The Yakuza (1974)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Paul Schrader (screenplay) and
Robert Towne (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A man never forgets. A man pays his debts.

Plot:

Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter...

Plot Keywords:

Yakuza | Sword Fight | Detective | Katana Sword | Cult Favorite

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Harry Kilmer
Ken Takakura	...	Tanaka Ken (as Takakura Ken)
Brian Keith	...	George Tanner
Herb Edelman	...	Wheat
Richard Jordan	...	Dusty
Keiko Kishi	...	Eiko (as Kishi Keiko)
Eiji Okada	...	Tono (as Okada Eiji)
James Shigeta	...	Goro
Kyosuke Mashida	...	Kato
Christina Kokubo	...	Hanako
Eiji Go	...	Spider (as Go Eiji)
Lee Chirillo	...	Louise
M. Hisaka	...	Boyfriend
William Ross	...	Tanner's Guard
Akiyama	...	Tono's Guard

Also Known As:

Brotherhood of the Yakuza (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

Japan:123 min | UK:107 min | USA:112 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) | Singapore:PG | France:-12 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Toei Company

Trivia:

This script sold for $300,000 which was the highest amount ever paid for a script at the time.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The boom mic is clearly visible in one scene when Oliver Wheat grabs his cat while telling the story of Eiko to Dusty, the mic appears behind the table and is retracted as Wheat advances.

Quotes:

Harry Kilmer: Everywhere I look, I can't recognize a thing.
Oliver Wheat: It's still there. Farmers in the countryside may watch TV from their tatami mats and you can't see Fuji through the smog, but don't let it fool you. It's still Japan and the Japanese are still Japanese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Only the Wind

The Godfather Japanese Style

The Yakuza introduced we occidentals to the term the Japanese use for their various crime families. Probably after the wide acceptance of both the Godfather films, the American public was ready to see what organized crime looked like in another culture.

La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, all those phrases we use for Italian organized crime certainly had their rituals and traditions. But as we learn in watching this film they have nothing on the Yakuza.

Robert Mitchum plays a private detective who works both sides of the law back in the states and he's hired by crime boss Brian Keith to rescue his daughter who was kidnapped by one of the Yakuza crime families in lieu of a shipment of weapons Keith was supposed to deliver. Coming along with him is young Richard Jordan whose father was a friend of both Mitchum and Keith as backup.

The mission is accomplished, but Mitchum and Jordan find the situation is a whole lot more complex than they were led to believe. In addition Mitchum gets involved with an old girl friend from the days when he was a military policeman during the postwar American occupation. She's the key to getting help from a former Yakuza member in their quest.

The American actors perform well here and oriental players James Shigeta and Japanese film star Takakura Ken are well cast as feuding Yakuza brothers. You will not question why Takakura Ken is known as the Japanese Clint Eastwood after seeing The Yakuza.

Director Sydney Pollack shows a real reverence and respect for the traditions of another culture. The Yakuza is both entertaining and informative and should not be missed.