@SRDas Fantastic film. RIP 伊丹 十三「itami jūzō」(the director; some think his death was actually a hit made to look like a suicide, performed by 極道「gokudō」who took offense at his portrayals of ヤクザ「yakuza」).
For a while, the DVD was out of print. I remember finding a torrent which had like, 4 people seeding it.
I was elated when Criterion released it on BluRay.
So much so, that I purchased an extra copy and gave it to the video store in Japan Center, which was selling bootlegged versions of the DVD.
Lamentably, not only did I not see them start selling bootlegged versions on BluRay, the last time I went in there, I didn't see any Jūzō films on their shelves. ;( He directed some other outstanding movies as well, though I admit, I haven't seen all of them yet.
Trivia: The UC Theater (on University Avenue, in Berkeley California) used to show the opening sequence during their pre-movie screenings/trailers, as a kind of "silence your cell phone" message. It's so good!
If only more theaters, and patrons would get the message.
thepoliticalcat