The author of the article analyses a series of five movies entitled The Yakuza Papers, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The movies were released between 1973 and 1974 and were treated as one the greatest achievements of traditional Japanese gangster cinema. The objective of the analysis is to identify an internal tension between the traditional and the modern, which is visible in different parts of the series. It results not only from a different approach to the rules of ninkyō eiga employed by Fukasaku, but also from the introduction of elements of realism into the movies. A closer look at the main protagonist, female characters and visual style helps to highlight this internal tension, which is characteristic of the whole cycle.
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