Black Society trilogy
| Black Society trilogy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Takashi Miike |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Starring | Tomorowo Taguchi |
Release dates |
|
| Country | Japan |
| Languages | |
The Kuroshakai trilogy (黒社会三部作, Kuro-shakai Sanbusaku), also known as the Black Society trilogy, is a series of films directed by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike involving Chinese triads and Japanese yakuza.[1]
The series includes three separate films without storyline crossovers, and were each released two years apart between 1995–1999. Tomorowo Taguchi plays a prominent role in all three of the films, albeit as a different character in each.
The term kuro-shakai is a Japanese word literally meaning "black society" or underworld.
Films
| Year | English title | Japanese title | Translation | Screenplay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Shinjuku Triad Society | 新宿 黒社会 チャイナ マフィア 戦争 Shinjuku Kuroshakai: Chaina Mafia Sensō |
Shinjuku Underworld: Chinese Mafia War | Ichirō Fujita |
| 1997 | Rainy Dog | 極道 黒社会 RAINY DOG Gokudō Kuroshakai: Rainy Dog |
Gangster Underworld: Rainy Dog | Seigo Inoue |
| 1999 | Ley Lines | 日本 黒社会 LEY LINES Nihon Kuroshakai: Ley Lines |
Japan Underworld: Ley Lines | Ichiro Ryu |
Reception
Grady Hendrix of The New York Sun, commented on the Trilogy, noting that "the three movies that make up his loosely related Black Society Trilogy are the work of a socially committed, ferociously intelligent director - albeit one who still takes time out from raging against the machine for raunchy sex jokes and blunt-force trauma."[2]
Jasper Sharp of the British Film Institute commented on the series, stating that among Miike's gangster films, the trilogy was "widely seen as among his best" with "Miike’s fast-paced cutting, acutely-developed and innovative mise-en-scène and hyperbolic approach to onscreen violence spring to the fore, although there is plenty more going on beneath the bombastic onscreen onslaught."[3]
References
- ^ Davis, Carl (8 January 2005). "Takashi Miike's Black Society Trilogy". DVD Talk.
- ^ Hendrix, Grady (26 August 2008). "Takashi Miike's Crime Wave". The New York Sun. p. 11.
- ^ Sharp, Jasper (18 January 2017). "10 great Japanese gangster movies". British Film Institute. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
External links
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