Cruel Gun Story

Togawa (Joe Shishido, Branded to Kill) is released from prison early by his underworld bosses. They make him execute a daring heist on an armoured vehicle, knowing he has no choice but to do it, as he needs the money for his sister’s surgery. With multiple partners and facets to the operation, much is at risk and all is never as it seems. A riff on Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing from Nikkatsu’s ‘Action’ line, Takumi Furukawa directs this yakuza tale with every bit of the deftness found in classic American noir of the 1950s, featuring hard-boiled characters and enough twists to make your fedora spin. SPECIAL FEATURES High-Definition digital transfer of Cruel Gun Story, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the world Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by author and filmmaker Jasper Sharp (2024) New introduction by critic and programmer Tony Rayns (2024, 21 mins) Visual essay by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon on Nikkatsu’s noir films of the 1960s (2024, 12 mins) Archival interview with actor Joe Shishido (2006, 9 mins) Optional English subtitles