Art is chaos and chaos is life, therefore, art is a manifestation of the chaos of life. Our experiences, our views, everything that is “us” is transported into what we create. In some instances, what is absent from it is as intrinsic to the message of the work as what is included. For a filmmaker like Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill; Tokyo Drifter), born before World War II and who served in Japan’s army during it, what he includes and avoids speaks a great deal about the way in which he views what matters. Shot as part of his contract with Nikkatsu Corporation, Suzuki’s Tattooed Life is the latest project to receive a new restoration, this time from Radiance Films, and it’s a doozy of a film. Easily described as a yakuza story of siblings on the run, it’s also a layered story of love, loyalty, and duty that grapples with the inevitability of destiny. Now, thanks to Radiance Films, there’s an opportunity for a brand-new audience to see what Suzuki sees, to investigate what he values, via a high-definition transfer and several bonus features.
In the first year of the Showa Era (1926), yakuza member Tetsu (Hideki Takahashi) is betrayed by a member of his own gang after the successful completion of an ordered mission. With his life in danger, Tetsu’s brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto) steps in, saving Tetsu’s life but making himself a wanted man in the process. Both realizing that staying in Tokyo will result in death or imprisonment, they make a run for Manchuria. However, when the two get swindled out of their travel money, they must find work in order to attempt escape again and they do so with a construction team digging a tunnel. Despite getting along with the team and even catching the eyes of two sisters, trouble follows the brothers to the point where it seems inevitable that a life lived by the sword is destined to be ended by it.
Based on the description, one would presume either a certain dramatic stuffiness or a specific crime drama atmosphere. Two brothers on the run with the police on their tail does imply an intensity which the script from Kinya Naoi (Zatoichi and the Fugitives) and Kei Hattori (Zatoichi’s Conspiracy) does infuse into the narrative as Tetsu and Kenji, even as they find some peace with the construction team, must always maintain a watchfulness with their behavior. It’s not just that they are both wanted by the police, it’s also that, at this time, Tetsu’s tattoos give him away as a yakuza member, which requires him to stay fully clothed throughout the film. This choice sets him apart from the rest of the construction team (something they rib him for but don’t press) as, in this era, it was unusual to bathe alone. Tetsu is a man who, no matter how much he wants to run from his past, to fall in love, to disappear into a simply life with new friends, cannot because of the ink in his skin and the mark on his soul. Thus, Tattooed Life is a drama that’s as much about the literal tattoos that identify yakuza as it is about the actions one takes that leave marks on your self-perception and identity. Amid all of this, however, Naoi and Hattori, under the direction of Suzuki, infuse the film with a kind of slice-of-life dramedy in which the surprise of a planned explosion going off late and knocking a team member on his back turns from horror to silliness as the man is revealed to be snoring with his eyes open in response. It’s in the way that the team pokes and prods Tetsu for his bathing habits and how, in kind, Tetsu shows them how to cheat at mahjong. Even as Suzuki inserts flashes of red to convey danger on the rise (typically via the fancy shoes worn by one of the officers on the hunt for the brothers), there’s an unexpected sweetness to the total film, a levity that makes the violence to come in the climax both exhilarating to watch and heartbreaking.
In terms of the restoration, the booklet included with the retail copy provided by MVD Entertainment Group states that Nikkatsu Corporation created the high-definition transfer file that Radiance used to create this edition. There’s no mention of the source materials used or the method of forming the HD digital file. What can be stated is that the quality is evident from the earliest moments of the film. There’s a vibrancy in the green grass, while Tetsu’s suit is a nice chocolate brown. The navy blue in the kimonos that sisters Midori and Masayo (Masako Izumi and Hiroko Itō, respectively) wear around the construction team’s bunkhouse is more refined, where it may have looked black before. The only apparent issue with the coloring is in a scene between Tetsu and the tunneling team leader wherein their fight ends up determining if the brothers have what it takes to join the crew and their white shirts in the sunlight possess a glare to them whereas in the shade they look near pristine. Where the film is particularly striking is the fight sequence near the finale in which blues, yellows, whites, and reds make up the production design without overtaking the natural beauty of the scene or a tree, with the natural green of the leaves and brown of the bark, standing out against the inky black of night in the lightning storm. Similarly, the film contains a single monoaural uncompressed audio track and it contains zero issues noticeable to the naked ear. There are no blips or aberrations that detract from the vocal performances, just a clear track from which we can get lost in this bittersweet tale of chivalry.
For fans of Suzuki’s work, the included bonus features are a bit of a mixed bag. The included essay by author/curator Tom Vick helps create context for Tattooed Life within the scope of Suzuki’s work and the director’s working relationship with Nikkatsu. As someone who came to Suzuki via the recent Criterion restoration of Branded to Kill (1967), Vick identifies and explains how the work on Tattooed Life not only exemplifies Suzuki’s anti-establishment directorial style, but does so within the historical context of the director’s life as it relates to post-World War II Japan and the shattering reality many Japanese felt in the wake of the war. Outside of this brief but informative essay are two previously released interviews with (1) Suzuki himself from 2006 (11 minutes) and (2) production designer Takeo Kimura (Tokyo Drifter; Tampopo) from 2006 (11 minutes); both of which have been reedited for this specific restoration release. Finally, there’s a feature-length audio commentary track available from author William Carroll, as well as a theatrical release trailer. All in all, while not as robust as one may desire, there’s still plenty to dig into to expand one’s knowledge base on the film, it’s cast and crew, and the context from which it was made.
Tattooed Life is the sort of film that you think you have figured out before you finish the opening scene and ends up surprisingly you. From the way that Suzuki artistically presents the tattoos of anonymous yakuza members during the opening credits (an act which showcases the beauty on their skin which is directly tied to the violent lifestyle they lead) to the way that red transforms from merely a signifier for the hot trail the police are on to bleeding across the sky, there’s nary a frame without some meaning or intention. Sure, it culminates in an extraordinarily staged (almost like a play) sequence of violence, but that it ends with Tetsu having to pry open his hand to free the weapon within its grasp speaks to the persistent grappling Tetsu does between being a man of violence and a man of honor. These are two ideals which continue to overlap in Tetsu’s life no matter how hard he tries to free himself from bloodshed, he always finds himself back. It’s a heart-wrenching moment in a tale filled with several, each one lightened by the humanity of everyday life and troubles. Thanks to this lovely restoration from Radiance Films, now others may go on this journey, too.
Tattooed Life Special Features:
- High-Definition digital transfer
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio
- Audio commentary by William Carroll, author of Seijun Suzuki and Postwar Cinema (2024)
- Newly edited archival interview with Seijun Suzuki (2006, 10 mins)
- Newly edited archival interview with art director Takeo Kimura (2006, 12 mins)
- Trailer
- Newly improved English subtitle translation
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Vick and a newly translated archival review of the film
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Available on Blu-ray September 24th, 2024
For more information, head to the official Radiance Films Tattooed Life webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Tattooed Life webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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