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Release: June 2, 2026

$7.99

Description

A yakuza gang selects a good-for-nothing street vendor to stir up trouble in enemy territory. A yakuza gang selects a good-for-nothing street vendor to stir up trouble in enemy territory. With a flashy suit, a gun and a pocketful of money, he feels like a king but when trouble comes knocking, he realizes that waving a gun and pulling the trigger are two very different things. After the major studios refused to finance it, director Sadao Nakajima (The Japanese Godfather Trilogy) took this project to New Wave bastion the Art Theatre Guild. With a deeply impressive performance by Tsunehiko Watase (Sympathy for the Underdog) that predates Robert DeNiro's indelible turn as Travis Bickle in Scorsese's Taxi Driver by three years, Aesthetics of a Bullet is a lost gem of 1970s Japanese cinema ripe for rediscovery. Bonus Materials High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Robert Schwentke (2026) New interview with filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (2026) Archival interview with Sadao Nakajima (2023) Trailer Newly improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters Limited edition booklet featuring new writing Cast & Crew Actors: Tsunehiko Watase Miki Sugimoto Mitsuri Mori Director: Sadao Nakajima

Release: November 14, 2023

$6.99

Description

Seven Spectacular Films from the Martial Arts Icon! Brace yourself for seven more high-octane films from the legendary career of Sonny Chiba! This second box set offers thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, and some of these films are making their North America Blu-ray debut. Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba—The "Street Fighter"—remains an icon for all time! The Defensive Power of Aikido: Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido. 13 Steps of Maki: Based on a comic book, 13 Steps of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges. Karate Warriors: A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai… The Great Okinawa Yakuza War: Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland. Karate for Life: The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate for Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job…but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn…and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself! The Okinawa War of Ten Years: It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan…and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa. Bonus Content: Disc 1 - The Defensive Power of Aikido: The Defensive Power of Akido Trailer Disc 2 - Karate Warriors: Karate Warriors Commentary by Chris Poggiali and Mark Walkow Karate Warriors Trailer Disc 3 - Karate for Life: Karate For Life Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 3 - Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 4 - The Okinawa War of Ten Years: The Okinawa War of Ten Years Trailer Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2 [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Release: November 14, 2023

$6.99

Description

Seven Spectacular Films from the Martial Arts Icon! Brace yourself for seven more high-octane films from the legendary career of Sonny Chiba! This second box set offers thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, and some of these films are making their North America Blu-ray debut. Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba—The "Street Fighter"—remains an icon for all time! The Defensive Power of Aikido: Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido. 13 Steps of Maki: Based on a comic book, 13 Steps of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges. Karate Warriors: A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai… The Great Okinawa Yakuza War: Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland. Karate for Life: The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate for Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job…but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn…and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself! The Okinawa War of Ten Years: It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan…and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa. Bonus Content: Disc 1 - The Defensive Power of Aikido: The Defensive Power of Akido Trailer Disc 2 - Karate Warriors: Karate Warriors Commentary by Chris Poggiali and Mark Walkow Karate Warriors Trailer Disc 3 - Karate for Life: Karate For Life Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 3 - Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 4 - The Okinawa War of Ten Years: The Okinawa War of Ten Years Trailer Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2 [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Release: November 14, 2023

$6.99

Description

Seven Spectacular Films from the Martial Arts Icon! Brace yourself for seven more high-octane films from the legendary career of Sonny Chiba! This second box set offers thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, and some of these films are making their North America Blu-ray debut. Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba—The "Street Fighter"—remains an icon for all time! The Defensive Power of Aikido: Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido. 13 Steps of Maki: Based on a comic book, 13 Steps of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges. Karate Warriors: A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai… The Great Okinawa Yakuza War: Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland. Karate for Life: The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate for Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job…but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn…and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself! The Okinawa War of Ten Years: It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan…and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa. Bonus Content: Disc 1 - The Defensive Power of Aikido: The Defensive Power of Akido Trailer Disc 2 - Karate Warriors: Karate Warriors Commentary by Chris Poggiali and Mark Walkow Karate Warriors Trailer Disc 3 - Karate for Life: Karate For Life Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 3 - Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 4 - The Okinawa War of Ten Years: The Okinawa War of Ten Years Trailer Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2 [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Release: November 14, 2023

$6.99

Description

Seven Spectacular Films from the Martial Arts Icon! Brace yourself for seven more high-octane films from the legendary career of Sonny Chiba! This second box set offers thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, and some of these films are making their North America Blu-ray debut. Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba—The "Street Fighter"—remains an icon for all time! The Defensive Power of Aikido: Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido. 13 Steps of Maki: Based on a comic book, 13 Steps of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges. Karate Warriors: A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai… The Great Okinawa Yakuza War: Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland. Karate for Life: The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate for Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job…but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn…and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself! The Okinawa War of Ten Years: It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan…and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa. Bonus Content: Disc 1 - The Defensive Power of Aikido: The Defensive Power of Akido Trailer Disc 2 - Karate Warriors: Karate Warriors Commentary by Chris Poggiali and Mark Walkow Karate Warriors Trailer Disc 3 - Karate for Life: Karate For Life Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 3 - Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon Commentary by Brian Bankston Disc 4 - The Okinawa War of Ten Years: The Okinawa War of Ten Years Trailer Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2 [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Release: May 20, 2025

$7.99

Description

Black marketeer Ueda is sent to jail after being robbed and retaliating. Sent to prison he won't let any walls stop him from getting revenge. In the free-for-all chaos after World War II, black marketeer Ueda (Hiroki Matsukata, Cops vs Thugs) is robbed of a stash of morphine. He takes his brutal revenge, but is arrested for murder and sentenced to 20 years. He escapes and is caught, but no matter where they send him, Ueda won't let prison walls stop him. Directed by a master of the genre and based on the real exploits of a seven-time prison escapee, this ranks as one of the rawest entries in the 1970s cycle of Japanese true-account crime films. Bonus Materials High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by yakuza film expert Nathan Stuart (2025) Visual essay on Sadao Nakajima by Tom Mes (2025) New English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Earl Jackson and an archival review of the film Cast & Crew Actors: Hiroki Matsukata Tomisaburo Wakayama Naoko Otani Director: Sadao Nakajima Top Similar From the Brand Reviews The Rapacious Jailbreaker