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Like a Dragon
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Wikipedia article
, is a 2007 Japanese crime film directed by Takashi Miike, based on the 2005 PlayStation 2 video game 'Yakuza'. The film stars Kazuki Kitamura, Goro Kishitani, Show Aikawa, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Kenichi End and Tomorowo Taguchi.
The English-subtitled version premiered on June 23, 2008, at New York Asian Film Festival,[http://www.subwaycinema.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=80 LIKE A DRAGON (Japan, 2007)] and was released on DVD in Northern America on February 23, 2010, by an affiliate of Media Blasters.
Plot
's Kabukicho district which itself served as a basis for the background design of the game's Kamurocho area.
, a main landmark in both the games and the movie version
The plot is loosely based on the original 'Yakuza' game and is a separate, "one-night-story" that unfolds in a hot summer night in Kamurocho, the fictitious version of Tokyo Shinjuku's Kabukich.
The night begins with a bank robbery by a manzai duo of amateur masked gunmen, and the disappearance of ten billion yen belonging to the Tojo Clan, a powerful yakuza syndicate. Meanwhile, in the streets of Kamurocho, former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu and his adopted daughter, a young girl called Haruka Sawamura, search for Mizuki Sawamura, the latter's mother and the sister of Kiryu's childhood love, with Kiryu's old rival, the psychotic yakuza Goro Majima, and his men following them.
After a meeting with Kiryu and Haruka in a convenience store called Poppo, employee Satoru and his new girlfriend Yui decide to start holding up stores for money and for fun. Elsewhere in the district, a mysterious Korean hitman, Park, tracks down the culprit behind the Tojo Clan heist, which leads him towards the infamous Jingu, a figure also known as Mister N, and the Kamurocho landmark, the Millennium Tower.
The search for Mizuki brings Kiryu to the top of Millennium Tower and ends with a climactic battle against yakuza Akira Nishikiyama, Kiryu's childhood best friend and former blood brother, who declares his intention to beat Kiryu and finally prove he is the better man.
Video
Amuse Soft Entertainment released the regular DVD edition on September 28, 2007, in Japan, with a limited edition "Deluxe Box" featuring three Kubrick figures (Majima, Kiryu and Haruka).[https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000SADJJG BOX [DVD]]
American distributor Tokyo Shock released a licensed DVD titled 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' on February 23, 2010, to coincide with the North American localization of 'Yakuza 3'.[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002T08R9U Like A Dragon (2007) - Amazon.com] The release date was originally planned to March, probably in order to coincide with the North American localization of the PlayStation 3 video game 'Yakuza 3'.
Prior to this official release, an English-subtitled DVD was distributed in North America by Bonzai RCS;[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018017X0 Amazon.com - Like a Dragon] its case featured a Korean cover for some reason (it was likely an unlicensed product); it was similar to the Korean market edition by CJ Entertainment.[http://www.yesasia.com/global/like-a-dragon-dvd-korea-version/1010681279-0-0-0-en/info.html Yesasia.com - Like a Dragon (DVD) (Korea Version)]
As of November 2020, it is available on the streaming service provider Fandor, under the title of simply 'Yakuza'.
Soundtrack
The motion picture soundtrack features three songs by Crazy Ken Band from his 2006 album 'Galaxy' released on the Almond Eyes label (XNAE-10010), these are 'Hama no Ambassador' (, 'hama no anbasada', lit. "ambassador of Yokohama") featuring Fire Ball and Papa B., 'Kuroi Kizuato no Blues' (, 'kuroi kizuato no burusu', lit. "black scar blues") and the ending theme '12 gatsu 17 nichi' (1217, lit. "December 17th"). The latter two are also included in the 'Yakuza 2' game's soundtrack.
Cast
*Kazuki Kitamura as Kazuma Kiryu ()
*Natsuo as Haruka Sawamura ()
* as Goro Majima ()
*Shun Shioya as Satoru ()
*Saeko as Yui ()
*Haruhiko Kato as Kazuki ()
*Saki Takaoka as Yumi Sawamura () / Mizuki Sawamura ()
*Show Aikawa as detective Noguchi ()
*Gong Yoo as Park the Korean hitman ()
*Yutaka Matsushige as Makoto Date ()
*Claude Maki as Akira Nishikiyama ()
*Yoshiyoshi Arakawa as the Korean-Japanese weapon smuggler ()
*Kenichi End as Imanishi the bank robber ()
*Sansei Shiomi as Shintaro Kazama ()
*Tomorowo Taguchi as the Korean-Japanese barbershop owner
*Toshihiro Nagoshi as Jingu but listed as Mister N (N)
*Alexander Otsuka as a Yakuza ()
References
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