Ginshiro (Morio Kazama) is the stereotypical ego maniacal actor, a gaudy dresser, loud, a self important mix of bloated ego, childish temperament, and severe insecurity. While on the set of his latest movie (a samurai epic), he is seeing his star fade, which only makes him ten times worse. Ginshiro and his devoted entourage watch as rival lead actor Tachibana gets more close-ups and Ginshiro's big battle scene is cut due to a too risky stunt involving a massive set of stairs no stunt man wants to topple down.

With his image in trouble, Ginshiro decides to relieve himself of his latest mistress, Konatsu (Keiko Matsuzaka), herself a faded actress who has just unexpectedly become pregnant with Ginshiro's child. He proposes that one of his lackeys, Yasu (Mitsuro Hirata), marry Konatsu, thus ridding Ginshiro of responsibility so he can move on to a younger girl. Yasu is a sweet soul, eager to please, and goes to great lengths by taking more and more dangerous stunts in order to provide for Konatsu. The two gradually form a tender bond, though Konatsu still has feelings for Ginshiro and Yasu hides a growing resentment over his role of everybody's whipping boy.

But, then Yasu agrees to do the dangerous staircase stunt in order to save his mentors career and possibly get a big life insurance policy payoff for Konatsu. Risking life and limb for those he loves, Yasu's fall could also become the ultimate (fatal?) tribute to the unsung faceless minions that are the movie extra.

One of the things that distinguished Kinji Fukasaku's career was how he effortlessly slid from one genre to the next. In his resume you'll find films ranging from samurai action, to gangster film, drama, sci fi, and comedy. The man was a workhorse, doing many films a year throughout most of his career, which makes his malleability all the more impressive. Like Hawks and Wilder, he seemed willing to do it all, though he seemed to prefer yakuza and samurai genres more than most.

Fall Guy is a sweet and funny tale of devotion (for peers, spouses, and the movie industry). I thought it had some genuinely chuckle-worthy moments but it was not exactly full of laughs. The film began as a stage play and there are a few stage-y moments, that is, long monologue/dialogue driven scenes locked in one room, but, credit to Fukasaku, the film doesn't really drag and keeps a good momentum. What keeps it from being a great film is a common problem with farce- finding that balance of drama while having enough laughs and likeable characters to suspend your disbelief for the wackier stuff. Fall Guy's premise (mainly the whole "fatal stunt" business) does ask viewers to seriously stretch their imagination and, combined with the broad exacerbated acting, it makes the films more serious strains a little hard to swallow.

The DVD: Home Vision

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. While the print is pretty clean, it does exhibit some wear and tear that does make the film look dated. There is a general softness and dull color scheme to the image. So, it is a tad rough but otherwise technically fine. It appears Home Vision made the most out of some aged material.

Sound: Monoaural Japanese with optional English subtitles. Well, the score definitely marks it as an 80's film. You even get a few chipper musical montages. The sound presentation is good, free of any glaring problems. The subtitle translation is great.

Extras: Liner Notes. An excerpt from Sadao Yamade's book "Director, Kinji Fukasaku."— Interview with Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamade (11:50). Good interview, with Yamade discussing general background details about the film. Would have been nice to hear him say some things about his general impression of Fukasau, the man, and not just film facts.— Trailer— Fukasaku filmography.

Conclusion: Well, while understandable, it is a bit unfortunate that Home Vision decided to put " A comedy from the director of Battle Royale" on the cover. Fall Guy is a far cry from the exploitative allegory of Battle Royale, so linking the two is a bit like saying, "If you loved A Clockwork Orange, you'll love Raising Arizona." Still, this is a pleasant little comedy that, though it mocks it, ultimately, is a love letter to the film industry and its scrappy workers.