"Actor: Takuzo Kawatani"

• Cops vs Thugs | Blu Ray | (22/05/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Considered by many to be director Kinji Fukasaku's greatest single-film achievement in the yakuza genre, Cops vs Thugs was made at the height of popularity of Toei Studios' jitsuroku boom: realistic, modern crime movies based on true stories taken from contemporary headlines. Returning to the screen after completing their Battles Without Honor and Humanity series together, Fukasaku joined forces once again with screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara, composer Toshiaki Tsushima and star Bunta Sugawara to create one of the crowning achievements of his career, and a hard-boiled classic which is still ranked as one of the best Japanese films of the 1970's. It's 1963 in the southern Japanese city of Kurashima, and tough-as-nails detective Kuno (Sugawara) oversees a detente between the warring Kawade and Ohara gangs. Best friends with Ohara lieutenant Hirotani (Hiroki Matsukata), he understands that there are no clear lines in the underworld, and that everything is colored a different shade of gray. But when random violence interrupts the peace and an ambitious, by-the-books lieutenant (Tatsuo Umemiya) comes to town, Kuno's fragile alliance begins to crumble. Greedy bosses and politicians alike seize the opportunity to wipe out their enemies, and Kuno faces the painful choice of pledging allegiance to his badge and keeping a promise to his brother. Echoing the great crime films of Sidney Lumet and Jean-Pierre Melville, in Fukasaku's world, there's no honor among thieves or lawmen alike, and the only thing that matters is personal honor and duty among friends. Kasahara's shattering screenplay and Fukasaku's dynamic direction support an all-star, ensemble cast to create one of the most exciting, and deeply moving films about cops and criminals ever made. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfer High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations Original uncompressed mono audio Optional English subtitles Audio commentary by film scholar Tom Mes New video interview with film scholar & Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane Sympathy for the Underdog, a new visual essay on Fukasaku's career by Marc Walkow Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film

• Empire Of Passion | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £32.37   |  Saving you £-12.38 (-61.90%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Very much a companion piece to Nagisa Oshima's classic In The Realm Of The Senses Empire of Passion is part ghost story part love story - a tale of murder guilt and revenge laced with a provocative air of eroticism. Set in rural Japan at the end of the 19th Century the plot is based on the true story of a housewife Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki) who embarks on a torrid affair with a younger man Toyoji (Tatsuya Fuji) a soldier recently returned from the war. Following a passionate enc

• Oshima Boxset - The Realm of the Senses & Empire of Passion | DVD | (02/07/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Realm of the Senses: Ai No Corrida is perhaps the most notorious erotic film in cinema history having been banned at the 1976 New York Film Festival and denied a video release in the UK until 2000. Based on fact the film depicts the relationship between an ex- prostitute who becomes a domestic servant and her master who have a mutual sexual appetite which is almost boundless. The climax to the film is legendary and has become one of the most talked about scenes in movie history. Empire of Passion: Oshima deservedly won the Best Director award at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival for this thrilling ghost story set in late 19th century rural Japan. A housewife embarks on a torrid affair with a younger man and they decide that they must kill her elderly husband in order to protect their sordid secret. Having committed the murder they dispose of the body and explain his absence to the village by claiming he had departed for Tokyo to find work but three years after his death the ghost of the dead husband starts appearing in the village threatening to expose the illicit passion