Golgo 13 (1977) Yukio Noda

Genre: Action| Crime

Country: Japan| Director: Yukio Noda

Aspect ratio: Cinemascope 2.35:1 | Length: 88mn

Dvdrip H264 Mkv - 1036x414 - 25fps - 1.50gb

Blood for Money! Sonny Chiba is "Golgo 13", a cold, calculating, ruthless assassin, working for the U.S. drug syndicate. His assignment: "take-out" Hong Kong's underworld kingpin. His only obstacle: a relentless cop, determined to stop him - no matter what the cost. The result is an explosive adventure through the seamy, violent streets of Hong Kong. 

Also known as Golgo 13: Operation Kowloon,(US title) this is a perfect example of a grindhouse cinema Yakuza movie. Before John Woo there were these Yakuza movies. Films that merge the fetish of a slasher film with sex, guns and ammo. Gritty noir that has all of detective work of Chinatown with none of the charm or depth. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that it's a different more lowbrow but equally watchable form of entertainment. Another American example would be Charles Bronson's "The Mechanic" from 1972.

As the relentless killer Golgo 13, a hitman that NEVER leaves a job unfinished, Sonny Chiba delivers what I would dare say the most hardboiled of it's time hitman movie. Devoid of mercy and full of bullet holes this movie takes out all of it's aggression on it's viewer with a rapid fire delivery of the plot and action sequences that flow together as if it's own style of dialog.

A perfect starter film for anyone interested in grindhouse and kung-fu style movies. Movies like Leon, Kill Bill, Ichi The Killer and later John Woo's The Killer all tip a hat to Chiba's work in this film.