yakuza

Sega’s YAKUZA: LIKE A DRAGON Video Game Franchise Is Making A Comeback To The Big Screen

Fifteen years since launching into video game franchise fruition prior to a 2007 live-action take from Takashi Miike, fans of the Ryu Ga Gotoku (Like A Dragon) franchise are officially on deck to a new feature film offering, according to Variety’s Dave McNary. Per the report, Sega is partnering with 1212 Entertainment (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark) and Wild Sheep to develop the action crime thriller based on the hit game, which follows the exploits of gangster Kiryu Kazuma, fresh out from a ten-year stint in prison and ultimately forced back into the Yakuza underworld to take care of business. Erik Barmack (Sacred Games, The Rain), Roberto Grande and Joshua Long are producing the film while the search commences for writers. “Yakuza offers us a new playground in which to set compelling stories with complex characters in a unique environment that audiences have rarely seen before,” 1212 said. […]

A Priest Takes On The Yakuza In The New Trailer For PRIEST: CONFESSIONS OF A SAMURAI!

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Cary Tagawa‘s career is something he wholly welcomes as distinctively unusual. His latest role in Yegor Baranov‘s international Yakuza crime thriller, Priest: Confessions Of A Samurai is finally on par for a November opening in Russia, and for a film production relatively marred by the language barriers that followed, it’s a film that undoubtedly benefits Tagawa in just the way he prefers. SYNOPSIS: The story’s protagonist Takuro Nakamura, baptized as father Nikolai, is the priest of the Japanese Orthodox Church who used to be a professional sportsman and now is the blood brother of one of the influential clans yakuza. Once he could not pass by the violence and helped an ordinary girl getting to grips with one of the groups hostile to his brother. The war of yakuza clans is imminent. Having become the hostage of the criminal skirmish the priest faces a lethal risk. Nakamura is sent […]

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BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY To Re-Release On Blu-Ray In November!

Lee B. Golden III

You know generational appeal for a classic piece of cinema exists when it’s getting a refurbished re-release on Blu-Ray. Such is the case with Arrow Video’s announcement this week for the forthcoming rollout of Fukusaku Kinji‘s five-film period yakuza crime saga , Battles Without Honor And Humanity, following recent screenings at Fantasia and for the New York Asian Film Festival back in July. And not for nothing either as the film series getting quite the ancillary treatment with retrospective interviews between co-stars, critics and authors alike, posters and images, a 150 page hardcover and much, MUCH more. Read onward and snag your copy as soon as possible! Battles Without Honor & Humanity – this seminal series of epic gangsterism told with gritty realism plays like a head-spinning fusion of Martin Scorsese and Paul Greengrass! This Limited Edition collections features Kinji Fukasaku’s (BATTLE ROYALE) original five films in the series with brand […]

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Everything Is Connected In The New Teaser For BOND:KIZUNA

Lee B. Golden III

It’s early days right now, but actor, writer and director Yamakita Ryuji‘s newest directorial feature debut, Bond:Kizuna is already well underway through its promotional campaign via social media. We have our first teaser now making the rounds, aside from the addition of legendary actor Sonny Chiba, it’s indie with a ton of relatively new faces headlined by actor David Yeung (son of Bloodsport co-star Bolo Yeung), actress Courtney Palm, and co-stars Ivory Broome and Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist co-star Gaku Space who are also producing. Suffice it to say, the people behind the action are Nakamura Tadahiro and Abe Tsuyoshi, two veteran action impressarios better known for their contributions to action cinema as members of Sakamoto Koichi’s team, Alpha Stunts, so that should be plenty worth checking out in this latest bit of intertwining, multilayered tale of crime, vengenace and love. SYNOPSIS: In the heart of Tokyo, Tatsumi; The Godfather […]

YAKUZA APOCALYPSE: THE GREAT WAR OF THE UNDERWORLD Gets A New Promo Image And Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

The Mole Song and As The Gods Will helmer, director Miike Takashi‘s work is not without a following of its own. He’s got a fanbase he listens to-so indicated last Spring when he formally announced a “rampaging” return to the basics with the production of his newest action horror romp, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld. Miike reunites with lead actor Ichihara Hayato following their pairing on the 2008 film God’s Puzzle, with a brand new promotional image now available online just below, as well as a new teaser. SYNOPSIS: Kagayama is a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kagayama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of […]

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Enemies Stand Face-To-Face In The First Photo From YAKUZA APOCALYPSE!

