NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Radiance Films Blu-ray (February 2024): Radiance Films have transferred Tai Katô's By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him to Blu-ray. The 1080P image quality is excellent. The source was clean with strong density - colors seems true, contrast is detail are impressive and there is depth. Really - no complaints at all about this HD presentation on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate.

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Radiance Films use a linear PCM dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original Japanese language. By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him has many fight sequences and some gunfire. It comes through reasonably tinny and flat but authentic. The score was by Hajime Kaburagi (The Executioner, Horrors of Malformed Men, The Sleeping Beast With, Retaliation, Blind Woman's Curse, Fairy in a Cage, Tokyo Drifter)  sounding supportive with a few funky riffs. Radiance Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The Radiance Films Blu-ray includes two video pieces with the filmmaker and stage director Kenta Fukasaku - the son of film director Kinji Fukasaku  (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) and actress Sanae Nakahara (who stars in "By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him".) In the first supplement he shows appreciation for the work of Tai Kato for 18-minutes and in the second extras he talks about the life and career of his mother, actress Sanae Nakahara for 1/4 hour. Radiance also include a 22-minute visual essay by Nathan Stuart who delves Into the extraordinary career of the film’s star, gangster-turned-actor, Noboru Ando. All extras were created exclusively for Radiance Films in November 2023. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and a limited edition booklet featuring new writings.

Tai Kato was a screenwriter and director - who, at Toei in 1960s, made a number of yakuza films. He was the nephew of director Sadao Yamanaka (Humanity and Paper Balloons.) Tai worked as an assistant director to Akira Kurosawa on Rashomon. "A Man's Face Shows His Personal History" is a gangster-morality drama but the twist is that when the Japanese yakuza were off to World War II - a gang of Korean would-be hoodlum-thugs moved in. They rape and murder with the justification of Japanese behavior in the war. So - plenty of conflicts. Pacifist Dr. Amamiya - played by an actual former Yakuza-mob-boss Noboru Andô - has to be pushed to extremes to start inflicting revenge. Thankfully he does. Stories of budding romance surface with wartime flashbacks, carefree prostitutes are a part of the local economy, and the moral-less Korean Mafiosi is portrayed with exaggerated savageness. Despite its obvious societal-bias agenda - it was very entertaining. I would certainly watch it again. The Radiance Films Blu-ray has surprisingly strong a/v and keen extras, plus a booklet and a great cover. I hope they bring us many more 60's Japanese films of this caliber. Recommended!

Gary Tooze