Japan's Top Gangster

1973 1h 42m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

ActionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ken Takakura
Kazuo Taoka
Tetsuro Tamba
Noboru Yamaguchi
Bunta Sugawara
Hachiro Daicho
Kunie Tanaka
Kyōsuke Machida
Rinichi Yamamoto
Kayo Matsuo
Hiroko Sakuramachi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kōsaku Yamashita
Writers: Akira Murao
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Yamaguchi Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Chūji Kinoshita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Shintarō Miyamoto shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ken Takakura and Tetsuro Tamba and Bunta Sugawara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070936 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kōsaku Yamashita directs. Chūji Kinoshita scores. Shintarō Miyamoto cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Yamaguchi Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Original score by Chūji Kinoshita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Shintarō Miyamoto shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ken Takakura and Tetsuro Tamba and Bunta Sugawara carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0070936 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Original score: Chūji Kinoshita
Editing: Shintarō Miyamoto
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: Japan's Top Gangster (1973)

Part of

Yamaguchi Gang Collection

An unfinished trilogy of jitsuroku yakuza films produced by Toei about the Yamaguchi Gang, starring Ken Takakura as Kazuo Taoka. After the first and second entries ("Japan's Top Gangster" and "Third Generation Boss") and a spin-off starring Bunta Sugawara ("The Tattooed Hitman"), the series was cancelled due to political pressure, and the planned third entry was reworked into a standalone ninkyo film ("Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack").