Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 29, 2025

Chances are even some diehard fans of Alfred Hitchcock have never even heard of, let alone seen, Hitch's 1929 opus The Manxman. This early sound effort from one of cinema's most celebrated creative forces remains a bit of an outlier in Hitch's filmography, at least when contextualized within his later output, but it was an interesting "slice of life" drama involving fishermen on the Isle of Mann, with nary a murder mystery in sight. At least somewhat similarly, chances are fans of Kinji Fukasaku haven't ever seen Jakoman and Tetsu, a rather fascinating 1964 drama that a bit like The Manxman has a subtext involving fishermen and which also bears the (co) screenwriting imprimatur of none other than Akira Kurosawa.

If a certain socioeconomic element was present in The Manxman, perhaps mostly in the form of a sort of "class conflict" between two men competing for the same woman, it was arguably much less overt than it is in Jakoman and Tetsu. As the introduction by Mark Schilling and the commentary by Jasper Sharp and Tom Mes get into, the film's setting in Japan recovering from the wake of devastation left by World War II is, while perhaps not shoved in the face of the viewer, certainly there for alert eyes to see. It's 1947, and (again as a supplement suggest) somewhat like an American "gold rush" virtually a century earlier, hordes of Japanese men headed to Hokkaido to make their fortune (or at least a living wage) in what was then a huge herring fishery industry (it's evidently almost completely gone these days, sadly).

An aging boss named Kyubei (Isao Yamagata) is putting together that season's cohort of fishermen (the commentary somewhat comically points out the film takes place in winter, not exactly prime fishing season for herring) when he is panicked to hear a guy named Jakoman (Tetsurō Tamba) has shown up in the village. It turns out Kyubei and Jakoman have some "history", and it frankly recasts Kyubei as something of a ne'er-do-well, or at least an elder with extremely poor judgment. If Jakoman is the perceived "villain" of the story, it's rather compelling how the screenplay clearly explicates why Jakoman is on a hunt for vengeance. The sudden arrival of Kyubei's son Tetsu (Ken Takakura) throws everything into even more disarray.

Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jakoman and Tetsu is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. There is no technical information offered on the cover or insert booklet that I could find (somewhat hilariously, the sole real data point, the aspect ratio, is misidentified as 2.35:1). This looks like it was sourced from an occasionally problematic element, as evidenced by a higher than usual number of blemishes and nicks that can be spotted, especially in the early going. The entire transfer is on the dark side, so much so that some of the nighttime or dimly lit material can offer relatively little in the way of general detail levels, let alone fine detail levels. That said, even in some darker moments when Fukasaku and cinematographer Makoto Tsudoi opt for close-ups, detail levels improve noticeably. The more brightly lit outdoor material in particular tends to offer more consistent overall detailing. There's a somewhat curious almost quasi-sepia tone that can be spotted off an on, especially in some of the seaside material, for some reason. Grain can be quite heavy, especially against wintry skies, but doesn't really encounter any resolution issues.

Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jakoman and Tetsu features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original Japanese. Much as with the video side of things, there's a bit of damage that can be heard, as in the rather evocative opening a cappella singing, where astute listeners will be able to discern just a hint of crackle at the highest amplitudes. A few pops and cracks are evident along the way, but there's no major damage to report. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp


• The Ten Million Yen Star (HD; 18:21) is a new introduction to the film by Mark Schilling.


• Stills Gallery (HD; 1:02)

The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a nicely appointed insert booklet with an essay by Chris D.

Jakoman and Tetsu Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For those only acquainted with Fukasaku through later, ostensibly grittier, efforts like Battles Without Honor and Humanity, this film will potentially be something of an eye opener, probably much as with those getting around to The Manxman after having watched later Hitch films. Technical merits are generally solid, but both the commentary and introduction are outstanding. Recommended.