Black Tight Killers: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1966
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe
Writers: Ryûzô Nakanishi, Michio Tsuzuki
Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Chieko Matsubara, Akemi Kita, Mieko Nishio, Bokuzen Hidari, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi, Kaoru Hama, Jinko Saito, Kozue Kamo, Kozuko Kanô, Eiji Gô

Release Date: February 26th, 2024 (UK), February 27th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate running time: 86 Minutes 38 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.28:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"After wooing stewardess Yoriko (Chieko Matsubara, Tokyo Drifter), war photographer Hondo (Akira Kobayashi, Battles Without Honor and Humanity) sees her kidnapped by a team of deadly female assassins who use vinyl records as weapons. Investigating her whereabouts, Hondo uncovers a conspiracy to steal a buried stash of WWII-era gold. Soon he must dodge go-go dancing ninjas and chewing-gum bullets to save Yoriko, whose family secret is tied to the hidden treasure." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Black Tight Killers was transferred in High-Definition by Nikkatsu Corporation and supplied to Radiance Films as a High-Definition digital file. Additional restoration was carried out by Radiance Films in 2023."

Black Tight Killers comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.4 GB

Feature: 20.7 GB

With verbiage like “High-Definition digital file,” I tempered my expectations. That said, the result was a transfer that actually looked fantastic. Flesh tones look correct, colors are vivid (the visuals use red, yellow, and green filters), image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels are consistently strong. Needless to say, this new transfer destroys Image Entertainment’s DVD’s transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. This audio track is in excellent shape. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and surprisingly robust. That said, range-wise, this audio track far exceeds expectations.

Extras: 

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe (8 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Jasper Sharp, reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 20-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) cast & crew information, an essay titled Yasuharu Hasebe and Black Tight Killers written by Chris D., and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Yasuharu Hasebe started his career as an assistant director under the guidance of the legendary Seijun Suzuki. He worked his way into the director’s chair in 1966 with the film Black Tight Killers. He would direct three films in the highly influential series Stray Cat Rock (Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, and Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal) and the last Female Prisoner Scorpion film (Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701's Grudge Song) for Toei. In the mid- and later parts of the 1970's, Yasuharu Hasebe would go on to become one of the prominent directors making Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu. Yasuharu Hasebe’s first three Roman porno films, Rape!, Assault! Jack the Ripper, and Rape! 13th Hour, were all box office hits for Nikkatsu.

The narrative revolves around Hondo, a photojournalist who has just returned from an assignment photographing the Vietnam War. He meets Yoriko, a stewardess, on his flight home. He convinces her to accompany him to dinner. While they are eating, Yoriko notices a man who has been following them, and when the man approaches Yoriko, she flees the restaurant. Hondo chases after them, and he finds a group of female assassins attacking the man who had been following them. The female assassins kill the man, and Hondo is framed for the murder. The Black Tight Killers are a band of Okinawan go-go dancing patriots whose mission is to return the stolen gold to its rightful owners. After an alibi proves his innocence, he is released from jail, and he begins his search for Yoriko by aligning himself with the female assassins to help him rescue Yoriko from the bad guys. While two rival factions are at war over stolen gold from World War II.

Out of all of the Japanese directors who worked in both the 1960s and 1970s, none had a more abrupt detour than Yasuharu Hasebe. When he made the transition from assistant director to director in the mid-1960s, Japanese cinema was already struggling to compete with television. And about a decade later, Yasuharu Hasebe would go from making mainstream films for the masses to making sofr-core erotica known as Roman porno. Looking back, it is crazy that the same person who directed Black Tight Killers also directed Assault! Jack the Ripper.

Throughout Black Tight Killers, it is easy to see how Seijun Suzuki influenced Yasuharu Hasebe. There are many similarities between Black Tight Killers and Seijun Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter. Notably vivid use of colors and minimal sets. Beside both films being made at Nikkatsu in 1966, Akira Kobayashi and Chieko Matsubara are in both films.

Content-wise, Black Tight Killers is best as a live comic book adaptation meets the 1960s spy film. Black Tight Killers has a cast of color characters that include gangsters and an all-girl gang that dresses in black leather named Black Tight Killers. Some of the weapons used in Black Tight Killers include gumballs, blinding bubble gum, razor-sharp 7-inch vinyl, exploding golf balls, and exploding bra pads. Also, there are a few risque moments in Black Tight Killers that foreshadow Yasuharu Hasebe’s work in the Roman porno genre.

Performance wise Black Tight Killers has a strong cast, all of whom are very good in their roles. Akira Kobayashi (Kanto Wanderer) plays the role of Hondo. He does a great job in what is essentially the role of the hero. Though the character Yoriko plays a significant role in the story at hand, her screen time is limited. That said, Chieko Matsubara (Outlaw: Gangster VIP) delivers a superb performance that far exceeds her character's limited screen time. Another performance of note is Eiji Gô (The Executioner) in the all-too-familiar role of a bad guy.

For his directorial debut, Yasuharu Hasebe comes out clicking on all cylinders. He takes the limited resources handed to him by Nikkatsu, and he transforms them into something that far exceeds the sum of its parts. That said, if there is one area where Black Tight Killers has a weakness, it would be its narrative. Fortunately, its infusion of style and series of outrageous moments make any narrative shortcomings easy to forgive.

Black Tight Killers gets an excellent release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer