The best Koji Tsuruta’s crime movies

Koji Tsuruta

Koji Tsuruta

06/12/1924- 16/06/1987
Today we present the best Koji Tsuruta’s movies. If you are a great movie fan, you will surely know most of them, but we hope to discover a movie that you have not yet seen … and that you love! Let’s go there with the best Koji Tsuruta’s movies.
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Japan Organised Crime Boss

Japan Organised Crime Boss
7/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 17/04/1969
  • Character: Tsukamoto
Coming out of jail and hoping for a quiet life, Yokohama yakuza has to take the lead of his gang after the death of his boss. His small group is is taken in a crossfire between a big yakuza group from Osaka at war with the Tokyo alliance for the control of the city. He tries to keep to the old yakuza code but he is no match for the new thugs who live and fight without honor.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon
6.3/10
Duke Togo (codename: Golgo 13) is a ruthless assassin who's accepted a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate. His mission is to "rub out" Hong Kong's underworld kingpin. His main obstacle is the relentless Detective 'Smitty' Smith, determined to stop Togo no matter the cost. The result is an explosive adventure through the seamy, violent streets of Hong Kong.

Sympathy for the Underdog

Sympathy for the Underdog
7.3/10
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.

Proof of the Man

Proof of the Man
6.6/10
When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime.

The Biggest Gamble

The Biggest Gamble
6.1/10
When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza
7.3/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 12/07/1968
With his penultimate film, Uchida revisited one of his popular prewar titles, 1936’s Theatre of Life, an adaptation of Shiro Ozaki’s eponymous novel. Three-time Seijun Suzuki collaborator Goro Tanada wrote a gangsterized adaptation of Ozaki’s story for Uchida at a time when the yakuza had eclipsed the samurai genre as Toei's main cash crop. Protagonist Hishakaku murders a man in a quarrel over a barmaid and goes to jail. In his temporary absence, his girlfriend Otoyo, a former geisha, falls for Hishakaku’s brother, inciting a dangerous love triangle that, in typical yakuza fashion, ends tragically.

Hell's Kitchen

Hell's Kitchen
5.4/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 12/10/1962

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
6.6/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 04/03/1972
  • Character: Tabikiyo
The Ni Family is the most well know and respected group of firefighters in the Kanto region. When their leader dies and the successor disappears, Tsuruji, a beautiful yet tough geisha, becomes the boss. But will she be able to confront a yakuza gang trying to take over the area?

Eleven Gangsters

Eleven Gangsters
6.5/10
  • Genre: ActionCrime
  • Release: 15/01/1963
  • Character: Gondo
No overview available.

The Last Gunfight

The Last Gunfight
6.5/10
Japanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. Fujioka is assigned to investigate the death of the wife of gangster Tetsuo Maruyama of the Kozuka gang, probably at the hands of one of the Oka gang. During a gang gunfight, Maruyama is rescued by Detective Fujioka and the two become friends. But Maruyama insists on avenging his wife's murder, even if it means conflict with his new friend.

The Hard Core Criminal

The Hard Core Criminal
7.3/10
In the 20th century, the Japanese government exploits prisoners as expendable slave laborers in a coal mine, which results in conflict between the prisoners and the warden to escalate.

The Big Boss

The Big Boss
7.1/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 15/01/1959
  • Character: Ryuta Komatsu
Ryuta and Mineo Komatsu are brothers, both yakuza (gangsters). Mineo, although complicit in crime, even murder, wants out of the gangster life, hoping to become a successful singer instead. Ryuta loves his brother, but Mineo's possible defection presents problems for the gang, and Ryuta realizes he must kill his brother if he wants to survive.

The Domain: The Naniwa Story

The Domain: The Naniwa Story
6.2/10
Second film of Makino's Nihon Kyokakuden series set in Osaka's harbor. The series also known as "The Domain" Each a stand alone film in it's own, none are connected other than starring the famous Ken Takakura as the main Character. This story begins with Ken Takakura's character coming to Osaka after his brother's death. Another exciting yakuza story with superb yakuza action!!

Gambler's Farewell

Gambler's Farewell
6.4/10
The story of men devoted to the yakuza lifestyle and their struggles during a time of fading yakuza power.

Gang Loyalty and Vengeance

Gang Loyalty and Vengeance
5.4/10
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 20/10/1963
  • Character: Tahara
A modern gang version of Chushingura, chronicling almost scene for scene the Brave 47 Ronin story, transposed from the Genroku Period to the Showa Era.

House of Gamblers

House of Gamblers
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 01/01/1970
Ken Takakura stars as Ryoji one of the Aramasa family's loyal lieutenants whao takes the burden of his family being insulted by the Tanuma's family goons, by retaliating on his own. After injuring the head of Tanuma's family, and slaying others along the way, he then surrenders to the law and serves time. Before his last year to serve, the head of the Aramasa family falls ill and decides to retire, Ryoji miss chance to be successor, his old friend is reluctant but accepts. Now this gives the Tanuma family a chance for revenge! But with Tomisaburo Wakayama (Sekine) always having your back, how can you go wrong?

One Man's Chivalry

One Man's Chivalry
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 15/10/1965
  • Character: Kikujirō
Tokizо, the boss of the Tenmaru-gumi group, assists Kikujiro, a traveler on the run. At this time, a tender is being held to conclude a contract for the construction of the railway. Tokizo, who made the highest bid, was bought by the head of the Wakatsuki section of the Kansai Railroad, who was thinking about the country, and won by suppressing Takebe-gumi, who used bribes. However, not everything went as smoothly as planned...

Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers

Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers
  • Genre: Crime
  • Release: 20/11/1969
An honorable yakuza syndicate deeply rooted in Kyoto fights for survival when a new breed of gangsters threaten their very existence.

Big Time Gambling Boss

Big Time Gambling Boss
7.6/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 14/01/1968
  • Character: Shinjiro Nakai
Tokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer and suggests they choose Matsuda, who is in prison. Other clan members oppose and Ishido is elected. When Matsuda is freed, he doesn't accept this decision.

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
6.7/10
The ninth and final film in the Contemporary Tales of Chivalry series.

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