Two years before they collaborated on the immortal Stray Cat Rock series, director Yasuharu Hasebe and soon-to-be-superstar Meiko Kaji teamed up for this potent gangster flick that also stars the great Joe Shishido (Branded to Kill) and Akira Kobayashi, who would shortly thereafter star in Kinji Fukasaku's epic yakuza series Battles Without Honor and Humanity. Emerging from a stint in prison, yakuza lieutenant Sumukawa (Kobayashi) discovers that his gang has disintegrated while he was in the pen. An ambitious type, he quickly hooks up with another gang (led by Shishido) who promise him a prominent position if he helps them deal with a rival family. But bonds are made to be broken, and pledges of loyalty soon give way to competition, betrayal and — naturally — retaliation. Tough, cynical and violent, Retaliation cheerfully overturns romanticized notions of underworld honour, paving the way for Fukusaku's revisionist yakuza pictures of the 1970s.
Credits
Retaliation Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
Tatsuya Fuji
He was 27, now 82 years old
|
as Shinjo |
|
Meiko Kaji
She was 21, now 77 years old
|
as Saeko |
|
Ryôji Hayama
He was 35, now 91 years old
|
as Kitakata |
|
Tamio Kawachi
He was 30, 79 years old when he died
|
as Naruse |
|
Akira Kobayashi
He was 30, now 86 years old
|
as Kojiro Samukawa |
|
Jô Shishido
He was 34, 86 years old when he died
|
as Hino |
|
Eiji Gō
He was 31, 55 years old when he died
|
as Nakatsu |
|
Jirô Okazaki
He was 24, now 80 years old
|
as George |
|
Bumon Kahara
He was 64, now 119 years old
|
|
|
Jotaro Togami
He was 52, 64 years old when he died
|
as Tokuji Hazama |
|
Saburo Hiromatsu
|
|
|
Kokan Katsura
|
|
|
Hiroshi Chō
He was 45, 54 years old when he died
|
|
|
Akira Takahashi
He was 45, 83 years old when he died
|
|
|
Tessen Nakahira
|
|
|
Kaku Takashina
He was 49, 75 years old when he died
|
as Oribe |
|
Hideaki Nitani
He was 38, 81 years old when he died
|
as Hakozaki |
Retaliation Crew
