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Released by: Adness
Released on: 4/26/2005
Director: Junya Sato
Cast: Ken Takakura, Hiroko Yakushimaru, Rentaro Mikuni, Isao Natsuyagi, Ryoko Nakano
Year: 1978
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The Movie:
Director Junya Sato was no stranger to the 'event' movie in Japan. Having previously directed a star studded cast in 1975's The Bullet Train (the same film that Hollywood would later rape and pillage as the inspiration for Speed) he proved he could handle the pressures involved with such work. 1978's Never Give Up, starring Yakuza film veteran Ken Takakura, is further proof of that.
When an Ambassador is kidnapped and, along with his entire family, taken hostage by a terrorist organization who threaten to kill them off one by one if their demands are not met, the Special Operations division of the Japanese military is called in to handle things before they get too out of hand. Takeshi Ajisawa (Takakura) is a member of this division.
Awhile later, we find that Ajisawa has been given a dishonorable discharge from the military and as such, he's out of a job. When he heads out on his own he winds up hooking up with a young girl named Yoriko (Hiroko Yakushimaru of Legend Of The Eight Samurai) who is the soul survivor of the massacre that just occurred in her small farming village. Ajisawa takes it upon himself to look after the girl, who we soon find out has some minor psychic abilities and is able to see slightly into the future. Along the way the team up with a female reporter named Tomoko (Ryoko Nakano of Village Of The Eight Gravestones) and the three of them will have to do everything they can to work together to get away from the killers who took down Yoriko's village in one piece.
A solid film from start to finish, Never Give Up is a great showcase for Ken Takakura's tough guy posturing in a non-Yakuza environment. Even without the back tattoos though, there's no doubt that he's one bad man that you don't want to mess with. He scowls his way through the action scenes with the intensity of a wolf but is also able to display some believable emotion in the scenes in which he's caring for Yoriko, who quickly learns to look up to him as a father figure once her real father has been killed in the events that took place in her village. It's their relationship that makes this more than just a standard action film, as they're able to give each other what they need - Yoriko needs Ajisawa for protection and he needs to give it to her so that he can feel he has redeemed himself for some of his past transgressions. She gives him a sense of purpose and of being that he would otherwise lack since his dishonorable discharge took effect.
It isn't all character drama though - there is plenty of fast paced action in the film and Sato shows a flare for handling these scenes with style and with a surprising sense of realism. When the violence does occur in the film, it happens fast and it happens in such an ugly way that it makes the viewer really feel more for the characters and what they're going through.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Adness presents Never Give Up in a 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that presents the film in its original aspect ratio. Though there is some mild edge enhancement, for the most part the transfer is sharp and strong. Detail is consistantly high and colors and flesh tones look lifelike and natural (as they should). A few of the darker scenes in the film do exhibit some minor grain but it's virtually unnoticeable in the lighter scenes. For the most part, Never Give Up looks very good.
The Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track sounds very nice without any noticeable hiss or background noise in the mix. Dialogue is clean and clear and comes through without any problems and the background music and sound effects are mixed into the whole soundscape quite nicely but are not over done. A surround mix would have been fun for the action scenes but the stereo track on this DVD takes care of business.
As seems to be the norm for Adness' vintage Japanese cult film releases, Patrick Macias once again contributes some interesting liner notes. His brief essay (printed on the back of the cover and readable through the clear plastic keepcase) does a nice job of giving some background information on the film and how it affected the Japanese film industry at the time of its release.
Other than that, Adness supplies trailers for the feature attraction as well as for Shikoku, Resurrection Of Golden Wolf, Shadow Of The Wraith, Inugami, and Isola.
The Final Word:
Adness continues to do justice to some great seventies and eighties Japanese cult films and their fine release of Never Give Up upholds that tradition quite nicely. Ken Takakura is great in the lead role and there's enough action in the film to keep things moving along and enough drama to make the characters interesting.