(no subject)
For Bryan again, albeit unfinished.
Professor Nogueira
December 16, 2005
Final Film Paper
Imagine some of the most prevalent archetypes found in American film; the dime a dozen turnouts of modern action films, the to-cool-for-school loners of the mid-century westerns and the over-the-top gore fest that many low budget independent films use for shock value. These Western film staples actually have Eastern roots. From the directing and production talents of Seijun Suzuki, Takashi Miike, Koji Shundo and many more, the Yakuza, or Japanese Gangster genre, has had a strong impact on filmmaking at large with little recognition in return. Only in recent history has the Yakuza genre broken into the ranks of world cinema, due to high profile directors such as Quentin Tarantino openly borrowing from the classics of the genre and Japanese gems like Takeshi Kitano making the move to Hollywood. Also, the surge in film festivals across the United States has given the American audience the inside track to finding the modern masterpieces that remain in Japan. Despite the current acclaim the genre is receiving, it wasn’t always this lucrative. It reached numerous periods of stagnation, causing a decline in revenue and ending with many studios deciding to shelve the genre in favor of the more successful Samurai films. The genre managed to get through these rough patches and is still around today, in both Japan and in the influence it has had on global film.
Originating during the early Tokugawa period (1600-1867), the yakuza was formed by groups of wandering, jobless samurai called Ronin. As time passed, these ronin broke into two groups: the Bakuto and the Tekiya. The tekiya were peddlers while the bakuto were gamblers. The bakuto were the group that eventually became the modern day yakuza, an organized crime group much like the Mafia. The Yakuza followed a code known as Jingi, which worked much like a warrior code, emphasizing honor and lack of civilian involvement. Many Yakuza even sported vicious tattoos and always conducted their affairs with an aura of poise and calm. This cool attitude contrasted sharply to the sordid state of affairs they were often involved in such as smuggling, illegal gambling and drugs. It was this very mix of honor and brutal violence that made the for such and endearing film genre. (Schilling 20-21)
The very beginning of the Yakuza film genre was simple enough. Most of the films were based off of the exploits of real life Yakuza bosses that operated during the Tokugawa period. They often ran as serials, with multiple films centered on a central character who was involved in new situations each film. The most notable figure during this time was Kunisada Chuji (1810-1850), a former Yakuza boss that acted much like Robin Hood figure, fighting against rich landowners and distributing money to the poor. Many films were made about him as he was an appealing hero that the audience could relate too. Rather then just all out action like most the other Yakuza films of the time, his films focused on the development character, portraying him as a loner type. (Schilling 21-22) While having much in common with the other prevalent Japanese film genre at the time, The Samurai film, it was both of these genres that set up the archetype commonly found in American Westerns, that of the lone gunslinger. Actors like John Wayne epitomized this rough and tumble hero, one that lived for themselves alone but was still a champion to the people. Another similarity that wasn’t a direct result of Yakuza films was the quantity over quality concept that arose within studios. Since the movie business is first and foremost a money-making enterprise, studios realized that they could churn out the same film with the same hero with little effort and the audience would still come to see it. This same technique still exists today in the form of modern action films. Studios will rehash actors in the same or similar roles and throw in some popular music mixed with big explosions and still take in more money then it cost to make it.
Yakuza films experienced this steady, if a bit basic, run up until World War II. Due to the ill repute and activities commonly associated with the Yakuza, they were considered to be a bad influence on the morals of the Japanese citizen and did not make the cut during the wartime propaganda film sweep. By the time the war was over Yakuza films were once again a viable genre, the studios had found that the general theater going audience had grown tired of the feudalistic background used in the films based off of the Tokugawa era Heroes. Studios then made the switch to grittier, modern day Yakuza style films. As the films moved from the 50’s to the 60’s the genre began its golden age.
