Ryuzo and his Seven Henchmen (Ryuzo no Shichinin no Kobuntachi) is the story of an ageing group of yakuza who come out of retirement to reclaim their turf from a younger group of extortionists with no time for the old ways. Written, directed and produced by Kitano Takeshi it is It is easy to see why the yakuza embrace Kitano the film-maker whereas they clashed violently with Itami Juzo. Whilst Itami mocked and ridiculed them in his satirical comedies, Kitano is more respectful and is careful to laugh with them not at them. And this film is no exception. Ryuzo is played by Fuji Tatsuya who, whilst acting in gangster films earlier in his screen, is best known for his performance in Oshima Nagisa's erotic Ai no Korida. An attempt to extort money from Ryuzo fails when the young man sent by the gang is taken aback by the old-school antics of Ryuzo and one of his henchmen. Ryuzo threatens to cut off one of his fingers to make amends for the alleged loss of company money by his son. Word gets back to the gang's leader and so starts a turf war that brings Ryuzo's old buddies out of retirement (and nursing homes) in order to teach the young men some respect. The world, however, is a very different place and when Ryuzo visits a nightclub and goes home with the madam all of the street walkers they pass who are 'Lady Boys'. To Ryuzo's chagrin (and the audience's delight), Ryuzo has to hide on the bathroom and then walk home in her dress after his rival turns up with some of his henchmen! Comedy abounds in this film as age provides a reality check for the old men. Mac, who has an obsession with Steve McQueen, can no longer hold his gun still so he shoots off target. But they prove more than a match for the young gangsters led by Yasuda Ken, the Keihin Rengo boss. Overseeing all of the action as the turf war escalates is a detective played by Beat Takeshi. At first, he takes a hard line against Ryuzo and his henchmen but this changes as the young gang becomes increasingly desperate and resort to violence in order to protect their extortion racket. When Mokichi, the former boss, storms into the offices of the racketeers he is quickly overpowered and beaten to death with a baseball bat. Stealing the hearse Ryuzo and his henchmen plan a revenge attack which includes an assault by air. The pilot, however, changes course and lands on an American aircraft carrier in Tokyo Bay instead driven by an unrealised fantasies to be a kamikaze pilot. Ryuzo goes ahead with the attack anyway and he and his henchmen are forced to hide behind the dead Mokichi, whose corpse they use to use to shield themselves from attack. Yielding the battlefield to Ryuzo and his henchmen, the Keihin Rengo gang members make their escape only to be pursued through the backstreets of Tokyo by Ryuzo and his henchmen in a bus they have commandeered. Finally, they are all surrounded in a car park by the police and, as they are led away, the retired gangsters tally up their latest crimes in order to see who has the most points and will be the next boss. Young or old, no-one beats the system!
