Big Time Gambling Boss

Summary

“Things changed out here while you were inside.”

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Francesco Simeoni of Radiance Films. I have been following Francesco’s career throughout the years as he worked at Arrow Video, so I was lucky enough to purchase the Gold Package when Francesco first announced the initial release slate from Radiance Films. In the interview, Fran explained that he wanted to explore films and entire types of filmmaking that are not being explored by other labels. Big Time Gambling Boss is the inaugural release from Radiance Films, and it is certainly a strong starting point for the label. I watched the film the other night and really enjoyed it.

Spring, 1934 – Masakichi Arakawa, who led the Tenryu clan to dominate Tokyo’s Koto district, falls deathly ill from a stroke. On his death bed, he asks that the leaders choose their next chief. All six leaders gather and unanimously choose the wise and strategic Shinjiro Nakai (Koji Tsurata) as the new chief. Because he was originally a member of another clan in Osaka, Nakai refuses the position. Nakai recommends Matsuda (Tomisaburo Wakayama) for the position. Matsuda is serving time in prison for killing men from another clan. Against Nakai’s objections, the other leaders, led by the unscrupulous Senba (Nobuo Kaneko,) choose Kohei Ishido (Hiroshi Nawa) -the boss’s son in law. Senba strategically holds Matsuda’s prison time against Matsuda in order to disqualify him from the chief position. The leaders will make the new position official at a party. They expect Nakai to give the news to Matsudo. News comes that Matsudo is to be released from prison. Nakai greets Matsudo at the prison. He has not told him of the plan for succession while Matsudo was still behind bars, which means their first meeting will be complicated. Nakai meets with Matsuda and over dinner he explains that Ishido has been promoted to boss. This news does not sit well with Matsuda. The obvious choice was Nakai and if they could not convince him to take the position, Matsuda was of a higher rank and therefore should not have been passed over. At a small gathering of the bosses, prior to the party for the promotion, Matsuda speaks out about this injustice. Senba expresses his displeasure with Matsuda for going against the decision of the bosses. Some of Senba’s men go to talk with some members of the Sakura clan to let them know the man who killed their boss is around. Some members of the Sakura clan make an attempt of Matsuda’s life based on the info given to them. Matsudo survives and learns that the assailants had been tipped off by Tenryu clan members. Matsuda assumes that the traitorous act was committed by Ishido. Tensions continue to build amongst the clan heads which inevitably lead to violence.

As Francesco had alluded to, Big Time Gambling Boss is a yakuza picture, but it isn’t a yakuza picture in the mold of a Kinji Fukusaku film. It is part of a niche within the Yakuza genre identified as a Chivalry Film. The film plays as a Shakespearean tragedy via Yakuza film. Brother against brother, friend against friend. It’s nihilistic and not trying to make the viewer feel happy about the choices the characters make. The character’s motivations and decisions reminded me a good amount of Akira Kurosawa’s film Ran, which itself was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. The characters are bound by honor to fulfill any promise that they announce out loud, and the results are disastrous to say the least.

The acting in the film is of very high quality. The film features numerous excellent Japanese actors. The lead performance by Koji Tsuruta as Shinjiro is totally believable. He carries himself in a way that commands respect from the moment he shows up onscreen. Tomisaburo Wakayama is nearly as enjoyable as the bullheaded Matsuda. Tomisaburo is probably best known for his starring role in the beloved Lone Wolf and Cub saga. Hiroshi Nawa does a solid job in the role of the likable pawn Ishido. Nobuo Kaneko plays the Iago-like Senba to perfection. As a viewer, you will hate Senba from the moment he shows up on screen. Kaneko will be recognizable to fans of Kurosawa’s Ikiru and for his similar roles in Battles Without Honor and Humanity.

The film is directed well by Kosaku Yamashita off of a script by Kazuo Kasahara. Kasahara is best known for writing the incredible Battles Without Honor and Humanity films (he wrote the first three.) As I mentioned, this film is very different from that series. I really enjoyed the writing of Big Time Gambling Boss and the attention it paid to period details. Cinematographer Natalie Yamagishi is never showy, but the film looks the way that it should. Everything comes together well, and the pacing of the film is solid.

I appreciate that Radiance Films chose Big Time Gambling Boss as their initial release in the States. As promised, the film takes a different approach on the Yakuza genre, and that approach offers something a little deeper and more emotionally rich than many of the Yakuza offerings I have seen. I definitely recommend checking out this film.

Video

Radiance Films presents Big Time Gambling Boss in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio in 1080p. The transfer was provided by Toei and then additional work was performed by Radiance. It is worth noting that Radiance has done a really good job of working with the materials provided by Toei. I have watched several Japanese films with transfers sourced from Toei, and many times they only look okay. Radiance has brought the very best out of the materials. Fine detail is pretty good. There is a fine grain over the proceedings that looks filmic. It is obvious that the print was cleaned up without causing any distracting compression issues. I appreciate their hard work. I can’t imagine that this film has looked better than it does here.

Audio

Radiance Films have provided a restored LPCM mono track. As one might guess, the mono track is limited in how immersive it feels, but I thought the track sounded pretty great. The music by Toshiaki Tsushima is good and sets the tone of the picture well. Dialogue is rendered clearly (from what I can tell.) I have no complaints here.

Supplements:

• Visual essay by genre expert Chris D on the film and its place within the period and genre – this visual essay by Chris D is extremely well done. Chris D obviously is an authority on this genre and fans of the film that want to know more about the film and later entries in the series will definitely want to watch this piece after viewing the film.
• Ninkyo 101: A Masterclass with Mark Schilling, author of The Yakuza Movie Book – this is a short and enjoyable piece on the films and filmmakers that were involved with the Chivalry niche within the Yakuza genre. Mark is informative and gives some good ideas on some other films to check out.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Big Time Gambling Boss is a Yakuza genre picture escalated to Shakespearean levels of drama and tragedy. Written by Kazuo Kasahara, who also wrote the incredible Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Big Time Gambling Boss is a very different take on the genre. It has an emotional depth that is typically less pronounced in the Yakuza genre. Radiance Films has announced themselves well with their inaugural release. The picture quality and audio quality are solid with some well appointed features. I look forward to seeing what Radiance brings out next! This is definitely an excellent start for the label.