The genre started to receive artistic as well commercial merit thanks to a prevalent sub-genre that focused on the them of Giri-Ninjo, “The dilemma of the hero forced to choose between his own interests and an obligation that may cost him his life.” (Schilling 23) This allowed for stronger character development and it also touched on key social issues of the time. It was from this platform that the studio, Toei, was able to build off of to gain a strong hold on the Yakuza genre. It was not thanks to a single director or actor but mostly due to the work of producer Koji Shundo that allowed this to happen. Shundo had a keen eye for what worked and what didn’t and was always personally involved in each of the films he worked on. He was also responsible for nurturing some the premier talent to come along at the time, and brought them over to the Toei studio. Other studios at the time, such as Nikkatsu and Daiei maintained modest success with the Yakuza genre but it was Toei and Shundo that garnered the success of the powerhouse they had created. (Schilling 23-32)
The genres first notable auteur was Seijun Suzuki, a studio director for Nikkatsu who was known for his visual flair and cool yet brutal characters. In a time when most directors where playing it safe and sticking to honor and code style movies, Suzuki managed to take some of the radical flavor that was prevalent throughout his earlier rebel without a cause type movies and inject it into his later Yakuza films. His most notable work was the 1963 film Yaju No Seisshun (Youth of the Beast). The story was simple enough, following a police man who tries to infiltrate two different Yakuza gangs to find out who killed his partner. The characters and the action however, were not. The loner cop manages to combine the Hollywood Hero with the James Dean Rebel. Not content with just talking his way through situations, he’d barge into rooms with reckless abandon and shoot first and ask questions later. Throughout the whole movie he maintains a stoic demeanor, one that reveals no feelings of guilt or fear, only cocksureness. The villains were just as brutal. One leader talks about how he only uses knives because guns are too easy. In one of the films most startling scenes, we see the same leader whipping a young woman out in the middle of a desert landscape, wind howling and whipping around, with only the whip cracks and the girls screams audible. It was this kind of intense violence, now common in the Yakuza genre that put Suzuki ahead of his time. (Schilling 95-105)
The genre continued it success all the way through the 60’s but began to wane during the 70’s. As the same characters and situations were being used repetitively, the audience started to grow tired of the same movies being made year after year. To combat this, many studios started to make “pinky violence” films in hopes of bringing back their audiences with something new. These films were built off of the works of directors like Suzuki by offering gratuitous violence. They involved numerous female roles and always involved copious amounts of sex, primarily in the form of rape, and violence. This brand of sensationalism brought back the audience for a few more years due to the shock value surrounding it but failed to hold them as the films rarely had any substance.
Professor Nogueira
December 16, 2005
Final Film Paper
Imagine some of the most prevalent archetypes found in American film; the dime a dozen turnouts of modern action films, the to-cool-for-school loners of the mid-century westerns and the over-the-top gore fest that many low budget independent films use for shock value. These Western film staples actually have Eastern roots. From the directing and production talents of Seijun Suzuki, Takashi Miike, Koji Shundo and many more, the Yakuza, or Japanese Gangster genre, has had a strong impact on filmmaking at large with little recognition in return. Only in recent history has the Yakuza genre broken into the ranks of world cinema, due to high profile directors such as Quentin Tarantino openly borrowing from the classics of the genre and Japanese gems like Takeshi Kitano making the move to Hollywood. Also, the surge in film festivals across the United States has given the American audience the inside track to finding the modern masterpieces that remain in Japan. Despite the current acclaim the genre is receiving, it wasn’t always this lucrative. It reached numerous periods of stagnation, causing a decline in revenue and ending with many studios deciding to shelve the genre in favor of the more successful Samurai films. The genre managed to get through these rough patches and is still around today, in both Japan and in the influence it has had on global film.
