Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Gangster VIP Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 24, 2016

Note: This film is currently available as part of the Outlaw: Gangster VIP Collection.

It’s certainly not a scientific survey by any stretch of the imagination, but when I quizzed a coterie of Japanese film fan friends of mine to name a Japanese film studio, absolutely no one came up with Nikkatsu. Toho was quite popular, as was Toie, but Japan’s oldest studio didn’t even rate one single, solitary mention. Nikkatsu’s rather redolent history goes all the way back to 1912, easily eclipsing Toho’s genesis circa 1932 or Toie’s origination a few years later in 1938. For whatever reason, though, Nikkatsu, despite its status as the “dean” of Japanese movie studios, doesn’t seem to have the same general notoriety that some of its competitors do. Nikkatsu may be best remembered by at least some fans for its so-called “pink film” era, a kind of quasi-soft porn (sometimes maybe a little “harder” than merely soft) approach that helped the studio weather the roiling 1970s era, when big studios, no matter where they might be located, were facing a rapidly changing set of demographics and an often frustrating and potentially life threatening new set of economic challenges. One of Nikkatsu’s pre-pink era calling cards was a short-lived but temporarily almost insanely popular franchise which began with 1968’s Gangster VIP, which is also known by the slightly different title Outlaw: Gangster VIP. As Jasper Sharp mentions on his commentary for the first film of this new six film set, the kind of ironic thing about this series coming out of Nikkatsu is that Toie had already staked a claim of sorts on the Japanese gangster film idiom, kind of like Warner Brothers did in the United States back in the 1930s. The Outlaw: Gangster VIP series wasn’t very long lived, lasting only around two years from 1968-1969, but it’s a really interesting aggregation of films that should appeal to lovers of yakuza fare or even those who simply like to ferret out largely unseen entries that have been hidden in the various nooks and crannies of Japanese cultdom for decades.

The fact that all of the Gangster VIP franchise is based on the (evidently at least slightly fictionalized) memoirs of a real life ex-yakuza member named Goro Fujita ostensibly gives the series an authentic feel, though there is still a certain formulaic quality to how things play out across the films. A few tropes become unmissable for those who watch these films in rapid succession, including the often furrowed brow of the (anti-) hero, slightly renamed as Goro Fujikawa (Tetsuya Watari). It’s also not an infrequent occurrence to see a lovely damsel (in distress or otherwise) with a plaintive tear caressing her cheek. There will most likely be some pretty bloody (and graphic) knife fights, and chances are Goro may end his adventures by stumbling toward a rather uncertain future.

Most if not all of those elements are on display throughout Gangster VIP. While there’s not anything truly overly dense in the plotting of this first film, there’s a refreshing depth to some of the story and especially the characterization. Goro’s troubled childhood is detailed in an evocative pre-credits flashback (in black and white), where the deaths of his (prostitute?) mother and little sister start his life out in a traumatized fashion, something that obviously spills into his adult emotional ambience. In a kind of throwback to ideas that occasionally show up in older American gangster epics, two childhood friends later become adult nemeses, though in this film it’s not the case where one is a criminal and the other a lawman—both are yakuza, simply aligned with different gangs. Here, the two characters with a long history are Goro and his erstwhile reform school buddy Sugiyama (Kyôsuke Machida). The overall arc of this film (something that's reflected in several of the sequels) finds Goro attempting to live by a more precise set of morals than many of his yakuza kin, if not go outright "straight and narrow," something that leads to considerable "professional" conflict.

Goro’s personal life is in no better shape, unfortunately. His longtime love Saeko (Yasuko Sanjo) has left him during his stint in stir, and a new potential girlfriend named Yukiko (Chieko Matsubara) doesn’t seem to be his type, plus may be putting herself in danger by attaching herself to him. Somewhat interestingly, a perhaps slightly unexpected alliance forms between former adversaries, leading to a chaotic showdown between warring elements.

Gangster VIP may not be completely convincing as a no holds barred, inarguably realistic, portrayal of gang life in a post-war Japan, but it creates an undeniable mood and has some rather interesting things to say about honor codes, those in a “cult” like group, and even the role of women in “contemporary” Japanese society (an aspect several of the subsequent films also address). Performances are excellent and the fight scenes are generally well staged as well. It may seem a bit odd that a film as apparently (relatively) “lightweight” as Gangster VIP should have evidently become such a rage in Japan at the time of its release, but the film combines a number of compelling (and at times downright odd) genre tropes (not necessarily limited to the gangster idiom) that make it a uniquely satisfying viewing experience.

Note: Our scoring system can be a little frustrating at times, especially when dealing with a franchise like this. I'm rating the two first films at 3.5 overall, though I would give this a 3.75 and the second a 3.25 if I were able to.

Gangster VIP Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gangster VIP is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. All six films in the Outlaw Gangster VIP franchise share some common characteristics, and so I will be offering some general assessments that pertain to the series as a whole before moving on to more specific comments about this particular film. Arrow's brief comments on the provenance of the elements utilized for these transfers mentions only that "The Outlaw Gangster VIP series was transferred from original preservation film elements by Nikkatsu Studios in Japan. All six films were delivered to Arrow Films as remastered files." This unfortunately doesn't really provide a lot of information, and it's my assumption that at least some of these may have been transferred from secondary sources like prints rather than IPs or negatives. Several of the films have recurrent brightness and contrast fluctuations which are quite noticeable and create a kind of slow motion quasi-flicker, with clear gradations in tones especially visible in darker moments. While elements show various signs of wear and tear, and feature slight fading which tends to skew flesh tones toward the brown side of things, palettes are overall quite convincing and robust, especially when it comes to aspects like the bright red blood that flows so ubiquitously in each of the entries.

Gangster VIP's opening moments are a little rough looking, and its Nikkatsu banner is noticeably more age damaged than several others in the series. Detail is variable here, tending to pop best in close-ups, as should be expected. The palette is just slightly pallid looking at times, perhaps exacerbated by a slightly over bright appearance. Still, colors pop quite well when bright primaries are in play. Grain resolves naturally and affords the viewing experience a nicely organic quality. Contrast is generally stronger than in some of the other films in the set, and there are not the prevalent brightness and contrast fluctuations that occur in some other films.

Gangster VIP Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

All six films in this set feature uncompressed LPCM Mono tracks in the original Japanese. None of the films is going to set audiophiles' hearts on fire, but with occasional exceptions (Black Dagger being the most noticeable one), there are few real problems with distortion or other age related issues. The films' dialogue and effects are typically rendered with decent force and fidelity, and the fun scores also sound decent, if narrow. Black Dagger receives the lowest audio score of any film in this set due to some distortion that's evident, most noticeably when music is playing.

Gangster VIP Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary is by Jasper Sharp.


• Trailer (1080p; 3:09)


• Gallery (1080p)

Gangster VIP Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gangster VIP probably seemed a good deal "grittier" back in 1968 than it does today, but it still is a slam bang introduction to a fascinating character, and it's easy to see why Goro became such a popular figure in Japanese filmdom, albeit for a relatively short span of time. This first entry sets up a number of tropes which the sequels follow to a tee, for better or worse. Technical merits have occasional problems, but are generally very good. Recommended.