Review of Cops vs Thugs

Introduction

Having made films with criminal elements to them, it was only a matter of time before Japanese director Kinji Kukasaku would turn his attentions to the other side of the law, the police.

Bunta Sugawara plays the lead cop in what is a reversal against type. If you saw Street Mobster you`ll recognise him as the central figure in that film, an amoral hoodlum. Here he mixes in with the Yakuza and helps them get things done moreso than enforcing the law. There`s a blurring of the lines and loyalties get tested right through to the end.

Video

Presented with a 2.25:1 anamorphic transfer, the quality isn`t very good. I suspect the source print was just too knackered to restore without considerable expense. There`s a fair amount of grain and dirt with the muted 1970s palette. Depite the low quality of the film, I have to say that it does lend an air of brutality to the proceedings. It`s raw and very much in your face adding realism to the story, so it works in favour of the film.

Audio

Just a mono Japanese Dolby Digital soundtrack. It sounds clear for the most part, but sometimes the screaming and gun shots can sound a little harsh.

Features

Easy to navigate static menus with a sax solo playing over the top. Just a couple of extras here:

• Director`s Profile (static pages)- This seems to be the stock bio that`s been added to other Eureka/Fukasaku DVDs. The filmography runs from Furaibo Tantei: Akai Tan No Sangeki (1961) through to Battle Royale (2000). If you`ve already read it once on other Fukusaku DVDs, you`re not going to gleen anything new from here.

• Photo Gallery - Just 10 black & white stills taken from the film. Since there`s no likelihood of any other Cops vs Thugs extra anywhere, a photo gallery isn`t a bad idea. But why just take stills from the film itself? There`s nothing really dramatic or stylish about it. It`s plain average.

Conclusion

Versus in this title is more of a comparison rather than one against the other. The picture painted here is the comparison of cops against thugs and it`s surprising how few differences there actually are. Good versus bad is evidently borderline and seeing it portrayed here on this level is rarely done at all in film. There`s the notion that the Yakuza are honourable, in fact that most Japanese are honourable, and here Fukasaku shatters that illusion, as he has done with other films such as Street Mobster and Graveyard of Honour.

Seeing cops hanging out with the bad guys like they`re all mates is a confusing element to start with but you get used to it. With the exception of a few, they`re all at it! Fukasaku`s camera style plays its part here with the camera being held in all manner of angles as the action flows and suddenly freezes, disorienting us as we go along and it still works well.

Cops vs Thugs is gritty and sometimes shocking too by virtue of the level of violence. There aren`t any characters to side with or root for and you`re sometimes left wondering where the `good` in people might stem from. As a result of this the story takes a tragic turn at the end and it`s a shame things go the way they go, but you understand why and can accept it. There`s little to tell apart the cops from the brutes and the law counts for little if anything.

Another fine example of social commentary by Japanese director, Kinji Fukasaku (The Yakuza Papers, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Graveyard of Honor, The Geisha House and Battle Royale). If you`ve seen Graveyard of Honour or indeed any of the Battle series of films, then you`ll be used to his style of composition and pace setting. It`s no different here; it`s just as unnerving, relentless and graphic as ever. It`s a shame there aren`t any new extras worth seeing but seeing as this film is quite old now and it`s going cheap it doesn`t really matter. Worth seeing at least twice!