Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Tattooed Life Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 17, 2024

Tattooed Life may seem like "just another movie about the yakuza", or at least what commentator William Carroll calls a ninkyo eiga, but it ultimately kind of weirdly morphs into an almost Douglas Sirk-ian type melodrama involving a number of cross relationships between characters. Carroll also helps to contextualize the story with regard to some of the calamitous events in the East in the early twentieth century (the film takes place around 1926), which helps to explain why brothers Tetsu (Hideki Takahashi) and Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto) are focused on escaping to Manchuria after an absolutely breathless opening vignette that sees yakuza member Tetsu take out a nemesis, only to be confronted himself, with younger brother Kenzi stepping in unexpectedly to "save the day". Unfortunately, Kenji's heroics are what put the siblings into peril, necessitating "getting out of Dodge". That particular phrase, which is so often used in descriptions of Westerns, may actually be somewhat apt here as well, as Carroll also draws parallels in this film to the vaunted American genre known familiarly as "oaters", even if the timeframe is "wrong" and the national emphasis obviously quite different.

As Carroll's interesting commentary also addresses, the directorial quirks of Seijun Suzuki are fully on display here (quirks which ended up leading to his dismissal from Nikkatsu not all that long after this film was made), including rather deft introductions of both Tetsu and Kenji. Tetsu is the somewhat feral but still "sensitive" killer type, out to protect and nurture his more artistically inclined younger brother. And in fact Kenji's artistic abilities play rather oddly into plot once the brothers settle uncomfortably into a purgatorial pit stop on their hoped for way to Manchuria where they become day laborers at a potentially dangerous construction site.

What ensues are a number of "star crossed" interactions involving the brothers and women at the site. Kenji obviously unwisely starts to fall for Masayo (Hiroko Itô), the wife of the construction crew's boss, and in fact wants to "honor" her with an artistic rendering of his own design. More sibling intrigue is added to the mix when Masayo's sister Midori (Masako Izumi) develops an interest in Tetsu, whose arm tattoos may give away his "secret identity" as a (former?) yakuza member. Meanwhile, with the murders portrayed in the film's whirlwind opening, the brothers are "wanted" more than just by nearby females.

While probably not as overtly provocative as Branded to Kill , Tattooed Life is kind of subtly subversive in terms of setting up certain "genre expectations", and then marauding through them kind of like a rickshaw rolling over a hapless victim (you'll understand that allusion if you watch the film). The editing in particular is rather fascinating (Carroll points out some nice examples), and helps to propel the story forward even when it admittedly is either trafficking in well worn tropes or kind of giddily approaching gonzo territory (especially in the final act).

Tattooed Life Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tattooed Life is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Radiance's insert booklet offers only the following minimal information on the transfer:

Tattooed Life was transferred in high definition by Nikkatsu Corporation and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file.

I haven't been particularly shy about nitpicking some of the "pre delivered" masters that a number of studios like Toei and Nikkatsu have provided to various labels, but this presentation is often quite stunning, offering a really beautifully suffused palette and some appealing detail levels. There are some very minor image stability issues, as in the opening credits sequence, and occasionally blacks can have a just slightly milky brown look, but on the whole imagery is sharp, clear and generally very well detailed. Reds in particular virtually burst off the screen (a repeated visual trope of some important red shoes plays into the plot, but that's not the only example of that particular hue). Occasional anamorphic oddities can be spotted toward the edges of the frame, but none tend to be as "dramatic" as I've noted in reviews of other Japanese or Chinese productions. Grain resolves without any issues, and any age related wear and tear is minor.

Tattooed Life Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tattooed Life features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original Japanese. This is a generally very nicely full bodied track, one that supports some of the interesting scoring, like the bombastic opening theme with brass and drums (which also features a vocalist), or later ambient environmental effects like torrential rain. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Tattooed Life Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by William Carroll


• Seijun Suzuki (HD; 10:30) is featured in this 2006 interview, advertised here as "newly edited for Radiance Films in 2024". Subtitled in English.
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• Takeo Kimura (HD; 11:36), art director, is similarly featured in a 2006 piece, also newly edited for Radiance. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:05)

Additionally, Radiance provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with new writing by Tom Vick and an archival 1965 review by Tetsuya Fukasawa, along with the typical cast/crew and transfer information. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and Radiance's Obi strip.

Tattooed Life Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's almost a "bait and switch" quality to Tattooed Life where violence almost catapults off the screen as the story opens, but then retreats (at least interstitially) for some more florid melodramatics involving the brothers on the lam and some of their "adventures", romantic or otherwise, as they attempt to find safety. Elements of this story are "tried and true", but the entire emotional context is somewhat unusual, even within the "confines" of a ninkyo eiga. Radiance offers secure technical merits and some appealing supplements. Recommended.