Between 1973 and 1974, five films came out to chronicle the epic story of how the Yakuza took power and became an untouchable powerhouse on the same level as the Cosa Nostra. The Sicilian Mafia was explored in a different corner of cinema just a couple of years earlier--The Godfather. It shares something in common with Battles Without Honor or Humanity, but while the Godfather exudes class and uses its story to dig into themes of family, Kinji Fukasaku's saga is purposefully rough around the edges and turns the camera away from family to focus on business.
All five films in Battles Without Honor or Humanity are rooted in real-life newspaper articles and manuscripts of genuine Yakuza activity. The first film tracks gang activity arising out of Kure and evolving into full-blown organized groups. Power struggles and clashing interests push the series' main character, Shozo Hirano, in and out of trouble. The second film (Deadly Fight in Hiroshima) becomes more of a stand-alone affair that follows a secondary character's ascension into the Yakuza, before he's betrayed and suffers a tragic downfall. The third film (Proxy War) is often cited as the best of the lot--it sees a little less street violence and more intercharacter drama and political maneuvering. The fourth film (Police Tactics) finally brings the law into the picture with cops struggling to enforce a big crackdown on the Yakuza. By Final Episode, the body count and collateral damage becomes exhausting.
By nature, the film retains a documentary-like style, with very rough photography and editing techniques. Colors are gaudy by nature, and the films overall are painted with a fair amount of blood and grit (and there may be a few shots of vomit or urine at certain moments). All the violent scenes stand out pretty strongly--even without the stylistic flourishes, the characters are often so wild and manic that their murderous tendencies ooze off the screen.
In between the swells of action, the films can become very droll. The biggest issue is that, because of the documentary style, the drama pushing all the stories are very dry and stuffy. There are a ton of scenes where characters sit around in a council or at a restaurant and spout exposition on who's doing what--with as many names and characters as the films juggle, it's impossible to keep track of every single political maneuver, so most of these scenes become tiresome.
However, the films are at their best when they focus on individuals. I could dig the first film strictly because of Hirano's journey from the slums of Kure to the big city--most of the scenes in the first act are pretty intense and gripping, in much the same way as watching how Tony Montanna rose to power among the rabble of immigrants in 1983's Scarface. And as long as Hirano remained the focus, the film remained fairly interesting up to its intense finale, when everybody holds each other at gunpoint and questions of loyalty arise. Similar strengths exist in the second film, and I wound up loving the cat-and-mouse chase at the end because it adhered so closely to one character. The other films have a smattering of good, individual scenes that help define whose these gangsters are. As a whole though, the stories are so complex and told with such a dry voice that it's easy to become burned out.
With a wide range of quality performances, all so full of energy and grit, there are flashes of personality and color at times. It's worth sticking with the series for those specific moments. To me, the first and second films had my attention and I appreciated them. Third, forth, fifth, started to lose me, but still had scenes worth seeing. I wouldn't call this whole thing an easy watch, but if you love crime and gangster films (especially from Asia), it is something that should be experienced once.
3.5/5 for each movie and the series overall.
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