Aesthetics of a Bullet Blu Ray Review (Radiance Films)

Aesthetics of a Bullet (aKa Teppôdama No Bigaku and 鉄砲玉の美学) is a 1973 crime film directed by Sadao Nakajima (Love’s Twisting Path, Lady Kasuga, 1750 Days of Turbulence, Conquest, The Shogun Assassins, Japanese Godfather franchise, Female Ninja Magic, Postwar Secrets, Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School, A Savage Beast Goes Mad, and Violent Fraternity). It was written by Tatsuo Nogami (Eight Below, Yagyu Clan Conspiracy, Antarctica, White Snake Enchantment, Turning Point, Hissatsu franchise, A Modern Yakuza: Three Decoy Blood Brothers, Three Yakuza, Samurai Reincarnation, and Devil’s Flute). It was produced by Kanji Amao.(Sex and Fury, The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses, Bullet Train, Yakuza Law, Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture, Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Women’s Violent Classroom, Twisted Sex, Eleven Samurai, The Joy of Torture, and Inferno of Torture). An ambitious yakuza gang selects a good-for-nothing street vendor Kiyoshi Koike (played by: Tsunehiko Watase from Heaven and Earth, Homicide Team 9, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Delinquent Girl Boss franchise, Sympathy for the Underdog, Proxy War, Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom, Bodyguard Kiba 2, Violent Fraternity, Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist, and Yakuza Wolf 2) to stir up trouble in enemy territory. With a flashy suit, a gun and a pocketful of money, he feels like a king now but when trouble comes knocking, he realizes that waving a gun and pulling the trigger are two very different things!!!! Aesthetics of a Bullet is a classic Yakuza tale of a street hustler giving a bigger opportunity to prove himself to the powerful crime family that runs his community. The underdog thinks this might be his big break that could change his life forever. Unfortunately, he’s just picked as a sacrifice or a brutal experiment for a possible gang war. It’s such a great setup and fully complicated storyline. The talented Sadao Nakajima was behind the camera for this creative crime feature. Lead actor Tsunehiko Watase is top notch as the underappreciated Kiyoshi Koike. He’s just try take whatever is available that he can while struggling in his current situation. He’s addicted to gambling and it’s left him in a hole. He’s desperate for something more and this might be his only chance at it. He’s given a good amount of money, a brand new look, and the feeling of some street leverage with this. He doesn’t realize what’s really happening until it’s too late which causes a nightmare for the low level criminal. The rest of the cast includes Miki Sugimoto (Terrifying Girls’ High School: Women’s Violent Classroom), Mitsuru Mori (Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable), Asao Koike (Shogun’s Ninja), Ichirô Araki (The Most Dangerous Game), Toshio Chiba (The Tale of Zatoichi), Tatsuo Endô (Audition), Hiroshi Hatano (The Shogun Assassins), Yoshinobu Hirose (Violent Streets), Emi Jô (Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion), Ryûji Katagiri (Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage), Yasuko Matsui (Terrifying Girls’ High School: Women’s Violent Classroom), Jun Midorikawa (Sex and Fury), Ryô Nishida (Samurai Wolf), Shôji Ôki (Yojimbo), and Takuzô Kawatani (Yakuza Graveyard). Aesthetics of a Bullet is packed with talent and familiar faces in genre projects. It shows a man down on his luck and he’s forced to go on a dark path. Aesthetics of a Bullet has always been considered a possible influence for Taxi Driver that was made a few years after this. Kiyoshi Koike is in a relationship with a questionable woman and he’s not really making any money with his rabbit business so he agrees to become a bullet. This is a rough spot to be in when it comes to all of the criminal underworld around his area. Greed takes over and it leads to some gruesome events. The unpredictable vibe is what really adds to the tension, thrills, and suspense as this guy digs his grave deeper while adjusting to a mysterious environment. It does explore some social commentary at the time and it doesn’t hesitate to embrace it’s exploitation. The colorful locations almost play out like their own characters in this because they all demand notice and it just adds to this shady universe. This crime film has it’s fair share of violence and it keeps the audience wanting more. Aesthetics of a Bullet is still somehow an unknown gem to most Yakuza cinema fanatics and it’s kinda been forgotten after all these years. This resurrection from Radiance will hopefully give it another chance to shine because it’s on point for this type of adventure. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Radiance Films! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is from a newer restoration from Toei Studios. Aesthetics of a Bullet makes it’s long awaited home video debut in the states. I can’t believe this never got a DVD release anywhere here before this. If it had a VHS here then I completely missed it because this is the first time that I remember it being pushed to the American market for something like this. It has stylish cinematography, sharp locations, gritty production design, and some beautiful violence when it comes to it’s creative visuals. It has an Japanese: LPCM 1.0 mono track on the disc. It’s a solid track for that particular format, it might be the best you’ll ever get when it comes to sound for this. It has plenty of action and mayhem to show off the audio. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the brand new exclusive 30 minute “Appreciation from Robert Schwentke”. The filmmaker shows his respect for director Sadao Nakajima and his overall work during his career. He goes over 70’s Yakuza cinema and why Aesthetics of a Bullet still stands out among all of them. He gives the movie some focus and breaks it down with his thoughts on it. It has the brand new exclusive 16 minute “Interview” with director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri. It has an archive 19 minute 2023 “Interview” with director Sadao Nakajima. This is great conversation with the one that was behind the camera for this Yakuza classic. It goes over the development and making of Aesthetics of a Bullet. It has some interesting stories and detailed information about the independent production. Sadao Nakajima brings up the collaboration and experiences with lead actor Tsunehiko Watase for this. It has the “Trailer” for Aesthetics of a Bullet. It has reversible artwork and a high quality 36 page booklet. If you want to dive deeper into Japanese crime, this is a great addition to that sub-genre. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!