Available on Blu-ray from Radiance Films
Following a quick first date, a war photographer finds himself in love and both in love and on the run as she gets kidnapped. While he tries to resolve this, he meets an interesting team of ladies.
Written by Ryûzô Nakanishi and Michio Tsuzuki and directed by Yasuharu Hasebe, Black Tight Killers is a fun film that is very, very 1960s. There is a girl gang, there is music, there is dance, there is mystery, there is a man of action, etc. This is one of those films that many seem to have missed back in the day or in their return to the 1960s watch marathons. It has a story that sounds generic or predictable, but really, it has a fun story, a fun tone, and a lot of twists and turns. Some of these twists and turns are a bit silly, but such were the 1960s. The writing and direction work great with this here and make the story and the film work.
The cast here is interesting with the Black Tight Killers being a bunch of fun ladies, but unfortunately, they are a bit interchangeable in terms of performances and looks, something that oddly works perfectly here. The lead, the man in the middle of everything, is played by Akira Kobayashi who is a dashing leading man and gives a fun performance. The character comes off a bit odd to today’s standard, but Kobayashi gives a performance that brings you in and makes you want to keep watching him develop the character. Chieko Matsubara joins him as the lady who captured his heart, the source of the whole story. She’s lovely and her performance works here, keeping in mind she’s the damsel in distress in the 1960s, so there are requirements for the part that are no longer considered good things. Still, that performance works.
The cinematography here works great and really has that look of the era, bringing the entire film together and making it even better. Which leads us into the new release from Radiance Films. The film receives a high-definition digital transfer which gives fantastic image quality and allows the uncompressed mono PCM audio space to be its 1960s best. Part of this new release are a few stellar special features including a great audio commentary by Jasper Sharp and the top of the crop here, the archival interview with the film’s director, giving a view of the creator here. These two features are the strong point here, beyond owning the film itself and the other features such as the new booklet and a beautiful reversible sleeve.
That being said, the film itself is more than sufficient appeal to pick this up on disc. It’s fun, it’s dynamic, has a fun cast and feels just right for a nostalgic trip to 1960s Japan.