Takashi Miike's Black Society Trilogy (Shinjuku Triad Society, Rainy Dog, Ley Lines) (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

I just finished these three movies this week, December 2022, and am glad I picked it up. There’s no continuity amongst the three, they’re three separate stories with no overlap. I think I enjoyed Rainy Dog the most. These aren’t high budget movies but they are highly enjoyable. I really like what Arrow Video is putting out.

I've been a Miike fan since my friend took me to "Alamo Draft House" cinema in Austin TX while they did a week long tribute to the director. We went every day after class (we were in Culinary school at the time) and the first movie we saw was "Shinjuku Triad" been hooked ever since!

The Black Society Trilogy provides three movies all approximately 100 mins, in length each. The first two are focused on the underground Triads, and are alittle difficult to follow, as the viewer is taken into the stories without much preface. The third installment, Ley Lines, is smoother from a story line perspective. None of the three installments are as violent as some of Miike's other works, such as Ichi the Killer, nor as off the wall as Visitor Q. One annoying point in the movies is that even though unrated, certain scenes involving nudity are obscured by fuzzy lines drawn over the covered areas. While not important to the movie story overall, it is still annoying as it isn't even a pixel but looks like someone just scratched the film with a pen. Typical Japanese censorship while permitting other violent depictions. Overall, the stories were ok, and moved at an acceptable pace. The BluRays transfer on the first two installments, Shinauku Triad Society, and Rainy Dog, were marginal in quality, while the third installment, Ley Lines, was somewhat better. May be worthwhile for fans of Miike's work.

the movies are ok. i'm a big Takashi Miike fan. I love most of his movies....But here, i think the man was on a bad acid trip or something. F@##$%* beyond weird. First you got Homesexuality...I'm not gay so i dont care for it in the movies i purchase. Simply put, i can do without. Then the weird editing and plot holes. Now don't get me wrong, trademark Takashi Miike touches are there. Since this series is one of his early works then i will give him a pass as this being a experimental over the top { how far can i go in filming with out it being banned } phase. I suggest stick with his later work where he really shines like Audition, Gozu, Ichi the Killer, Agitator and i think his best work being " Deadly Outlaw: Rekka", 'Yakuza Demon' and " Graveyard of Honor ". If your looking for that here, well you may be dissapointed. Still its a mind F@##$%* of an experiance. For 1 viewing its ok...but as a keeper in your library i think not. The prints of the films are crisp and clean though. Arrow does it again.

To be brief,if you find yourself in need to fill a craving for raw and grit,you can either watch this series or have your backside wire brushed. There is nothing warm and fuzzy in any of these stories,none of them being related to each other except each having,in part,the theme of "half-breed", Taiwanese/Japanese kids and adults trying to survive in brutal societies,both in Taiwan and Japan. Murder,rape,homsexuality, gangs, treachery,drugs,poverty,more muder,etc. All the "good" stuff. Worth a least one viewing but I may opt for the wire brushing before I do it twice. These are brutal.

if you're a fan of Miike you must buy this

Yep

Excellent

Tres grandes películas por un precio razonable, los menús y sobre todo el diseño del empaque están increíbles. La calidad de imagen es bastante buena, teniendo en cuenta que por diseño las tres películas tiene un aspecto crudo y realista, pesadas en grano y filmado en condiciones de luz no ideales.contiene un booklet con ensayos sobre cada filme. y el audio es solo en estéreo en formato dolby digital 8AC3)

Just a couple things about these incredible three movies..first. the things we do does not always comes back to hurt us.“but it sure as hell come back to hurt the ones who we get involved in our own scheming ways.we think we know what we’re doing but we sure don’t take the time to figure out the consequences of out actions.after working exclusively on straight to video-movies. Takashi Miike made himself a first class filmmaker withthis trio of character-centric driven crime stories..no doubt with violence about the Japanese underworld society.set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society is about a mixed-race cop strugglingwith issues while hunting a psychotic criminal. Rainy Dog about an exiled yakuza who finds himself with a son he neverknew he had and with a price on his head after the Chinese gang he works for decides to turn on him.Ley Lines” three Japanese youths of Chinese descent try to seek there fortune in Tokyo an run into a gang violent tugs.these are three very Brutal movies.Runtimes 102/ 95/ 105/ Respectively.1.85:12. Audio. Japanese with Subtitles of English.“Love All Three Of Them.

安易に購入する事はオススメしません。Blu-rayとしてはDVDよりは綺麗かなって程度。リマスターされてる訳じゃないんで当時のノイジーな画面とぼやけ具合はあります。そして一番の問題点がこの作品に関わらず海外Blu-rayの弊害として、日本語字幕が出ないので中国語での会話は全くわかりません。シーンのニュアンスからなんとなくは状況が感じられるものの、それが正解かは結局わからないんで、哀川翔主演の極道黒社会なんかはオール台湾ロケ作品なんで90%が台湾語。英語字幕は出るんで英語が堪能な方は問題ないでしょうが、日本語訳のニュアンスとはズレがあるでしょうし、台詞が響きづらい。作品自体は好みの問題なんで感想は控えますが、安価で黒社会シリーズを見れるのはお得だと思います。日本は未発売なモノが多すぎますし、海外で評価されてる作品はこうやってBlu-rayになってくれるんですからありがたい。リージョンは日本と同じで国コードは無いから日本のBlu-rayデッキで再生可能です。ちなみに年齢制限のマークがパッケージにプリントされてるやつはUK盤なんでリージョンが違い見れませんので御注意を。

excellent

Those 3 movies are really good, especially ley Lines and Rainy Dogs, who are worth having those blu-rays alone.