Kawada (Hiroki Matsukata) is a yakuza member of the Tomiyasu Group, who has been promised by his boss, Mr. Yasuhara, that he will receive control of the security business for the speedboat racetrack in exchange for killing a man. He follows through and pays for the crime by going to jail. Years later, when he’s released, Mr. Yasuhara refuses. No problem. Kawada buries him up to his neck until he gets what he wants.

Yasuhara puts a price on Kawada’s head that is answered by the Kanai Group and their leader, Kanai Hachiro (Sonny Chiba). He sends fifty killers after Kawada while also planning to take over Fukui for his own territory.

Screenwriter Kōji Takada based Kawada on Hiroshi Kawauchi, boss of the Kawauchi-gumi. Takada interviewed the yakuza, who held nothing back. After the Hokuriku Proxy War was released, Kawauchi was shot and killed in the same cafe that he had been interviewed in, just like Kawada is shot in the film. The movie character survived; the real gangster didn’t.

Kinji Fukasaku really directed some fantastic movies. This is but one of them. Seek his work out.

The limited edition Radiance Films Blu-ray release has new interviews with Yoko Takahashi and Koji Takada; a video essay by Yakuza film historian Akihiko Ito on the real-life Hokuriku Proxy War murder case; a trailer; a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and a limited edition booklet featuring newly translated archival writings on the film. It’s a limited edition of 3,000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with a removable OBI strip, allowing the packaging to remain free of certificates and markings. You can get it from MVD.