is a 1967 Japanese

yakuza film is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of ''yakuza'', Japanese organized crime syndicates. In the silent film era, depictions of ''bakuto'' (precursors to modern yakuza) as sympathetic Robin Hood-li ...

directed by

Yasuharu Hasebe was a Japanese people, Japanese film director best known for his movies in the "Violent pink" subgenre of the ''Pink film'', such as ''Assault! Jack the Ripper'' (1976 in film, 1976), ''Rape!'' (1976), ''Rape! 13th Hour'' (1977 in film, 1977) an ...

Plot

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

hitman Ryuichi Kuroda (

Joe Shishido was a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheekbones. He appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film '' Branded to Kill'' ...

) is forced into executing his lover on the orders of Boss Azakawa (Takashi Kanda). His brother, aspiring boxer Saburo Kuroda (Jirō Okazaki) in a failed attempt to confront Azakawa, ends up having his fists broken and potential boxing career destroyed. Ryuichi decides to break away from Azakawa, and has his bar raided in retaliation. Ryuichi decides to takes over some of Azakawa's smaller businesses by force. Azakawa decides to strike back by killing a pachinko arcade operator who willingly went over to the Kurodas and sending his body in a coffin, which also contains a bomb that Ryuichi defuses. Following this, Azakawa blackmails a bowling alley operator now answering to the Kurodas into luring Ryuichi and the middle brother, Eiji (

Tatsuya Fuji is a Japanese actor. He was born in Beijing and raised in Yokohama. In 1962, Fuji joined Nikkatsu Company and began his acting career with small roles in Nikkatsu film. In 1968, Fuji married actress Izumi Ashikawa. He gained popularity throu ...

) into an ambush which they promptly escape from. After Kuroda spares the operator's life, Azakawa switches tactics and kidnaps Saburo. Ryuichi attempts to negotiate for his release by visiting Azakawa's manor, but he has Eiji sneak in and kill the guards just before the handover. However, just before the escape, Eiji kills Azakawa for good measure. Later, when Eiji attempts to sleep with Azakawa's mistress, he is caught and killed by Azakawa's gunmen now under control of Azakawa's successor Ryuichi's old mentor, Shirasaka (

Hideaki Nitani was a Japanese actor. Career Born in Kyoto Prefecture, Nitani attended Doshisha University but quit before graduating. He first worked as an announcer at Nagasaki Broadcasting Company, but in 1956 made his debut as an actor at Nikkatsu. Gaining ...

). Ryuichi then decides to face down Shirasaka and challenges him to a final showdown at an under-construction highway. During the attack, Ryuichi whittles down Shirasaki's accompanying gunman before facing Shirasaki man-to-man. Both men end up killing each other in the resulting firefight, as the film ends on Saburo running towards the site of the duel.

Cast

as Ryūichi Kuroda *

as Eiji Kuroda * Jirō Okazaki as Saburo Kuroda *

as Shirasaka * Tamaki Sawa as Shino * Yoko Yamamoto as Aiko * Takashi Kanda as Akazawa * Ken Sanders as Chico *

Jūkei Fujioka was a Japanese actor. He is known as an actor who often played villains, but is famous for playing the role of detective Daisaku Tani in the popular detective drama ''Seibu Keisatsu''. Fujioka started his acting career at the Haiyuza Theatre Com ...

as Kanayama * Ryoji Hayama as Midorikawa

Production

''Massacre Gun'' was written by veteran studio screenwriter Ryūzō Nakanishi and credited to him and Takashii Fujii. Fujii was a pseudonym for director

Release

''Massacre Gun'' was released theatrically in Japan on September 6, 1967. The film has receive retrospective release at film festivals, such as the 2012

Fantasia Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

where the film received its North American premiere. ''Massacre Gun'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Arrow Video An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...

on April 6, 2015.

Reception

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

gave ''Massacre Gun'' a five out of ten rating, noting that the film's story was "as formulaic as possible" and that the film was " all very stylish, and that’s what director Yasuharu Hasebe offers to make the predictable story at least worth looking at." In ''Video Librarian'', a review noted that the film contains "stylish set pieces that don't make much sense but look great" and that ''Massacre Gun'' "is a film where style is the substance, an entertaining Japanese gangster noir that will likely be appreciated by fans of

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

References

External links

* * {{Yasuharu Hasebe Films directed by Yasuharu Hasebe Yakuza films Nikkatsu films 1967 films 1960s Japanese films