58 Sympathy for the Underdog

[Finch]

Sympathy for the Underdog

Returning from a ten-year prison sentence, former gang leader Gunji (Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss) finds that his turf has been taken over by his former enemy, now a large crime syndicate with a legal corporate front. Looking for new opportunities, he gathers his old crew and heads for the island of Okinawa, a legal grey zone ripe for the taking. Made just before Kinji (Yakuza Graveyard) Fukasaku’s 1970s streak of yakuza movie masterpieces, Sympathy for the Underdog is a key film in the development of this director’s unique style and themes.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart (2024)
Interview with Fukasaku biographer Olivier Hadouchi (2024)
Visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow (2024)
Trailer
New and improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Bastian Meiresonne and an archival review of the film
Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

[Finch]

One of my most wanted titles/upgrades. I love Radiance.

[Matt]

This is the last Home Vision Entertainment DVD for Fukasaku I had left to upgrade, but I do hope they get around to Fall Guy at some point.

[swo17]

No Under the Flag of the Rising Sun?

[dwk]

Or Blackmail is My Life and If You Were Young: Rage?

[Matt]

I think I let most of them go in one of my poorly thought out purges.

[Finch]

Black Lizard is another one I'd love to see. I'm so glad Radiance were able to secure Sympathy for the Underdog. I was dreading that Criterion had the rights and like with so many other Japanese films just sat on it..

[dwk]

Sympathy for the Underdog is a Toei title and Criterion has never licensed from them. They do have the rights to Fall Guy, which is a Shochiku title and, maybe Under the Flag of the Rising Sun, a Toho title. (Both of these were part of The Classic Collection, a partnership between Janus Films and Home Vision, but only Fall Guy is streaming on the Channel and I have no idea if Janus still has Under the Flag of the Rising Sun.)