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Battles Without Honor and Humanity

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

Crime · Action · Drama · 1973

In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.

Movie details

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

1973 Crime · Action · Drama 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Battles Without Honor and Humanity?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.

Sonatine

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Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

Gate of Flesh

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In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Kinji Fukasaku

Written by

Kazuo Kasahara · Koichi Iiboshi

Bunta Sugawara

Bunta Sugawara

Shozo Hirono

Hiroki Matsukata

Hiroki Matsukata

Tetsuya Sakai

Kunie Tanaka

Kunie Tanaka

Masakichi Makihara

Eiko Nakamura

Eiko Nakamura

Suzue Kunihiro

Tsunehiko Watase

Tsunehiko Watase

Toshio Arita

Gorō Ibuki

Gorō Ibuki

Ueda

Nobuo Kaneko

Nobuo Kaneko

Yoshio Yamamori

Court is in session

Put Battles Without Honor and Humanity on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.