Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Graveyard of Honor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 23, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of Graveyards of Honor.

There have been all sorts of remakes through the years, ranging from the slavishly duplicative (as — at least in theory — Psycho and Psycho) to the other side of the spectrum, where two properties may indeed share the same name and even the same source, but which may otherwise differ rather radically. That’s probably the case with regard to Kinji Fukasaku’s Graveyard of Honor from 1975 and Takashi Miike’s Graveyard of Honor from 2002. Both films are ostensibly culled from a novel by a real life yakuza named Gorô Fujita, though I haven’t been able to authoritatively determine whether he’s the same Gorô Fujita who was evidently a 19th century samurai also known as Saitō Hajime (all of the online biographical data I’ve been able to find about this particular person does not mention any writing having been done by him, and this individual seems to have been a policeman rather than a member of the yakuza). One way or the other, the Gorô Fujita who was a writer was also responsible for the source material that became Gangster VIP , and the fact that both that film and the Kinji Fukasaku version of Graveyard of Honor star Tetsuya Watari playing roles that are at least somewhat similar, may tend to link the two films together for some fans. The Miike film, like so many by this provocative Japanese auteur, is decidedly more sui generis despite having ostensible links to both the source material and the prior film.

The fact that Takashi Miike is not remaking the Kinji Fukasaku film from 1975 might be indicated as well by the fact that the main character here is called Rikuo Ishimatsu (Gorô Kishitani) as by anything else, though anyone who has seen both "versions" of the same supposed story will no doubt agree that the differences hardly stop there. This is a typically manic Miike gangster offering, which might subliminally link it to the Fukasaku film, since Fukasaku himself employs all sorts of chaotic stylistic and even narrative techniques that almost presage Miike. But the story here is often manifestly different, including the almost completely random way that this particular focal character becomes subsumed in a yakuza "career" (this particular sequence features a cameo by Miike) .

While this focal character is as self destructive as the one in the 1975 film, and in fact engages in some of the same reprehensible behavior, Miike seems to be weaving what is almost more of an allegory here, with Ishimatsu standing in for a corrupt and ultimately spiritually, morally (and financially) bankrupt Japan itself. If there's a probably undeniably "meta" aspect to Miike's reimagining of the source material, though, that certainly doesn't keep him from graphically (and in some cases very graphically) depicting the violence of the yakuza. Miike rather provocatively "revisits" some of the ideas of the Fukasaku film, including the handwriting seen on Ishikawa's cell as the 1975 film ends.

Graveyard of Honor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Graveyard of Honor is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following pretty generic verbiage on the transfer:

Graveyard of Honor / Shin Jingi no hakaba (2002) is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo sound. The High Definition master was produced and supplied by Kadakowa.

While this is often a pretty gritty looking presentation in a conceit which is perhaps meant to subliminally evoke the appearance of Fukasaku's 1975 version, detail levels are typically quite impressive and the palette is very well saturated, especially in terms of some of the reds (there's a lot of blood in this film, probably unsurprisingly). There are some noticeable variances in clarity and fine detail levels when Miike ventures out into the streets for what was apparently some "candid camera" footage of things like a bloody Ishimatsu stumbling through crowded urban environments (with, kind of hilariously, nobody really paying much attention to him). I noticed no compression anomalies and no signs of digital tweaks.

Graveyard of Honor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Graveyard of Honor features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that offers nice support for the film's dialogue, effects like gunfire and a kind of doleful, jazz inflected score that features elements like muted trumpet. The sound design here is a little bit more cacophonous than the 1975 film (which is certainly energetic in its own way), and this stereo track offers some nice width and impressive dynamic range. Optional English subtitles are available.

Graveyard of Honor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Tom Mes


• Men of Violence: The Male Driving Forces in Takashi Miike's Cinema (1080p; 23:46) is a visual essay by Kat Ellinger exploring some recurring themes and presentational aspects in the films of Miike.


• Interview Special (1080i; 17:59) is an archival piece with Takashi Miike and cast members Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Making of Featurette (1080i; 8:02) is another archival piece kind of humorously titled Team Miike on Fire!. There's some fun candid footage offered. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Making of Teaser (1080i; 2:14)


• Press Conference (1080i; 4:17) features an archival Q & A from 2002 with Takashi Miike and cast members Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori. Miiki is on record here stating he didn't indulge in a traditional remake, and instead is offering a "brother" of the original film, and that each need to be appreciated on their own merits. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Premiere Special (1080i;4:03) is another archival piece with Takashi Miike, Goro Kishitani and Narimi Arimori. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 1:39)


• Image Gallery (1080p; 00:50)

Graveyard of Honor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While this is certainly a rather riveting film in its own right, it's perhaps especially interesting to see it as part of a double feature with the 1975 outing. Miike toys with the source material, and the Fukasaku version itself, almost like a cat toying with a mouse, before, in typical Miike fashion, slashing it to bits in a pique of violence. Maybe just a little surprisingly, there's arguably even more of a tragic feeling to this version than in the already troubling Fukasaku version. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Recommended.