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The Wolves DVD
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Japanese
English
DVD-9
1 - North America
18+
132 min
1971
2.35:1
COLOR
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Hideo Gosha
Hideo Gosha, Kei Tasaka
Kyoko Enami, Noboru Ando, Tatsuya Nakadai
Contains Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations and Language
© 1971 Tokyo Eiga Shinsha

The Yakuza masterpiece by Hideo Gosha, starring Tatsuya Nakadai!

The Emperor has died! Long live the Emperor!

To celebrate the coronation of a new Emperor, a series of pardons release hundreds of Yakuza from jail -- men who, perhaps, would have been better off behind bars. The world they left, defined by a rigid code of honor, is giving way to a new world with a new set of rules -- the ends justify the means.

As one of these men comes to realize how corrupt his world has become, he must decide whether to bend like bamboo and survive, or uphold the old traditions -- and die.

  • Directed by award-winning filmmaker Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast, Samurai Wolf)
  • Starring Tatsuya Nakadai (Ran) leading an all-star cast.
  • Music score by Kurosawa's legendary composer, Masaru Sato (Yojimbo, Throne of Blood).
"...a welcome differentiation from the glorifying images of gangsters in film from both yester-year (made one year before Coppola's original Godfather) and the present" -- DVDTalk
"...Gosha's take on ninkyo stands right up there with the best, and any movie fan should be proud to have this one in their collection" -- Nippon Cinema
"[It] is as if Gosha was personally attacking the traditions of Toho Comany's past, particularly the period films by Kurosawa" -- Coffee, Coffee...
"Add this film to your Japanese film collection at once" -- Cinegeek
"Another aspect of the film that I found interesting was Gosha's reliance on body language, specifically facial expressions" -- CHUD
"Gosha made a number of taut, visually exciting samurai pictures... He uses the same formal excellence and precise editing to show the hero of The Wolves caught between his honorable ideals and the treachery of clan politics" -- DVD Savant
"Gosha's muscular, Expressionist colour imagery blazes through the screen" -- DVD Beaver
"Intelligent, emotional, hard-hitting, and philosophical, if you only see one Yakuza film on DVD this year, The Wolves is an excellent choice" -- DreamLogic
"Japanese star Nakadai brings a noir sensibility to Iwahashi; he's low-key, restrained and out of step with his world" -- Now Toronto
"The film's most bizarre, formalistic touch are a pair of lady assassins who move like delicate Japanese dolls, until they strike with their knives" -- Turner Classic Movies
"The Wolves is considered to be one of the quintessential Japanese gangster films, and I can see why" -- Underland Online
"This movie is beautifully shot and takes full advantage of some wonderful outdoor scenery and locations" -- GutMunchers
"The Wolves stands as a high point in the careers of both its star and its director" -- AV Maniacs