I'm Not Your Puppet: Cops Vs Thugs (1975)

Hirotani (Matskata Hiroki) threatening Kaida (Umemiya Tatsuo) and betraying his only friend.

     We’ve had Freddy Vs. Jason, Alien Vs. Predator, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Eagle Vs. Shark, but no match-up has been as explosive as the eternal battle - Cops Vs. Thugs.

     Kinji Fukasaku continued his streak of bloody yakuza-themed films throughout the 1970s. Following the original run of the first 5 Battles Without Honor And Humanity, he found a style that carried on in several other 'ripped from the headlines' films. If you’ve seen the title and the year a few things should be clear - this is an intense tale of honor, bloodshed, and masculinity, several cast from the BWHAH series will appear in various capacities, and an unflinching approach to violence and sex. Fukasaku understood the yakuza subgenre with a very particular and laser-focused specificity.

Kuno's more angry over skipping a bill than a planned raid.

  
     The conclusion of his epic gangster series resulted in the immediate production of yet another Battles film but under the title, New Battles Without Honor And Humanity. This was the first standalone entry in the series. Kinji was tired of cranking out those flicks and craved newer real crime stories to adapt and explore. All the while keeping several of the same cast from BWHAH - Sugawara Bunta, Kaneko Nobuo, Umemiya Tatsuo, Matsukata Hiroki, Narita Mikio, Tanaka Kunie, Naruse Masataka, and even Ike Reiko. 1975 proved to be a fertile year for him, as he had 3 more yakuza films come out within a year. 

 Cops Vs. Thugs (1975) - A dirty but good hearted cop, Kuno (portrayed by Sugawara Bunta), busts a few greenhorn Ohara yakuza for stealing from a local food vendor and NOT for going to raid a Kawade club. The Kawade gang stole their club hostess. A bloodbath ensues. Kuno tries to maintain the status quo between gangs and the police. Ohara gang’s interim boss, Hirotani (portrayed by Matsukata Hiroki), owes Kuno a big debt. Their friendship gets tested by the extremes of boiling pot scenario in Kurashima City. A new police chief, Kaida (portrayed by Umemiya Tatsuo) pushes Kuno into a do-or-die situation. What will become of Kuno and Hirotani? How will the yakuza react to these crackdowns?

The line between cop and criminal is nothing new to film. As soon as the possibility of telling stories of a crime and the subsequent ramifications became real, it was capitalized upon. Hitchcock famously stated that, all a movie needed was a girl and a gun. Cops Vs. Thugs ignites the powder keg with this very idea. We are thrown into the nihilistic maelstrom of Fukasaku's crime films. Life means nothing. The police and yakuza hold an uneasy truce. People are still getting killed but not nearly as many if the police cracked down on crime. On the surface, the illusion of control is alive. The opening beautifully illustrates this conceit. That conflict gets resolved within the first 20 minutes, the cliche opens up the story's border to the oncoming chaos.

  

A van full of disguised Hirotani men get lunch and skip the bill. Kuno is having none of it. He recognizes the greenhorns in their shit disguises. Raiding a club for the boss of another job is totally fine, that is a yakuza matter after all. They took advantage of a local though, the unspoken rules dictates keeping commoners out of it. Stealing food is not just disrespectful but a serious violation. The local did nothing to them. The lead goon points his gun at Kuno, who then proceeds to beat and belittle these punks. He knows the why, who, and how of what they’re gonna do. If one of them dies, it’ll just make the cleanup easier. In retribution, the punks pay for both theirs and his lunch. He slaps each with a fat stack of dollars. This is not the procedure of a good cop. He’s a slick, smart, and a  good-natured bastard trying to maintain the delicate balance between the cops and yakuza. He is in control but that will begin to slip as soon as the Hirotani guys leave. That classic Fukasaku rage bubbling underneath the surface starts. In a matter of 4 minutes the rules, tone, and themes are well-established. It’s ridiculous, intense, and the last time there is any real semblance of stability. From the first appearance of Kuno to the film’s conclusion, he’s trying to control the one thing that he can in his life. The tension between the cops and yakuza is palpable and thick but this is Fukasaku. Rage and intensity are his expertise.

