Yakuza Graveyard (Blu-ray Limited Edition) (Radiance Films) [USA]

lenticularis

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Contributor
Premium Supporter
Jul 15, 2014
4,048
UK
Release date: May 16, 2023
Purchase links: Diabolikdvd - Amazon
Price: $24.99 (Diabolik) - $34.95 (Amazon)
Notes: Limited edition of 3,000 copies - Diabolik release date May 23, 2023

YGbr.PNG
 
Yakuza Graveyard

When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari, Graveyard of Honour). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favour Nishida’s rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, Yakuza Graveyard sees director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honour and Humanity) at the peak of his powers.

Blu-ray Limited Edition Special Features:

  • High-Definition digital transfer
  • Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
  • Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi (2022)
  • The Rage and the Passion – A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku’s collaborations (2022)
  • Gallery of promotional imagery
  • Easter Egg
  • Trailer
  • Newly translated English subtitles
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
  • Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mika Ko on the representations of Koreans in the yakuza film, and newly translated re-prints of a contemporary review and writing by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara
  • Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
An odious architect is beaten to death and a high society wife (Jacqueline Bisset, Day for Night) and her gay friend (Jean-Louis Trintignant, The Conformist) are the key suspects with a discarded letter implicating them in the crime. Commissioner Santamaria (Marcello Mastroianni, Fellini’s 8 ½) is assigned to the case and tries to uncover the murder suspect in upper-class Turin. With a murder mystery narrative worthy of Agatha Christie, The Sunday Woman is also a sharp critique of Turin’s upper crust. The screenplay, by the celebrated duo Age & Scarpelli, famed for their masterpieces in the Commedia all’Italiana boom including Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Organizer, is a whip-smart adaptation of the best-selling novels by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini with the lead character of Santamaria inspired by the real-life head of the Flying Squad. The much-heralded director Luigi Comencini (Misunderstood) often worked in a combination of comedy and drama, finding humour in tragedy, and is only waiting to be rediscovered as a master of post-war Italian cinema.


Limited Edition Special Features:
  • 2K restoration of the film from the original negative, presented in the original 1.33:1 and an alternate 1.85:1 widescreen presentation
  • Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
  • Newly filmed interview with academic and Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer, who looks at The Sunday Woman (2022, 18 mins)
  • Archival interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli who discusses his work on the film (2008, 22 mins)
  • Newly filmed interview with academic and screenwriter Giacomo Scarpelli, who discusses the life and work of his father, Furio Scarpelli and his writing partner Agenore Incrocci (2022, 36 mins)
  • Archival French TV interview with Jean-Louis Trintignant in which the actor discusses The Sunday Woman (1976, 4 mins)
  • Trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
  • Limited edition 24-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mariangela Sansone and a reprint of an archival piece on the film
  • Limited edition of 2000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings