Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Violent Streets Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2023

Hideo Gosha's "Violent Streets" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Tomoe Gosha; exclusive new video essay by critic and author Patrick Macias; and restored vintage trailer. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".

It is very tempting to compare Hideo Gosha to Jose Giovanni. Even though these men lived in countries that were thousands of miles away from each other and never met, it seems like they spent most of their time visiting the same place, hanging around the same people, trying to make the same films. Gosha never served a lengthy prison sentence like Giovanni, but he was arrested several times, so he knew what it felt like to break the law and face the consequences of his actions.

Gosha and Giovanni consulted and cast some real criminals in their films, too. Gosha frequently mingled with various yakuza gangsters and considered some of them close friends. Giovanni, who was a convicted criminal, knew all kinds of different shady characters, which is why for a while he was an invaluable source of information for anyone who wanted to make a legit crime film in France. Cult classics like The Hole, The Big Risk, and Second Wind were all done with contributions from Giovanni. He made sure that the criminals in them looked, behaved, and sounded as they should. He even introduced real criminals to the directors of these films and convinced them to step in front of their cameras.

The main protagonist of Gosha’s Violent Streets is a former yakuza boss named Egawa and is played by a former yakuza boss named Noboru Ando. Egawa runs a small but posh nightclub somewhere in the heart of Tokyo that has been given to him as a gift for his loyalty to a prominent crime family that controls most of the city. A few of Egawa’s most trusted men still gravitate around him, but he no longer needs their expertise and treats them only as old and dear friends. Their violent way of life, Egawa tells them, is over.

However, several unexpected developments force Egawa to reconsider his statement. Egawa is paid a visit by Yazaki (Akira Kobayashi), an executioner for his former employer, and told that he will have to give back the nightclub because the business districts of the city are being redrawn. Then a popular female singer is kidnapped and rumors spread that Egawa, or someone close to him, is trying to start a gang war to reset the balance of power in the city.

Violent Streets has an uncompromising style that instantly transforms it into an adult crime film, but there is quite a bit of exotic footage as well that makes it a wild genre film, too. As odd as it may sound, however, this is probably the only way to shoot an authentic film about yakuza gangsters -- by blending macho posturing, frequently absurd behavior, and over-the-top violence.

This is why the casting of Ando was of paramount importance. In front of Gosha’s camera, without even trying, this former yakuza boss looks one hundred percent legit. In fact, what is quite interesting about his performance is that he is most impressive when he simply looks at Gosha’s camera and remains silent. His eyes ooze pure machismo that produces static in the air and demands respect. The authentic deep scar on his face then provides the type of exclamation point that only a fool would misjudge or ignore. In the real world, this is precisely the type of guy that one should not mess with because he has undoubtedly hurt many who have underestimated him and almost certainly killed.

The final third of the film provides virtually all the material proving that Gosha and Giovanni had an identical understanding of criminals and crime. Here Gosha restates the old truth that a loyal criminal is a vulnerable criminal and therefore doomed. This truth routinely reappears in Giovanni’s films too, though its emergence usually occurs in a more practical environment.

*If the story and style of Gosha's Violent Streets appeals to you, consider spending a night with Yasuharu Hasebe's Bloody Territories.

Violent Streets Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Violent Streets arrives on Blu-ray couryesy of Film Movement.

I found the technical presentation of Violent Streets frustrating. The release introduces a recent 2K restoration of the film, which I think is quite nice, but either the master that was supplied to Film Movement was not properly finalized or the label's encoder made an error when the Blu-ray disc was finalized. Why? Because on the current presentation, the gamma levels are off. In darker areas, gray becomes quite prominent and various darker nuances are not balanced properly. I was able to make some adjustments on my system to offset the impact of the issue, but this is something that easily could have been avoided. The rest looks either very good or great. Delneaiton, clarity, and depth are very pleasing. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. I think that color balance is managed very well, too. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Violent Streets Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

In select areas, the audio sounded a bit thin. I even detect light buzz in the upper register. I assume that the existing materials for Violent Streets have not aged particularly well and these are inherited limitations because elsewhere clarity, sharpness, and stability are very good. While impossible to describe as excellent, dynamic intensity is good as I expected it to be, too. The English translation isterrific.

Violent Streets Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tattooed Director: Hideo Gosha - in this exclusive new program, Tomoe Gosha, daughter of director Hideo Gosha, discusses her father's most unusual life -- highlighting some fascinating details about his friendship with real yakuza gangsters and troubles with the law -- the evolution of his career and specially his fondenss of yakuza films, his notorious rivalry with Kinji Fukasaku, the production of Violent Streets, and the film's tremendous style. Also, there are some very interesting comments about Gosha's professional relationship with actor Noboru Andon, a former yakuza boss, and the massive tattoos the director had all over his body. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (20 min).

• A Street That Can't Be Beat - presented here is an exclusive new video essay on Hideo Gosha's Violent Streets prepared by critic and author Patrick Macias (TokyoScope). In Japanese, with English subtitles. (10 min).

• Booklet - a 16-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Japanese film expert and author Mark Schilling as well as technical credits.

• Trailer - presented here is a newly restored original trailer for Violent Streets. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (2 min).

Violent Streets Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hideo Gosha made only a couple of gangster films, which is unfortunate because I think that they are far more impressive than his samurai films. For my money, Gosha and Noboru Ando, a former yakuza boss-turned-actor, are an unbeatable team, so I consider Violent Streets to be a minor masterpiece. This recent release from Film Movement introduces a very nice 2K restoration of Violent Streets, but its technical presentation could have been more convincing. It also has an outstanding new program with Tomoe Gosha, daughter of the late director. RECOMMENDED.