Kuno is a broken man. Our protagonist is extremely likable but a rotten bastard. He’s paid off by the Hirotani gang, an alcoholic, and in the middle of an ugly divorce. On paper, he’d be the villain but he’s surrounded by men even more corrupt and unhinged. The titular lieutenant from Abel Ferrara’s masterpiece, Bad Lieutenant (1992), is akin to Kuno. The lieutenant has seemingly no redeemable qualities (Pulling over the girls from NJ for example) but there’s a spark of charisma that stops us from outright loathing him. The fate of Kuno is not fully set in stone but the possibility of turning into the Lieutenant is around the corner. His sense of honor hasn’t degraded, integrity is still largely valued and acted upon by him. Every choice isn’t a moral quandary, he knows who trusts and that never changes. Hirotani and Yoshiura are the closest to friends in his life and retains an allegiance to them. Sugawara is utterly captivating as Kuno. This might be blasphemous but he’s a step or 2 beneath #NakadaiForever Tatsuya, which is still very fucking high. The amount of pathos he evokes while playing such a rotten bastard is staggering. Just the carefree way he smokes a cigarette or how he lays back in a chair, he’s so lovable.

Given the external circumstances, most would buckle and collapse but he takes in stride. When faced with a strict and idealistic new chief, enough is enough. Kaida’s young and determined with a college education and lacking much life experience. The police here don’t work like that. They have an unspoken agreement and only go after yakuza if and when necessary. Under the thumb of Kaida, no more fun with and no more treats from criminals. Everyone is upset. As seen in the photo montage in the opening, when the police were actively hunting the yakuza they fought back. It took a few years to reach a truce but it eventually happened. Some bosses went into politics, others faded away, and some bribed and befriended the police. Kaida was busy in college studying Judo during these events. He doesn’t understand the complexities and relationships holding the ship together. His black and white causes only problems.

Yoshiura trying to get Kuno to retire and work in politics.

One of those problems is the collapse of a true and tried friendship - Kuno and Hirotani. It’s more than a criminal buying his way out of an arrest. Before Hirotani took over the Ohara gang, he was just an underboss with Boss Ohara. The family split up. The leader of the other faction was murdered. The killer was never found because Kuno kept Hirotani’s secret. That night after the murder, he sought out Kuno to confess his crime. They shared a meal. Kuno sees Hirotani washing the bowl he used and chooses to not report him. A murderer who confessed and has the decency to clean-up after himself reveals something deeper than regret. He trying to do what’s right. This is no ordinary criminal. They developed a bond that’s eroded into dust by Kaida’s crusade. The Ohara family gets disbanded by police pressure causing Hirotani and his men to take a police hostage. Only Kuno can talk down Hirotani. It appeared to go smoothly until, Kuno is forced to kill his only friend. The surviving members of the Hirotani faction track down and kill Kuno a few years later.

With Kuno’s death capping off the events, the film leans heavily into fate and how it plays into the film. This is based on true events but some was changed to make it work as a film. The situation is destined to implode in on itself. A city can’t survive with the constant threat of yakuza war. It was only a matter of time before all the pillars upholding that status quo would collapse. Kaida left the police. Hirotani and Kuno are killed. A life of crime and corruption is fated to end in tragedy. Fate has a sense of humor here too. Early on Hirotani asks Kuno to investigate Tomoyasu but he bursts into the restaurant as he finishes saying that. This device comes back later at a cop’s dinner, Kaida demands that no one talks bribes from yakuza anymore. Bottles of liquor are delivered to Kuno from Hirotani immediately after Kaida lectures his men. 

   As with much of Fukasaku in the 1970s, there is an epic novel's amount of content packed into 100 minutes. If you like his hyper dense and intense approach to crime stories by all means, you will like this. If you aren’t, it’s a good starting point to see if you like his style. This definitely leans into exploitation and gets a little bit sleazy. If you’re not into that, just a quick warning. Cops Vs. Thugs is on DVD, Blu-Ray, and streaming at a few places.

P.S. Lookout for shots of and with telephones, it should be a drinking game.