"Cops vs. Thugs"
1975
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Veteran director Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) is at his punishing best in a yakuza thriller that treats crime and punishment in 1960s Japan without a trace of sentimentality. When the boss of a Kurashima City clan executes a bold land-grab, he upsets the tenuous alliance between gangsters, crooked cops, and bought politicians. At the center of the storm is a squad detective unafraid to build up the body count. "A bleak piece of social commentary under the guise of a brutal and violent action thriller" (DVD Times). With Bunta Sugaware (The Yakuza Papers) and Ken Takakura. Japanese with English subtitles. 100 minutes.