A war photographer, a stewardess, and a chance meeting set the stage for an 87-minute technicolor adventure of crime, mystery, and romance in director Yasuharu Hasebe’s (Retaliation) 1966 caper Black Tight Killers (俺にさわると危ないぜ). The first of several collaborations with lead actor Akira Kobayashi (Retaliation; The Rough One), Black Tight Killers is Hasebe’s directorial debut and it incorporates as much as one can imagine in a film that reads as a simple crime story yet manages to offer strangely light entertainment through the execution of performance and narrative. Radiance Films offers this genre-defying spy spoof, a great example of Japanese ‘60s pop cinema, in a dazzling high-definition presentation accompanied by the usual expected refinements.
On the flight back to Tokyo from an overseas embedded operation, Hondo (Kobayashi) meets the lovely stewardess Akiko (Akemi Kita) who agrees to join him on a date that night. Despite having a delightful evening, Akiko senses someone following them and Hondo tries to investigate, ending up caught between the man on their heels and a trio of deadly women in black tights and black leather jackets. To make matter worse, the moment they get free, Akiko is kidnapped. With precious moments flying by, Hondo travels deeper into the mystery of the two factions after Akiko, hoping that any revelations will bring her back to him.
When reading the description for the film (photojournalist gets swept up in crime caper), I expected something grittier, more wrong place/wrong time noir, not spy spoof where the lead is charming, the fights are often overly-dramatic and absurd, and the mystery is more of an excuse for ridiculousness. That’s the best way to describe Black Tight Killers to those with no experience with it, which is not an insult or denigrating, as the execution is positively engrossing because all the characters play everything straight. Things are meant to be seen as intense or serious, yet the way that our victim dies is executed right out of a stage production — big reactions, big movements, and motion straight toward the camera as if to play to the audience. Similarly, there’s a scene in which Hondo is seemingly assisted by a passerby whose only request is a place to stay for the night, which is a trap to lure the well-intentioned Hondo into a seduction maneuver that leads to something called the “Octopus Pot.” Even though we don’t see anything (the film is quite chaste), it’s completely played for laughs and never at the expense of Hondo’s character (dude really was just trying to be kind and she plays him), but to use an attack that secures him from running off by using her …. natural honey pot as a vice grip? Yeah, this isn’t your typical mystery thriller. So much of the film leans into this, the cinematography and the production design playing a major part in this, that one may start out open to a straight thriller, only to find themselves being taken for a ride that’s less bait-and-switch and more “you should’ve read the fine print.” But just because it gets silly doesn’t mean that it doesn’t offer anything meaningful. The script by Ryuzo Nakanishi (Massacre Gun) and Michio Tsuzuki (Golden Eyes) is complex as it explores themes of sexuality, gender, and the generational divide. Specifically, it presents women as powerful and autonomous from men and equally deadly. The narrative positions a war photographer (objective observer) directly between the young and impacted by war (Black Tight Killers) against a male contingent of war profiteers — a choice that speaks volumes about the political climate of the time in post-World War II Japan (at this period it would’ve been Vietnam Hondo was coming from, too). Here’s a film where someone whose job is to document large-scale conflict finds himself embroiled in a smaller, though deadly kerfuffle that’s revealed to be a remnant from World War II. Old versus young, those seeking to gain versus those looking to reclaim. Amid all the goofiness and explosions is a smart and engaging exploration of generational divide as it relates to what matters in life.
According to the press notes, the Nikkatsu Corporation (tied to the studio Hasebe originally produced this film through) created the HD transfer and then gave it to Radiance as a HD digital file. From there, Black Tight Killers was given additional restoration by Radiance in 2023 ahead of this release. There is no information regarding who did what or by whom, but it’s evident in the final picture that whomever worked on this knew what they were doing. There’s no presence of dirt or grime, no broken frames or damaged sound, and no obvious occurrence of wear and tear. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the grounded natural color tones and the production design shift to something more bold, minimal, and primary color-centric retaining their strength and vibrancy in a musical-esque construction. In the scene where Kita’s Akiko is chased by the Black Tight Killers from one mono-color room to another, she breaks through a seemingly stable paper wall and reveals she’s entered just another in a series of entries into a new room clad in one of many bright singular colors. There’s precise detail in separating one color from another, a detail necessary in establishing visual contrast between the black-clad gang, the white-dressed Akiko who’s being chased, and the varying spaces which pop in colors indicative of the enhanced/hyperreality of the narrative. The vibrancy also applies to other areas, like the crimson blood on wounds, but it’s the unexpected places, like the bright blue paint that drenches a fight space with its hue, as if a more friendly version of the blood that’s released in battle. Considering the age of the film, one would expect just a bit more grain or obvious wear and, yet, as to be expected from Radiance, this is another restoration where the proof is in the presentation, and as a way to honor Hasebe’s directorial debut, this restoration delivers.
The packaging of Black Tight Killers follows the now-set path of prior releases. The front cover is a new design by frequent collaborator Time Tomorrow, while the inside depicts artwork from the original release. Depending on your preference, this can be reversed and displayed without issue. Additionally, it comes with a removable OBI strip so that you can choose whether to display the release information when removed from your shelf or maintain a clear view of the artwork. Since physical media is as much about conservation and archiving as it is having what you love at your fingertips, I tend to opt to keep the OBI strip on in order to have a quick reference for release information.
Within the package is the usual booklet that contains cast and crew information, restoration and release information, still images from the film, and, in this case, a new essay from Chris Desjardins, a Japanese cinema expert more well known as simply Chris D. His essay gets into how little is known of Hasebe’s early work at Nikkatsu, making a point to explain what resources were at his fingertips and yet he could not uncover how Hasebe seemed to jump straight into the director’s chair when the normal path required at least an assistantship. He explores cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka’s (Branded to Kill) work here, contrasting it against work done with Hasebe for Massacre Gun (1967), offers commentary on actors Kobayashi and Kita (Atragon), and tries to offer context for Hasebe as a person and artist. On disc, there’s a feature-length audio commentary track from Jasper Sharp, a self-described writer, curator, and filmmaker, who also worked with Radiance on their “World Noir Vol.1” three-film collection, specifically providing commentary for I am Waiting. There’s also a nine-minute archived interview with Hasebe himself, recorded in 2000, that has the filmmaker discussing Black Tight Killers and his career as a whole.
As with other Radiance releases, this one is limited, specifically to 3,000 copies, so if you have any interest in snagging this, take action ASAP. Though the release itself is pretty sparse, what is offered along with the restoration itself should be enough for fans of Japanese cinema to come away feeling like they received their money’s worth. It’s silly, yet intentional, ridiculous, yet grounded, and romantic without removing agency from its characters. It’s got a lot going for it and it’s time a wider audience had the opportunity to explore it.
Black Tight Killers Special Features:
- High-Definition digital transfer
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Audio commentary by Jasper Sharp
- Archival interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe
- Trailer
- Optional English subtitles
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Chris D.
- Limited edition of 3,000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Available on Blu-ray February 27th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Radiance Films Black Tight Killers webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Black Tight Killers webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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