Lee B. Golden III

Director Takashi Miike is well on his way with another potential hit with his next film, Yakuza Apocalypse. Marking the acclaimed director’s latest “rampage back to the basics” with a script by Yoshitaki Yamaguchi, the film sets lead actor Hayato Ichihara as a gangster caught in the nightmare of his life when he finds out his boss is a vampire. The film also stars Yayan Ruhian, best known for his memorable performances in Gareth Evans’ recent hits, The Raid and The Raid 2. “Miike is the first director I’ve worked with since Gareth Evans,” said Ruhian in a recent set report from Screendaily’s own Jason Gray. “Miike is very good with a unique character. Whatever I do, I make it fun for myself. I like Japan. I am making new friends.” Miike also clarified a bit more about the film’s setup and direction in the same report, adding “My aim […]

Cop And Criminal Join Forces In The New Film, EAGLE AND HAWK

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been nearly nineteen years since Mikio Osawa and Kazumi Morohoshi took the public stage as members of the Japanese pop idol group, Hikaru Genji. Having ventured heavily into film and television following the group’s split, the two can now be seen in Osawa‘s directorial debut for the new film, Eagle And Hawk. The trailer has gone viral since mid-April offering a glimpse at what looks like a glorious throwback to old-school 80’s and 90’s Yakuza crime thrillers; low in budget, but loaded with its fair share of action and firepower to whet the appetites of any fan who love a good gangster flick. And to the good fortune of Japanese audiences, the film comes out domestically this weekend. Osawa and Morohoshi are joined by Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear co-star Shun Sugata, along with actress Ritsuko Tanaka, and actors Hitoshi Ozawa and Masao Orimo. Watch for more news if […]

Takeshi Kitano Dares You To Move In The New Green-Band Trailer For BEYOND OUTRAGE

Lee B. Golden III

Magnet is releasing actor and filmmaker Takeshi Kitano‘s latest crime drama, Beyond Outrage, later this Winter. And adding to the promotional push highlit by the recent captivating red-band trailer unveiled late last month, we now have a green-band trailer, courtesy of City On Fire, that still delivers the same effect. “Beat” fans know what I mean. The award-winning film also stars Toshiyuki Nishida, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Hideo Nakano, Yutaka Matsushige, Fumiyo Kohinata, Katsunori Takahashi, Kenta Kiritani, Hirofumi Arai, Sansei Shiomi, Akira Nakao and Shigeru Koyama. Look out for the digital release on November 28 before its limited release on January 3, 2014. SYNOPSIS: With BEYOND OUTRAGE, action cinema master Takeshi Kitano returns to the hard boiled characters, black comedy and unflinching violence of his yakuza saga, OUTRAGE. This time, a manipulative police crackdown on organized crime has ignited a tricky power struggle in the yakuza underworld. The Sanno crime […]

Joe Lynch Instateases New Photos From EVERLY

Lee B. Golden III

Approximately four days ago, new Instagram photos arrived online this week from the production of Everly, courtesy of writer and director Joe Lynch. Co-written by Yale Hannon, Everly is as a contained action thriller starring actress Salma Hayek as a down-on-her-luck woman forced to defend herself against swarms of Yakuza assassins sent to torture and kill her when her crime boss lover finds out she’s an FBI informant. Hayek reportedly received exclusive training in twenty different weapons with special forces in Belgrade, Serbia where the film was shot and recently completed. “You’ve never seen me like this before,” says Hayek in a recent article at USA Today. “And I love it. Because you really see a transformation in this character that’s noticeable and shocking. I become a badass.”. Executive produced by Rizal Risjad, Everly also stars Jennifer Blanc, Togo Igawa, Caroline Chikezie, Gabriella Wright, Jelena Gavrilovic, Masashi Fujimoto and Hiroyuki Watanabe. […]

Takeshi Kitano Goes BEYOND OUTRAGE In A New U.S. Red-Band Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Magnet Pictures unveiled the new trailer this week for its forthcoming VoD and limited theatrical release of Japanese filmmaking maestro Takeshi Kitano‘s Beyond Outrage. Originally titled with both words switched, the film is the second installation of Kitano‘s Yakuza thriller since the 2010 film, Outrage, hitting the film festival circuit in late 2012 before opening in Japan a month later. Despite garnering mixed reviews, the fan reaction was largely positive with the film’s producers seeking a trilogy from Kitano, the franchise’s lead star, writer and director who was already the recipient of the Best Director award at the 7th Asian Film Awards by then. Beyond Outrage also stars Toshiyuki Nishida, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Hideo Nakano, Yutaka Matsushige, Fumiyo Kohinata, Katsunori Takahashi, Kenta Kiritani, Hirofumi Arai, Sansei Shiomi, Akira Nakao and Shigeru Koyama. The film goes digital on November 28 before hitting the big screen on the week of January […]