The Viper Brothers: Four and a Half Years in Jail

The Viper Brothers: Four and a Half Years in Jail

1973 · 90 min · ★ 10.0 · Action, Comedy

Part 5 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. After serving four and a half years in prison, Masa and his brother Katsuji leave Kobe to go to Nagoya to help a hostess get her daughter back from her mother. As they arrive in Nagoya, they get into a scuffle with the local yakuza affiliate. Sugawara and Kawaji's chemistry is even more evident here than usual, the storyline is alright if melodramatic. Delightful start with Tatsuo Endo as a nice guy prison guard! How many times have you seen that? And we got Kyosuke Machida (henchman) with cool beard and the always good Tsunehiko Watase (young hood) on board as well. One of the best films in the series.

Directed by Kōsaku Yamashita · Written by Tatsuo Nogami

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 59m together

The Viper Brothers: Four and a Half Years in Jail

Yakuza of Seki

Both from Kōsaku Yamashita.

The Viper Brothers CollectionSee all →

The Viper Brothers

The Viper Brothers · 1971

The Viper Brothers

MovieComedyAction

After spending several years in prison, yakuza punk Masa (Bunta Sugawara) and his underling, Katsuji (Tamio Kawachi) are back out in the mean streets of Kobe to make a name for themselves amongst the local yakuza organization.

The Viper Brothers Rage Again

The Viper Brothers Rage Again · 1971

The Viper Brothers Rage Again

MovieActionCrime

Part 2 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves.

The Viper Brothers: Prison Gang 13

The Viper Brothers: Prison Gang 13 · 1972

The Viper Brothers: Prison Gang 13

MovieCrimeAction

Part 3 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves.

The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats

The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats · 1972

The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats

MovieActionComedy

Part 4 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Sugawara tries to overcome a traumatic experience of getting in bed blindfolded with a girl who turned out to be an old granny. Later he and Kawaji try to settle down in a neighbourhood harassed by businessman yakuza Bin Amatsu.

The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers

The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers · 1973

The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers

MovieActionCrime

Upon his release from prison, Masa (Bunta Sugawara) is disappointed to not be picked up by his brother Katsu (Tamio Kawaji). After hitching a ride on a bus full of old women, Masa finds out that Katsu tried to fake a car accident and get some money for Masa to live on after prison. Together, the two decide to blackmail the woman (Yoko Horikoshi) who hit Katsu, who happens to be the daughter of a rich company president (Seizaburo Kawazu). 6th film in a series of 8.

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges · 1974

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges

MovieCrimeAction

Part 7 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Katsuji finds his long lost mother, who is a rich lady of a respectable family. Comedy and melodrama ensue. A thrilling spectacle with an overly violent ending, and a remarkable, Japan's only post-prison rape comedy, Masa is determined to have sex with the female guard, despite the fact that there is a bar between them. Michi Azuma (topless swordswoman from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril) plays a tomboy who wants to join her brothers.

The Viper Brothers and the Young General

The Viper Brothers and the Young General · 1975

The Viper Brothers and the Young General

MovieCrimeDrama

The last in the series. Sugawara runs into two mahjong cheaters (Ichiro Araki and Mako Midori + sidekick Takuzo Kawatani) whom he takes for friends in need as his naivety prevents him from seeing their true nature.

More from Kōsaku YamashitaSee all →

Yakuza of Seki

Yakuza of Seki · 1963

MovieActionDrama

A young yakuza, Yatappe, wanders around the country in search of his long-lost little sister, Oito. While traveling, he rescues a young girl, Osayo, whose father entrusts her to him with his dying wish. To honor his promise to Osayo's deceased father, Yatappe brings her to safety, and from a distance keeps a watchful eye on her well being.

Code Between Brothers

Code Between Brothers · 1966

Code Between Brothers

MovieCrimeDrama

Famous enka singer Saburo Kitajima stars as Katsuji, a traveling craps artist who finds great camaraderie on the road.

Yakuza Ladies Revisited 2

Yakuza Ladies Revisited 2 · 1993

Yakuza Ladies Revisited 2

Recently released from prison for a murder sentence, a yakuza boss's wife leaves Hong Kong for a fresh start, but a betrayal leads to her return.

Samurai Geisha

Samurai Geisha · 1969

MovieDramaCrime

Popular geisha Shinji (Fuji Junko) must defy a gang who plot to steal a lucrative coal business from struggling miners during the turbulent Meiji Era. A stellar all-star cast, a thrilling story, and Takakura Ken's violent swordplay, make this a classic Yakuza movie!

