MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Sympathy for the Underdog

Sympathy for the Underdog

1971 · 93 min

A grim, hard-boiled yakuza saga that feels like a slow-burning descent into violent, honor-bound desperation.

Overview
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
  • violence
  • crime
  • power
Places
  • big city
  • sea
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action7
Horror2
Humour2
Realism7
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like Sympathy for the Underdog

Movie

A gritty, fast-moving yakuza tragedy that immerses you in a world of shifting loyalties and sudden violence, leaving a lingering sense of futility.

Same director: Kinji Fukasaku · Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Also
Same director: Kinji Fukasaku
Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
99 min
Details In your watch list
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in HiroshimaHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Violent Streets

1974

A grim, tightly wound yakuza thriller that pulls you into a world of shifting loyalties and sudden brutality.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
96 min
Details In your watch list
Violent StreetsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Japan Organized Crime Boss

1969

A grim, slow-burning yakuza tragedy that immerses you in a world of shifting loyalties and inevitable violence.

Same writer: Kinji Fukasaku · Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Also
Same writer: Kinji Fukasaku
Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
97 min
Details In your watch list
Japan Organized Crime BossHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Japanese Godfather

1977

A slow, weighty crime saga that balances brutal street violence with quiet family strain, leaving a somber aftertaste.

Dark, tense · about loyalty and violence

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • loyalty
  • violence
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
132 min
Details In your watch list
Japanese GodfatherHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Yakuza Graveyard

1976

A gritty, chaotic plunge into corrupt loyalties and violent fallout, leaving a lingering sense of moral exhaustion.

Same director: Kinji Fukasaku · Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Also
Same director: Kinji Fukasaku
Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
97 min
Details In your watch list
Yakuza GraveyardHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Godfather

1972

A slow, shadowy immersion into a family's moral corrosion, where every quiet conversation carries the weight of impending violence.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
175 min
Details In your watch list
The GodfatherHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A gritty, fast-moving yakuza tale of betrayal and shifting loyalties, with bursts of violence and a pervasive sense of doom.

Same director: Kinji Fukasaku · Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Also
Same director: Kinji Fukasaku
Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
94 min
Details In your watch list
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the BossHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Legend of Turmoil

1992

A somber, old-school yakuza drama of loyalty and payback, carrying itself with stoic dignity and bursts of sudden violence.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
110 min
Details In your watch list
A Legend of TurmoilHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Blood for Blood

1971

A grim, tightly wound yakuza drama where loyalty curdles into violence and the city itself feels like a trap closing.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
86 min
Details In your watch list
Blood for BloodHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Tattooed Hitman

1974

A gritty, hard-boiled yakuza thriller that moves fast through blood-soaked turf wars, keeping you tense and wary of every alliance.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and violence

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • violence
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
106 min
Details In your watch list
The Tattooed HitmanHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Family

2021

A somber, deliberate crime drama about loyalty and loss, watching a man cling to a fading code as his world closes in.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
136 min
Details In your watch list
A FamilyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Okinawa War of Ten Years

1978

A gritty, tense yakuza crime saga of shifting loyalties, brotherly betrayal, and territorial violence in occupied Okinawa after World War II.

Dark, tense · about betrayal and loyalty

Via
  • dark
  • tense
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
102 min
Details In your watch list
The Okinawa War of Ten YearsHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, action, crime
Directed by
Kinji Fukasaku
Written by
Hirō Matsuda, Fumio Kōnami, Kinji Fukasaku
Starring
Koji Tsuruta, Tomisaburō Wakayama, Noboru Andō, Asao Koike, Tsunehiko Watase, Akiko Kudō, Kenji Imai, Harumi Sone
Music
Takeo Yamashita
Cinematography
Hanjirō Nakazawa
Runtime
93 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata