Cops vs. Thugs

Kenkei tai soshiki boryoku

In this action thriller, a dirty cop is forced to choose between the police and his yakuza buddies when a new boss arrives in his precinct.

Considered by many to be director Kinji Fukasaku's greatest single-film achievement in the yakuza genre, COPS VS THUGS was made at the height of popularity of Toei Studios' jitsuroku boom, which fostered a bevy of realistic, modern crime movies based on true stories taken from contemporary headlines.