So nihilistically over-the-top it almost single-handedly brought about a complete shift in the yakuza genre's outlook, this stunning, ultraviolent work remains infamous both in Japan and abroad. It was voted top film of the year in Japan and heralded by critics as one of the most definitive-for many, the best-yakuza films ever made. Based on the true-life prison memoirs of a Hiroshima gang boss, it moves from documentary footage of the Hiroshima A-bomb explosion straight onto the city's destroyed streets. A demobilized soldier (Bunta Sugawara) rises from callous hood to loyal hit man, continually battling the double crosses of underworld rivals and cohorts alike, and leaving a trail of bodies along the way. Merging an abrupt editing style and frantic hand-held camera work with slum-level social realism, Fukasaku steadfastly refuses to accept the yakuza as either romantic or honorable, revealing instead a desperate, scum-drenched view of capitalist Japan. (JS)