Starring - Hiroko Yakushimaru (Unnatural, Legend of the Eight Samurai), Tsunehiko Watase (Death Shadow, The Wicked), and Rentaro Mikuni (The Possessed, Escape from Hell)
Release Date - 1981
Genre - Action/Crime
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Several years ago I decided to step out of my comfort zone and binged several Japanese splatter flicks that were on Netflix. I found myself hooked on Asian cinema and was often searching for any and every release I could find regardless of the genre. I grew up on Hong Kong kung fu flicks so it made sense that I would be drawn to other genres. Over the years I've been lucky enough to review some great Asian horror, Cat III, punku, and comedies but I've never had the chance to review an action flick. When Arrow Video announced the blu release of the 1981 crime action film Sailor Suit and Machine Gun I was extremely interested in it. It looked like a fun flick with a wild story. I reached out to MVD who was handling the release and they were kind enough to send a copy my way for review. I want to once again thank them for always supporting Horror Society and myself!
The film follows the juvenile Izumi (Yakushimaru) who inherits her father's business. He is the head of a yakuza family and as his health fails he leaves control of it to her. Torn between her adolescence and an organized crime family that doesn't respect her, Izumi must pick up a gun and fight for her family's honor.
Honestly, I was expecting Sailor Suit and Machine Gun to be more comical than it was. The Arrow release artwork paints a silly, whimsical crime film with a lot of humor and ridiculous moments. It wasn't. In fact, it was a pretty serious film with some seriously underrated, at least in the western hemisphere, crime moments. I liked it but it was not the film I was expecting. The acting in this one is great. The cast makes the film as fun as it is. I enjoyed their personalities and how everyone was their own characters. No confusion or lazy writing can be seen here and the cast did a fantastic job with what they were given. The story for this one could have went two different directions. It could have easily went the comical route with a lot of laughs, humorous characters, and a much more lighter story. However, it went the serious route which was unexpected considering the releases artwork. I did enjoy and the fact that it was nothing like I had expected made it surprisingly fun. I liked this approach to a yakuza film. It's not predictable, it has unusual characters, but still delivers that gritty and often bloody storyline that we can associate with these types of films. I liked the writing of the film but it could be trimmed down some. The movie runs over two hours but 30ish minutes could be cut. Finally, the film has a few bloody moments that fits the style of the film but they are nothing that would stick with you after your initial viewing. These scenes fit the yakuza storyline and are mostly bullet wounds but that's the extent of it. Overall, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun was a pleasant surprise. It was not the film I was expecting but god damn did I have fun with it. Like always, Arrow Video handled this release perfectly and I highly recommend snagging it for your collection.
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