Originating during the early Tokugawa period (1600-1867), the yakuza was formed by groups of wandering, jobless samurai called Ronin. As time passed, these ronin broke into two groups: the Bakuto and the Tekiya. The tekiya were peddlers while the bakuto were gamblers. The bakuto were the group that eventually became the modern day yakuza, an organized crime group much like the Mafia. The Yakuza followed a code known as Jingi, which worked much like a warrior code, emphasizing honor and lack of civilian involvement. Many Yakuza even sported vicious tattoos and always conducted their affairs with an aura of poise and calm. This cool attitude contrasted sharply to the sordid state of affairs they were often involved in such as smuggling, illegal gambling and drugs. It was this very mix of honor and brutal violence that made the for such and endearing film genre. (Schilling 20-21)
The very beginning of the Yakuza film genre was simple enough. Most of the films were based off of the exploits of real life Yakuza bosses that operated during the Tokugawa period. They often ran as serials, with multiple films centered on a central character who was involved in new situations each film. The most notable figure during this time was Kunisada Chuji (1810-1850), a former Yakuza boss that acted much like Robin Hood figure, fighting against rich landowners and distributing money to the poor. Many films were made about him as he was an appealing hero that the audience could relate too. Rather then just all out action like most the other Yakuza films of the time, his films focused on the development character, portraying him as a loner type. (Schilling 21-22) While having much in common with the other prevalent Japanese film genre at the time, The Samurai film, it was both of these genres that set up the archetype commonly found in American Westerns, that of the lone gunslinger. Actors like John Wayne epitomized this rough and tumble hero, one that lived for themselves alone but was still a champion to the people. Another similarity that wasn’t a direct result of Yakuza films was the quantity over quality concept that arose within studios. Since the movie business is first and foremost a money-making enterprise, studios realized that they could churn out the same film with the same hero with little effort and the audience would still come to see it. This same technique still exists today in the form of modern action films. Studios will rehash actors in the same or similar roles and throw in some popular music mixed with big explosions and still take in more money then it cost to make it.
Yakuza films experienced this steady, if a bit basic, run up until World War II. Due to the ill repute and activities commonly associated with the Yakuza, they were considered to be a bad influence on the morals of the Japanese citizen and did not make the cut during the wartime propaganda film sweep. By the time the war was over Yakuza films were once again a viable genre, the studios had found that the general theater going audience had grown tired of the feudalistic background used in the films based off of the Tokugawa era Heroes. Studios then made the switch to grittier, modern day Yakuza style films. As the films moved from the 50’s to the 60’s the genre began its golden age.
The genre started to receive artistic as well commercial merit thanks to a prevalent sub-genre that focused on the them of Giri-Ninjo, “The dilemma of the hero forced to choose between his own interests and an obligation that may cost him his life.” (Schilling 23) This allowed for stronger character development and it also touched on key social issues of the time. It was from this platform that the studio, Toei, was able to build off of to gain a strong hold on the Yakuza genre. It was not thanks to a single director or actor but mostly due to the work of producer Koji Shundo that allowed this to happen. Shundo had a keen eye for what worked and what didn’t and was always personally involved in each of the films he worked on. He was also responsible for nurturing some the premier talent to come along at the time, and brought them over to the Toei studio. Other studios at the time, such as Nikkatsu and Daiei maintained modest success with the Yakuza genre but it was Toei and Shundo that garnered the success of the powerhouse they had created. (Schilling 23-32)
The genres first notable auteur was Seijun Suzuki, a studio director for Nikkatsu who was known for his visual flair and cool yet brutal characters. In a time when most directors where playing it safe and sticking to honor and code style movies, Suzuki managed to take some of the radical flavor that was prevalent throughout his earlier rebel without a cause type movies and inject it into his later Yakuza films. His most notable work was the 1963 film Yaju No Seisshun (Youth of the Beast). The story was simple enough, following a police man who tries to infiltrate two different Yakuza gangs to find out who killed his partner. The characters and the action however, were not. The loner cop manages to combine the Hollywood Hero with the James Dean Rebel. Not content with just talking his way through situations, he’d barge into rooms with reckless abandon and shoot first and ask questions later. Throughout the whole movie he maintains a stoic demeanor, one that reveals no feelings of guilt or fear, only cocksureness. The villains were just as brutal. One leader talks about how he only uses knives because guns are too easy. In one of the films most startling scenes, we see the same leader whipping a young woman out in the middle of a desert landscape, wind howling and whipping around, with only the whip cracks and the girls screams audible. It was this kind of intense violence, now common in the Yakuza genre that put Suzuki ahead of his time. (Schilling 95-105)
The genre continued it success all the way through the 60’s but began to wane during the 70’s. As the same characters and situations were being used repetitively, the audience started to grow tired of the same movies being made year after year. To combat this, many studios started to make “pinky violence” films in hopes of bringing back their audiences with something new. These films were built off of the works of directors like Suzuki by offering gratuitous violence. They involved numerous female roles and always involved copious amounts of sex, primarily in the form of rape, and violence. This brand of sensationalism brought back the audience for a few more years due to the shock value surrounding it but failed to hold them as the films rarely had any substance.