Memorable, crazy movie

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This obscure yakuza flick was released on VHS in 1987 by an outfit called 'Fox Hills Video'. I suppose we should be grateful, because otherwise English speakers would have no way of appreciating Tattooed Hit Man, but it must be said that the folks at Fox Hills did a particularly crummy job. In addition to being horribly pan-and-scanned, the print is compressed in order to squeeze more image into the 1.33:1 box, and the result is ugly to say the least. It's a shame, because Yamaguchi-gumi gaiden: Kyushu shinko-sakusen seems to be an above average piece of hardboiled crime cinema deserving of a much better fate. Yet here we are in 2017, and there's still no DVD or Blu-ray in sight: for those who caught this one in a Times Square grindhouse back in the day, your memories will have to suffice.