatsu Colorscope

Tetsuya Watari as Goro

Chieko Matsubara as Yukiko

Tamio Kawaji as Isamu
Shoki Fukae as Dosuken
Kayo Matsuo as Yumeko
Tatsuya Fuji as Suzuki

Thoroughly enjoyable romanticized yakuza movie, the first in a series, featuring some of the big stars of Japanese cinema. Tetsuya Watari is Goro, a yakuza who goes to jail for three years after stabbing another yakuza, only to find out that things have changed once he gets out.  

His girlfriend (Yasuko Sanjo), who swore she’d wait for him, has married a regular guy and settled down. Added to that, his gang has lost it’s prominence - and the rival gang has become more ruthless and powerful than ever.

Complicating matters further and for our benefit is the appearance of the lovely Chieko Matsubara, who Goro saves from some of the rival gang thugs. She immediately falls hopelessly in love with him and he very reluctantly allows her to hang about.

He has two close friends, the cool Suzuki (Tatsuya Fuji) and a younger more excitable friend who… well we all know where this is heading. But it’s a nicely laid out, flowing storyline, that director Toshio Masuda presents in a functional, yet attractive style - the fight scenes are well staged and it’s just an easy film to watch. It may seem a bit dated now to some, but the performances should carry through even the more jaded viewers.