Well I’m watching this flick tonight and I figured i’d get you into the know A dope Yakuza flick that’s insanely gully and raw something you really don’t wanna miss,
To celebrate the coronation of a new Emperor, a series of pardons release hundreds of Yakuza from jail — men who, perhaps, would have been better off behind bars. The world they left, defined by a rigid code of honor, is giving way to a new world with a new set of rules — the ends justify the means.
As one of these men comes to realize how corrupt his world has become, he must decide whether to bend like bamboo and survive, or uphold the old traditions — and die….
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here’s the OST for good measure but 1st some info
Notes Courtesy of Animego
Masaru Sato (Composer) (May 29, 1928 – December 5, 1999)
One of the most prolific composers in film history, Masaru Sato studied at the National Music Academy and later served as an assistant at Toho Studios under Akira Kurosawa’s composer, Fumio Hayasaka. His official career began at age 27, when he completed the unfinished score to Akira Kurosawa’s I Live in Fear: Record of a Living Being. From 1956-1965, he worked with Kurosawa on such films as Throne of Blood, Sanjuro and Red Beard. Sato’s credits include over 300 compositions for film and TV, including an astonishing 18 film scores in 1959. His diverse body of work includes dramas, thrillers, comedies, documentaries, animes, as well as four Godzilla films. He is particularly known for using popular Western styles and jazz in his music.
The Shamisen Player’s Songs
Although it is customary for AnimEigo to translate song lyrics in our films, we decided not to translate the shamisen player’s lyrics for following reasons:
1) We could not find any lines in the original Japanese script.
2) Even though we could decipher a few words, without knowing the entire song, we can not make proper translation.
3) The lines of the songs have nothing to do with the story-line of the film.
In effect, we felt that translating part of the song might confuse viewers, so we decided to omit everything.
The Shamisen (Tsugaru Shamisen or Tsugaru Jyamisen)
The shamisen (lit. three taste strings), also called samisen or sangen, is a stringed instrument played with a large pick called a “bachi.” Though it’s about the same length as a guitar, the neck is longer, slimmer, and without frets. The rectangular body, known as the do, is covered on both sides with skin, like a banjo. Though recently, some types of plastics are being tried, the best shamisen are typically made with cat or dog skin, and on some, the position of the animal’s nipples can still be seen.
The three strings have typically been made of silk, though nylon is increasingly becoming the norm. The bachi was traditionally made of ivory or tortoise shell but is now usually wooden, and shaped like a ginkgo leaf. The shamisen has derived from the sanshin, which came from Southern Okinawa in the 16th century, and which itself evolved from the Chinese sanxian.
Chin-don-ya (Vaudeville) Singing
Chin-don-ya, a type of Japanese marching band, consists of street performers dressed in outlandish outfits, playing an array or instruments, usually from both Japan and the West. The musicians perform to advertise the opening of a business, a sale or special event. The repertiore ranges from ancient asian music to current popular pop songs. The tradition of street performing has been around Japan for hundreds of years, but Chin-don-ya specifically started in Osaka during the 19th century. With the advent of television and its strong advertising appeal, the need for Chin-don-ya disappeared. There are still a few Chin-don-ya in Japan, but it is rare to see them performing.