Review of Yakuza Papers

Introduction

The Yakuza Papers is Japan`s answer to "The Godfather" - a brutal yet, at times, mesmerising tale of organised crime. Sugawara is a small-time criminal until he joins the infamous Yakuza, the `Mafia of the East`. The Yakuza Papers follows his rise through crime.

Video

The film has been filmed using `ShakyCam` equipment, with the director using a gritty film stock, and so it is hard to judge exactly how good the picture quality is. However, there is a high level of detail throughout and the subtitles are clear. 7/10.

Audio

The film is presented in Japanese mono, with an English subtitle track. To my ears, it sounds clear, but then I can`t understand Japanese!

Features

A photo gallery and a profile of director Kinji Fukasaku is included.

Conclusion

The Yakuza Papers is a hard-hitting, violent look at life in the world of organised crime, and I highly recommend any fan of American Mob movies to see similar themes explored here under diffirent Japanese values. However, the film is not as easy to watch as classics such as "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" - an extraordinarily large amount of characters are introduced in a short period of time, and there is much time-distortion (similar to in "The Limey"). But once you get past there inaccessabilities, you are sure to find a fearless film with more depth than your average Mafia movie.