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Graveyard of Honor (2002)
There are very few if any genre film makers out there that put out as much material as Japanese director Takashi Miike. In 2002 the year "Graveyard of Honor" was made, the man made 8 feature films. There is nobody that is matching the output of him, especially on a level of making feature films. But the thing about Miike is that no matter how many movies he makes, he still manages to stay on the cutting edge of genre film making. He's a very good director on top of the fact that he's extremely versatile. He's made everything from dark comedy, horror, exploitation, and is known to make a Yakuza movie here and there. So not only is he turning out a lot of stuff, but he's turning out a lot of different stuff in the process.
"Graveyard of Honor" is the story of Rikuo, a dishwasher who unbeknownst to him, saves the life of a very important Yakuza boss. He then rises to power within the gang and starts to unleash a world of hurt on all of those who oppose him. With reckless abandon he manages to take out anyone in his or him family's way landing him in a five year prison sentence. Once released from jail and expecting to rejoin his gang of criminals all is changed when Rikuo's demons get the best of him. Bloody, brutal, and unrelenting "Graveyard of Honor" is a true life tale of loyalty, murder, and retribution.
Prior to watching "Graveyard of Honor" I had been unimpressed with the Yakuza films of Miike that I've seen. Not that they weren't good or anything, but they hardly had the impact on me as his crime films did. But I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with this one. I got a vibe during the movie that Miike was making a film that closely resembled the films of Spike Lee to me, although the subject matter is glaringly different. What I'm talking about are all of the quiet settings with the usage of jazz music to be the easel that the painter is creating his art around. This sets the stage for the scenes and even though it doesn't match up to the mood in a lot of the scenes it manages to give a surreal style to the film. It's an interesting technique by Miike and I thought that it made the movie something different as well.
Also the thing that I got from the film was the usage of the settings that they were in. Although it's pretty clear that the movie was shot in Japan it still has a New York city feel to it. It's kind of hard for me to explain but very much like New York is used as the backdrop for films like "Taxi Driver" and "The Warriors", Japan as used as a character in itself in the movie. That was one of the first times I remember watching a movie from Japan and thinking that way from start to finish. It certainly helps to get into the flow of the movie and gives it a backdrop that adds to the charisma aspect that the film has within itself.
Overall I would think that Miike's fans would be very welcome to checking out "Graveyard of Honor". Personally I think people who are fans of Yakuza and Mafia stories in general would get something out of it. I really enjoyed the movie and it was probably my favorite Yakuza film that I have ever seen Miike do. It's well made, has a very unique and interesting story, and it'll be one that will keep you thinking.
Also Animeigo has really done a great job with this 2-disc DVD set as it comes complete with a second disc that's jam packed with extras. You have a section for all kinds of production notes on there such as Program Notes, a Takashi Miike bio, Notes on the Yakuza, and a few notes about the original Graveyard of Honor (this was a remake by the way) from 1975. It also contains trailers for movies like "Graveyard of Honor", "Big Bang Love, Juvenile A", "Shinobi No Mono", "The Trail of Blood", and "Shogun Assassin". You also get a few featurettes on there such as an 18 minute one containing cast interviews, a 8 minute making of, a 2 minute making of teaser, 4 minutes of press release interviews, a 4 minute premiere special, as well as a loaded up photo gallery. So what it comes down to is another great release from Animeigo as well as a loaded up DVD that Miike fans won't wanna pass up.
Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
