Sympathy for the Underdog (1971) User Reviews

Yakuza masterpiece with spirit of Samurai cinema

[aleksandarsarkic · 8/10 · 19 December 2015]

Sympathy For The Underdog was second movie i have watched from legendary director Kinji Fukasaku, first was Street Mobster, which is brilliant movie but this is a real masterpiece of yakuza cinema, everything is good from characters, plot, location, action. Koji Tsuruta is just amazing in a role of boss Masuo Ganji, one of the best acting i have seen in Japanese cinema, other actors are also great especially Tomisaburo Wakayama as a Okinawan boss, just his looks are enough to become your favorite character in the movie. This movie was definitely one of the biggest influences on Kitano's Sonatine, the story is very similliar, the location is similliar, Sonatine is excellent movie but i must admit this one is really a classic, the reason why i say in the summary " with the spirit of samurai cinema ", i saw some similarities with 7 samurais, the main boss Koji Tsuruta gathered different people around him in his gang, there were 7 of them like in a Kurosawa's classic, this was not a minus for me just plus, Fukasaku really goes deep to every character like Kurosawa in his movie. This movie is real gem and everyone who loves Yakuza movies and Japanese cinema in general must watch this.

my grade: 8.5/10

Fukasaku fires on all cylinders

[chaos-rampant · 8 June 2008]

Two years after Japanese Organized Crime Boss, the great Japanese director teams up Koji Tsuruta and Tomisaburo Wakayama once again for one more stab (pun intended) at the yakuza genre.

Apart from the collaboration of these two great actors, Sympathy for the Underdog shares many similarities in terms of themes and plot points with their earlier 1969 picture, so much so that Sympathy could be interpreted as a reimagining of the same story.

Koji Tsuruta is the cool underboss of a Yokohama family that gets out of prison after doing a 10 year stint for killing the boss of a rival family in retribution. The family he left behind has now scattered and their earlier allies are now running the show. Realizing there's no more room for them in Yokohama, they'll travel down south to Okinawa to set up their turf, much to the dismay of the local yakuzas.

As one would expect from a Fukasaku picture, it's packed with more bloody action, fistfights and shootouts in seedy bars and back-alleys than you could shake a stick at. But it also has an emotional core by using the familiar genre distinction of traditional old yakuzas that have no place in the new emerging world of new yakuza families that operate much like corporations and who put profit above loyalties and bonds. It's also important to notice that certain things that pass off as novelty these days are anything but. The roots of Guy Ritchie's style for example can be traced back to pictures like this one. Flashbacks that end with freeze frames, voice-over played over montages, it's all part of Fukasaku's visual arsenal and part of what makes him such an influential director.

Like I said above, Sympathy is very similar (at times identical) to the themes and plot points of Japanese Organized Crime Boss. From Tsuruta getting out of prison to find his family in shambles to Tomisaburo Wakayama's character starting out as the antagonist only to join Tsuruta and his gang out of respect for him to the ending, it's all very familiar. It might not win any accolades in terms of novelty, but it's still a fine picture and damn entertaining to boot. Lone Wolf and Cub fans in particular will get a kick out of the character Wakayama plays: Yonabal, the one-hand giant. He's a different kind of badass than Ogami Itto, but he and his band of hooligans are just as likely to raise hell and take no prisoners in the process.

Good cinematography, although sometimes the camera-work got in my nerves what with the cranky 180 degrees shots and overuse of the zoom lens, although that's to be expected from a 70's b-movie. The score is suitably jazzy, in occasion funky or eerie and compliments the action just as well. The opening shot of Tsuruta getting out of prison has a particular "cool" air to it.

All in all a must-see for Fukasaku and yakuza fans and a good entry point for newcomes. All the staples of a successful genre picture are here.

Brilliant Fukasaku yakuza picture which clearly inspired....

[FrankieDees · 9/10 · 15 July 2005]

need I say it?...Tarantino. Kinji Fukasaku in my opinion inspired Tarantino more than any other filmmaker; De Palma, Scorsese, Suzuki among them. The dialog beats, the action beats, even the music seems all vaguely familiar to Tarantino's filmography. Fukasaku is THE yakuza director. While I'm sure most yakuza fans will opt for Seijun Suzuki who came first and who, no doubt, inspired Fukasaku, I compare it to Ford vs. Kurosawa. Ford clearly inspired Kurosawa but Kurosawa took these inspirations and combined them with his own sensibilities to make something truly unique. The same goes for Suzuki and Fukasaku. Watch this and the Yakuza Papers films which are sold together in a great box set and tell me this guy isn't the best. The narrative of Sympathy is not particularly original, it's the age-old small gang vs. big gang which can be seen in this all the way to the recent Miike films. What makes this special is the feeling of the film. The dialog, acting, music, cinematography, style all combine for an unforgettable visceral experience. It's impossible to watch this film and not be drawn in by Koji Tsuruta's performance as the ultimate bad-ass. Fukasaka is also the same man that made the ridiculously entertaining and witty Battle Royale and who died in the middle of Battle Royale II in which his son took over. Home Vision Entertainment did a great job on this DVD and I recommend any yakuza or action fan pick this up immediately.

This movie inspired film decades later!

[greenwolf777 · 10/10 · 17 February 2007]

I just watched this movie and have to agree with Frankie (another movie reviewer here), it more than anything inspired Tarantino. The pacing of the movie, the sense of "coolnes" that permeates the film, the genre, everything about this film influenced gangster films for decades to come. There is the argument however, that Tarantino is derivative and irrelevant, but people see his movies and enjoy them. Even without the knowledge of his inspiration, which is varied, you can't help but like his films.

But about this movie:

It's about a gangster who gets out of prison and strikes up a plan to take over a city in Okinawa with the remnants of his previous gang. Unfortunately, they've never been to Okinawa, and the natives are tougher than they look.

Lots of quick edits, freeze frames and groovy hippie music (with a surf beat) provide the kitsch factor.

Highly recommended!!!

The Wild Bunch in Okinawa

[searchanddestroy-1 · 10/10 · 18 February 2018]

How not to think about Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece when you seee this tremendous Japanese depserate crime movie, very bloody, brutal, sometimes cheesy, I admit, but unforgettable for me. The ending is a homage to WILD BUNCH of course, and also SEVEN SAMURAIS as well. Koji Tsuruta and Noburu Ando carry the film on their shoulders, they are here at their peak, in such Melvillian - Jean-Pierre Melville - characters relationship. Only characters and not the graphic violence which the Rue Jenner studios master street would have certainly not approved. Don't miss this Kinji Fukasaku movie.

So who do you root for in this film?

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 27 May 2011]

A yakuza thug gets out of prison after ten years. It seems that while he was incarcerated his entire gang was broken up and a newer and tougher one has taken its place (Daitokai). As a result, they have no territory and decide to relocate to Okinawa where they think it will be a lot easier to establish a base of operations. All they need to do is defeat the much smaller and weaker gangs of this southernmost Japanese island. Well, it's no so simple--as the local gangs aren't about to just surrender to the new blood from the mainland. So an all-out war between the gangs develops--with LOTS of killing and posturing. But, when Daitokai now appears in Okinawa, what are they to do? There is no place else to go.

The problem I had with this film is that I really had a hard time caring for who won--after all, they all were bad and you really didn't have a lot of connection to them. They all just seemed like nameless gangsters and nothing more. As a result, although the film is well made, it doesn't have a lot of depth or lasting value. The end, incidentally, is pretty ridiculous. Watchable but that's not enough.

By the way, if you look carefully, at the 73 minute mark, you can see the OTHER arm belonging to the one-armed guy! yes, it's hiding under his coat and the editor must have missed this brief glimpse.

Brand new to the genre

[foal · 10 February 2005]

This film was sitting among the "New Releases" at the videostore. Got it, watched it, liked it. Also seen enough to suit my taste. Don't need to get into Yakuza (Japanese organized crime) films along with everything else in life. BUT Sympathy for the Underdog is very good movie making and I feel fortunate for having happened on to it.

If Yakuza films are anything like their predecessors, Samurai movies, the genre is huge and varied. In this one from 1971, director Kinji Fukusaki tells the story of a Yakuza boss getting out of jail. All his trappings of power are gone. All he's got are his brains and some very loyal friends.

Among the Extras on the DVD I rented, there are excerpts of an interview with the Director's biographer, a man named Sadao Yamane. It's a very informative interview, where he explains the rise of the organized crime genre. Post World War II Japan began in chaos. Those who could leave the past behind and exploit the present tense could rise to power. The protagonist of Sympathy for the Underdog had been there, done that. Now he has to do it all over again.

While the genre must be very formulaic, there's got to be room for fresh takes. Fukusaku's s style consists of quick takes: the dialogue is curt, information is conveyed in a multimedia of ways; the editing is very tight. And then came a big surprise for me. Towards the end, a moment of genuine tenderness poetically expressed. That's when I heard the quality of writing in this film.

So let's just say Sympathy for the Underdog helped define the art of its type. If you like movies about the world of men, this one's well worth watching.