New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Trilogy (1974-1976)

[Akijama]

https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/...593143741341:0

NEW UK/US TITLE: New Battles Without Honour & Humanity (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD) Limited Edition

Making their English-language home video debut in this limited edition set, the New Battles Without Honour and Humanity films are important links between the first half of Fukasaku's career and his later exploration of other genres

Pre-order in the UK: http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/shop/ind...product_id=959
US pre-orders will be live soon!
Release Dates: 17/18 July

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss

In the early 1970s, Kinji Fukasaku's five-film Battles Without Honour and Humanity series was a massive hit in Japan, and kicked off a boom in realistic, modern yakuza films based on true stories. Although Fukasaku had intended to end the series, Toei Studio convinced him to return to the director's chair for this unconnected, follow-up trilogy of films, each starring Battles leading man Bunta Sugawara and telling separate, but fictional stories about the yakuza in different locations in Japan.

In the first film, Bunta Sugawara is Miyoshi, a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir, family member Aoki (Lone Wolf and Cub's Tomisaburo Wakayama) attempts to seize power from the boss, and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honourable way out. In the second entry, The Boss's Head, Sugawara is Kuroda, an itinerant gambler who steps in when a hit by drug-addicted assassin Kusunoki (Tampopo's Tsutomu Yamazaki) goes wrong, and takes the fall on behalf of the Owada family, but when the gang fails to make good on financial promises to him, Kuroda targets the family bosses with a ruthless vengeance. And in Last Days of the Boss, Sugawara plays Nozaki, a labourer who swears allegiance to a sympathetic crime boss, only to find himself elected his successor after the boss is murdered. Restrained by a gang alliance that forbids retributions against high-level members, Nozaki forms a plot to exact revenge on his rivals, but a suspicious relationship with his own sister (Chieko Matsubara from Outlaw: Gangster VIP) taints his relationship with his fellow gang members.

Making their English-language home video debut in this limited edition set, the New Battles Without Honour and Humanity films are important links between the first half of Fukasaku's career and his later exploration of other genres. Each one is also a top-notch crime action thriller: hard-boiled, entertaining, and distinguished by Fukasaku's directorial genius, funky musical scores by composer Toshiaki Tsushima, and the onscreen power of Toei's greatest yakuza movie stars.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition digital transfers of all three films
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
• Original uncompressed mono audio
• New optional English subtitle translation for all three films
• Beyond the Films: New Battles Without Honor and Humanity, a new video appreciation by Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane
• New Stories, New Battles and Closing Stories, two new interviews with screenwriter Koji Takada, about his work on the second and third films in the trilogy
• Original theatrical trailers for all three films
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist
• Illustrated collector’s book featuring new writing on the films, the yakuza genre and Fukasaku's career, by Stephen Sarrazin, Tom Mes, Hayley Scanlon, Chris D. and Marc Walkow

[themp3000]

This made me all kinds of happy and weak in the knees. Super excited for this one and nice to see this box will match the color scheme and theme as the other box.

[Jr7936]

i also have a feeling that this set won't stay in stock for long based on the 1st set

[DukeTogo84]

This is probably the best news of the year for me in terms of blu-ray releases. I have been waiting years for this to happen and had pretty much given up all hope years ago that there would ever be a PROPER western release of these films. Lo and behold it finally happened! Arrow has made me a supporter for life. God damn this is good news!

Also, Akijama. You beat me to the punch in creating a topic, but how were you able to bring the picture from FB to to this website. I was having a hard time figuring out how to do that, which is why I wasn't able to create the topic.

[willtopower]

At this point I just believe Akijama has magic powers.

[Akijama]

Originally Posted by duketogo84

Also, Akijama. You beat me to the punch in creating a topic, but how were you able to bring the picture from FB to to this website. I was having a hard time figuring out how to do that, which is why I wasn't able to create the topic.

Right click on the picture, and then click on "Copy Image Location", and then paste it into the "insert image" area here. That should do it.

Originally Posted by willtopower

At this point I just believe Akijama has magic powers.

[phate11]

Oh thank God. I thought this was a rerelease of the other box set for a minute... I literally just overpaid for it YESTERDAY. But now, so jacked that it's the rest of the series. Thank you for the news!!

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Right click on the picture, and then click on "Copy Image Location", and then paste it into the "insert image" area here. That should do it.

Awesome. Thanks for that.

Still in state of shock. I've been waiting for this release for so long.

Now to somehow get Criterion to finally release HUNTER IN THE DARK and I can finally be at ease.

[AKNewbie]

Pre-ordered from Arrow. Thanks OP!

[mogwai_macabre]

The first set was a blind buy for me, and I enjoyed them. How does this series stack up to the original?

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by mogwai_macabre

The first set was a blind buy for me, and I enjoyed them. How does this series stack up to the original?

It's all subjective, but I consider these films better than the third, fourth, and fifth films of the Battles Without Honor films. However, some people love the third film of the original films more than the first two, so as I said, it's all subjective. In a nutshell, I like all eight of them.

[MTRodaba2468]

This will go well with the first Arrow box set I own.

[Keyser Soze.]

Day. One. Purchase.

Pre ordered!

[Telstar]

I'm kind of amazed at the lack of reviews of these films on the interweb. Is anyone aware of any reviews of any substance out there?

[Yami]

Unsubtitled trailers from the Toei youtube channel:

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity

新仁義なき戦い(予告編) - YouTube

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Head of the Boss

新仁義なき戦い 組長の首(プレビュー) - YouTube

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss

新仁義なき戦い　組長最後の日(プレビュー) - YouTube

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Telstar

I'm kind of amazed at the lack of reviews of these films on the interweb. Is anyone aware of any reviews of any substance out there?

This is a pretty good review of the first New Battles film.

http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/05/...-humanity.html

[Telstar]

Originally Posted by duketogo84

This is a pretty good review of the first New Battles film.

http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/05/...-humanity.html

Thanks, but that's actually the only review I'd previously been able to find. Weird there seems to be so little writing about these films.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Telstar

I'm kind of amazed at the lack of reviews of these films on the interweb. Is anyone aware of any reviews of any substance out there?

Also, the best review I can give is if you liked the original five, you're probably going to like these. Each one is its own story though and has nothing to do with the previous films.

However, a character from the original five does return in the first New film. A character we love to hate, or simply hate.

[AKNewbie]

Originally Posted by phate11

Diabolik has it listed for $66.99? Plus I paid 14.80 for shipping to Canada. They charge you now, but that's still less than what Amazon has it listed for.

What does ArrowUK charge for shipping to Canada?
They charge $4.49 to US.

From Arrow UK (direct) 45pounds + 3.50pounds shipping to US ~ $62US.
EDIT: OUCH - with pound/CAD$ exchange, this would cost $83CAD
If you order from Arrow, you accumulate "reward points". I had enough to get the set for 25pounds ($32US) shipped.

Agreed. It is always a game with pre-order of Arrow as to what is the best deal (Amazon, AmazonUK, ArrowUK,... throw in Diabolik, DeepDiscount, Zavvi...). Just received Caltiki from AmazonUK, but my copy of Wolf Guy is coming from AmazonUS. When I want to "make sure" that I get a copy of a popular set, I always order from ArrowUK directly.

[DukeTogo84]

I'm sure the price will go down when we get closer to release that. I'd easily pay over a $100 for this set, but that's because I'm a hardcore fan. I would think maybe $50-60 would be a fair price for the set.