Graveyards of Honor (2-Disc Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

Both Blu Rays load up to the menu but nothing will play. It just stays as black screen on 1 second. Does anyone know why this is?

1975 versionKinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honor and Humanity, Battle Royale) adapted Goro Fujita’s gangster novel of the rise and fall of real-life gangster Rikio Ishikawa, a man who lives up to the lack of honor or humanity references by Fukasaku’s other film.How horrible of a person is Ishikawa? Within minutes of the opening credits, he steals money from the Aoki gang, robs a Sangokujin gambling den with Imai, stashes his gun with a geisha named Cheiko, gets arrested and returns for his gun and to assault the girl.Meanwhile, the leader of his gang is running for Japanese parliament and the out of control antics of the film’s protagonist are too much for them. Despite a talking to by the family boss, he blows up the leader’s car. This unpardonable crime leads to the gang telling him to slice his fingers off in the ritual of yubitsume. He refuses and goes to the cops before leaving Tokyo for 18 months, drifting to Osaka and a drug-filled haze.Of course, the first thing he does when he heads back to Japan — ten-year exile or not — he comes back for a whole other round of mayhem, which includes battling two Yazuka families and the police all at the same time, followed by driving Cheiko to suicide and, inevitably, cannibalism, a sword battle in a graveyard and suicide.Noboru Ando, who appears in this movie, was an actual mob figure for some time, saying “In Japanese, the only difference between yakuza and yakusha (actor) is one hiragana character.” Very noticeable by the knife scar on his cheek, he appeared in plenty of mob-related movies, including movies directly based on his life, such as his sexual experiences while hiding from the police (Ando Noboru no Waga Tobou to Sex no Kiroku) and life of crime in Takashi Miike’s Deadly Outlaw: Rekka.You can get this movie as part of the Graveyards of Honor set recently released by Arrow Video. It comes with Takeshi Miike’s 2002 version of the movie, as well as new audio commentary by author and critic Mark Schilling, a new visual essay by critic and Projection Booth podcast host Mike White and an appreciation of the director. Like everything Arrow releases, this is a great set.2002 versionThere are decades between the worlds of Kinji Fukasaku and Takeshi Miike, but this is the movie that unites both of their lengthy resumes. They’re very different filmmakers, so seeing them both tell the story of Goro Fujita’s book and the life of Rikio Ishikawa.The original film takes place in the years following World War II, but this version takes place in a very different time, as the late 80’s economic boom is about to give way to the depression of the 90’s. It also changes how its protagonist enters the world of crime. Here, he bluntly — literally — saves the life of a boss when an assassin (Miike) comes in like he’s in a completely different film, double guns blazing, only to be knocked down with a chair.But just like in the previous version of this story, Rikuo cannot be tamed. Or reasoned with. Or expected to act like a normal human being. He drags down everyone he comes near and turns on anyone close to him. He is a force of horrible nature and corrupts everything he touches.This is perhaps the most restrained movie you’ll see Miike. Don’t take that as boring. Even a more dramatic version of the director is still more whiplash than three lesser talents put together.You can get this movie as part of the Graveyards of Honor set recently released by Arrow Video. It comes with Kinji Fukasaku’s 1975 version, as well as audio commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes, a visual essay by author and critic Kat Ellinger and archival features like interviews with Miike and the cast, making-of features, press release interviews and a premiere special.

The yakuza - or gangster - film is more deeply ingrained in Japanese cinema than perhaps any other genre. Likely because the rise to power in those post-war years is best translated by the gritty, violent stories of outlaws, ambition and family honor. And the work of director Kinji Fukasaku is most representative of the genre's style and conventions, notably in his epic Battles Without Honor and Humanity and its sequel. Yet his 1975 film - Graveyard of Honor - bucks many of those traditions to deliver a yakuza tale that paints a much more severe and nihilistic view of the yakuza lifestyle.The ambitious but singularly self-destructive Rikio (Tetsuya Watari) refuses to take orders from anyone, even his own godfather. After being banished from the family, he falls under the protection of a rival gang headed up by his friend Kozaoburo Imai, but even that relationship is strained by Rikio's unpredictable behavior. Together with his "wife" - Chieko - the pair fall into a drug-addicted lifestyle as Rikio burns every bridge left behind him.Based on a true story, Fukasaku's film never even attempts to turn Rikio into the traditional anti-hero. He's a rapist, liar, murderer, and thief; there's simply nothing redeemable about him. If you're thinking that makes for a tough sell, you're right. Graveyard of Honor is never a pleasant film to watch, especially its treatment of women. But, as a character, Rikio doesn't discriminate; he's awful to everyone, flouting the yakuza code indiscriminately and betraying everyone he comes into contact with.But that certainly seems to be Fukasaku's point, especially in the casting Watari, whose roles in Tokyo Drifter and the Outlaw: Gangster VIP series cast him as a flawed but essentially noble outsider. Here there is no glamorizing. It's street level filmmaking of the highest order, with the camera swirling through the chaos unfettered by traditional compositions. There's a tip of the hat to Godfather-esque inspirations with sepia-tone sequences and time stamps to emphasize the history of it all. But in Fukasaku's film the gangster's downfall is less a tragedy than a foregone conclusion.Equally powerful, and maybe more disturbing, is Takashi Miike's 2002 remake, which follows the same plot points of Rikuo's sociopathic tendencies and adds gallons more blood. But unlike Fukasaku, whose camera seemed to be an active participant in the violence, Miike brilliantly takes the opposite approach, framing the most powerful scenes with static compositions that somehow make things even more uncomfortable.Arrow Video's two disc special edition Blu-ray includes both films (both looking terrific), audio commentaries, visual essays and a huge selection of archival extras, plus a limited edition collector's booklet. Not every yakuza film is worth buying, but this is one hell of a set!

I don't want to give away much about these films, but they are two of the best gangster films of all time. Thanks to Arrow we can now see them in HD and they look amazing. I'm actually surprised as to how good they look to be honest. Either way, a stellar package.

Beautiful packaging awesome movies I love arrow it's the criterion for b movies