Returning from a ten-year prison sentence, former gang leader Gunji (Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss) finds that his turf has been taken over

Returning from a ten-year prison sentence, former gang leader Gunji (Koji Tsuruta, Big Time Gambling Boss) finds that his turf has been taken over by his former enemy, now a large crime syndicate with a legal corporate front. Looking for new opportunities, he gathers his old crew and heads for the island of Okinawa, a legal grey zone ripe for the taking. Made just before Kinji (Yakuza Graveyard) Fukasaku's 1970s streak of yakuza movie masterpieces, Sympathy for the Underdog is a key film in the development of this director's unique style and themes.

Media

Bonus Materials

• High-Definition digital transfer
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart (2024)
• Interview with Fukasaku biographer Olivier Hadouchi (2024)
• Visual essay on Okinawa on screen by film historian and author Aaron Gerow (2024)
• Trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation

 

Cast & Crew

Actors:

•       Koji Tsuruta
•       Tomisaburo Wakayama
•       Noboru Ando
•       Tsunehiko Watase
•       Akiko Kudô
•       Kenji Imai
•       Harumi Sone
•       Tôru Yuri
•       Asao Uchida
•       Hideo Murota
•       Keijirô Morozumi
•       Keiichi Kitagawa
•       Hiroshi Hasegawa
•       Shôken Sawa
•       Kaku Takashina
•       Takashi Hio
•       Genji Kawai
•       Shinobu Miura

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Additional Details

Label: Radiance

Genre: Action/Adventure

Language: Japanese

Run Time: 93 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/23/26

UPC: 760137213130