Red Peony Gambler

Red Peony Gambler · 1968

Red Peony Gambler

MovieDramaAction

Ryuko was raised by her father, a gambler named Senzo Yano in Kumamoto, Kyushu, after her mother died when she was little. When she turned 18 years old, her father was attacked and killed by a stranger in alley. Ryuko then dissolves her yakuza family, and, carrying the wallet left by the killer, she sets out on a journey to avenge her father’s death. Five years later, she wanders the nation, known only as! Red Peony Oryu who has a red peony tattooed on her shoulder and has the defiance and courage of a man. She meets Katagiri - a loner gambler, Kumatora - boss of a family in Shikoku, and Otaka - female boss of the Doman Family in Osaka. With their help, she finally catches up with the man who murdered her father.

Big Time Gambling Boss

Big Time Gambling Boss · 1968

Big Time Gambling Boss

MovieDramaCrime

Tokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer.

The Biggest Gamble

The Biggest Gamble · 1969

The Biggest Gamble

MovieCrimeDrama

When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.

Japan's Top Gangster

Japan's Top Gangster · 1973

Japan's Top Gangster

MovieActionCrime

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

Yokosuka Navy Prison

Yokosuka Navy Prison · 1973

Yokosuka Navy Prison

When a rebellious roughneck enlists in the Navy and goes on a rampage against his superiors, he is sent to the Yokosuka Naval Prison.

Code Between Brothers 2

Code Between Brothers 2 · 1966

Code Between Brothers 2

MovieDramaCrime

The services of a wandering gambler, Seiji, are called upon to protect the turf of his loyal friend Risaburo.

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai · 1963

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai

MovieHistoryDrama

After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw generations of his ancestors suffer and sacrifice themselves for the sake of their cruel lords.

A Lively Geisha

A Lively Geisha · 1970

A Lively Geisha

MovieDramaCrime

Young geisha Koshizu's wish of reuniting with the man, Yukichi, who helped her ten years ago comes true. When she learns of the trouble Yukichi's business is facing, she stands ready to come to his aid, and thus repay a debt that's long overdue.

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room · 1969

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room

MovieActionDrama

Oryu the Red Peony, a wandering female yakuza on a soul-searching journey after the death of her father. After collecting her sickly follower from jail, she is taken in by a fishing village. Feeling indebted to their generosity, she stays to work for the village and promises to leave her yakuza ways behind. When a dispute breaks out for the gambling rights to a local festival, the villagers are harassed by a gang of thugs. When the harassment turns violent, Oryu must decide wither to keep her promise or protect the villagers.

Giant Rumble

Giant Rumble · 1964

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home town. Swearing allegiance to his fiancée’s father, a decent boss, he had taken to the road after a gang fight until things cooled down. While honing his sword skills in his travels, everything in the town had changed and he descended into a virtual hell of violence. Opponents were being slaughtered by a former samurai ‘Bodyguard’ played by Tanba Tetsuro at the height of his amazing career. While these two master swordsmen are fated to meet, before that can even happen they must survive one of the longest, bloodiest swordfights in movie history!

Showdown of Men 3

Showdown of Men 3 · 1967

Showdown of Men 3

MovieDramaCrime

After being bailed out of trouble by a member of the Kaijima Clan, Ryuhei dedicates himself to saving the Kajima’s lucrative lumber business.

The Story of a Man Among Men

The Story of a Man Among Men · 1984

The Story of a Man Among Men

MovieDramaCrime

During the Showa era, a young yakuza survives war and injury and rises to become a clan boss with the help and respect of his sworn brothers.

More Like This

Taxi 2

MovieActionComedy

A cabdriver and a cop race to Paris to rescue a love interest and the Japanese minister of defense from kidnappers.

Contract Killer

Contract Killer · 1998

Contract Killer

MovieActionComedy

Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 · 2003

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

MovieActionCrime

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

Wasabi

MovieDramaAction

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

Crying Freeman

Crying Freeman · 1995

MovieActionCrime

A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.

Into the Sun

Into the Sun · 2005

MovieActionAdventure

After the assassination of Tokyo's Governor by Yakuza members, the CIA bureau chief for Tokyo puts out a call to an agent that had been raised in Japan and trained by ex-Yakuza. Using his former ties, he quickly determines that a war is brewing between old-guard Yakuza members and a young, crazed leader with ties to the Chinese Tong.

Adrift in Tokyo

Adrift in Tokyo · 2007

Adrift in Tokyo

A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.

Crows Zero

Crows Zero · 2007

MovieActionComedy

The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself do it as he reminds him of his youth.

Chocolate

Chocolate · 2008

MovieActionCrime

Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.

Graveyard of Honor

Graveyard of Honor · 2002

Graveyard of Honor

MovieCrimeDrama

A barkeeper saves a yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.

Shinjuku Incident

Shinjuku Incident · 2009

Shinjuku Incident

MovieDramaAction

A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet.

Black Rain

Black Rain · 1989

MovieDramaAction

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter