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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'Bakuto gaijin butai' or 'Gambler: Foreign Opposition' or 'Gamblers in Okinawa' or 'Sympathy for the Underdog')
directed by Kinji
Fukasaku
Japan 1971
The Radiance, Region FREE, Blu-ray of Sympathy for the Underdog is compared / reviewed HERE
| From Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honor & Humanity) comes this pivotal early crime drama in the celebrated career of the director who changed the face of Japanese action cinema. Stylish and hard-boiled, Sympathy for the Underdog stars Koji Tsuruta, one of Japan’s seminal figures in the Yakuza genre, as Gunji, an aging Yakuza who is released from prison after ten years. Gunji lives by a code of honor that has no place among Tokyo’s modern corporate gangs. He gets a new lease on life by reforming his former gang and taking over the whiskey trade on the island of Okinawa. But he is forced to make a final, fateful, bloody stand against the mainland gang that sent him to prison. |
Theatrical Release: July 6th, 1971
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Home Vision - Region 1 - NTSC
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| Distribution | Home Vision Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:32:44 | |
| Video |
2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.33 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Audio | Japanese (Dolby Digital 1.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: • Interview
with Fukasaku biographer, Yamane Sadao (15:48) • Trailer |
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| Comments: |
The Radiance, Region FREE, Blu-ray of Sympathy for the Underdog is compared / reviewed HERE Each of these Home
Vision Fukasaku DVDs seem to have their own personality. Sympathy for
the Underdog is not progressive and has some minor combing in spots
- it can also tend to look a little over contrasted giving that usual
heavy appearance that the others do. This image is probably on a par
with Graveyard
of Honor - trading off the tightness of the frame in
Sympathy for the progressiveness of Graveyard.
Street Mobster may be the best technically I have seen so
far but differences for most viewers will be negligible. I actually
think Sympathy may be my favorite of the films so far - but they all
have strong genre appeal. As usually for HVE the subtitles and original
audio are excellent. The included interview is almost 16:00 long and
appears to be an extension of the other interview extras offered in the
other DVDs - still a great package from Home Vision.
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Subtitle Sample
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Screen Captures
Notice combing in hand movement...
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Recommended Reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp |
Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema (Midland Book, Mb 469) by David Desser |
Kon Ichikawa (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs) by James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario |
Shohei Imamura (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 1) by James Quandt |
Silver Screen Samurai: The Best of Japan's Samurai
Movie Posters by Na |
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Ritchie |
The Yakuza Movie Book : A Guide
to Japanese Gangster Films by Mark Schilling |
Japanese Movie Posters: Yakuza, Monster, Pink, and
Horror by Chuck Stephens, Tetsuya Masuda, Kairakutei Black |
A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie |
Check out more in "The Library"
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| Distribution | Home Vision Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC | |
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Gary Tooze |
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Thank You!
