Sympathy for the Underdog (1971): B-

Freshly-out-of-prison Yakuza boss Gunji (Kôji Tsuruta) seeks to rebuild his organization in Okinawa, where some opportunity for growth still remains. Will the arrival of an old adversarial family complicate an already difficult situation? You know it will. Everyone’s talking about guts in this thing, and our protagonist has’em to spare. His unflappable demeanor and cold confidence regardless of the circumstances is both exciting and anxiety inducing. The popping jazzy soundtrack and stylish direction by Kinji Fukasaku presents this dangerous criminal underworld in a hip little package. Loved Tomisaburô Wakayama as Yonabaru, the brutish one-armed gangster. Worth a watch for sure.

 Michael Seymour Blake, Guest Contributor