Sympathy for the Underdog (1969)

Filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku first sketched out the lean and uncompromising vision of life among the Japanese Mafia which dominated his acclaimed Yakuza Papers series in this potent crime drama. Gunji (Koji Tsuruta) is a veteran gangster who is eager to return to life in the underworld after spending ten years in prison; however, Gunji soon learns that the yakuza is not what it once was, and there is little call for his personal moral code in a world where crime has become big business, and is operated as such. Striking out on his own, Gunji joins forces with some old compatriots and takes over the liquor trade in Okinawa, but his bold actions make him many enemies among the leaders of the larger and more powerful outfits, and blood must be shed in order to determine who will rule the business. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi