The Yakuza (1974)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

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

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
Harada	...	Goro's Doorman

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
Paul Schrader		(screenplay) and
Robert Towne		(screenplay)
Leonard Schrader		(story)

Produced by
Michael Hamilburg	....	co-producer
Sydney Pollack	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Kozo Okazaki		(director of photography) (as Okazaki Kozo)

Film Editing by
Don Guidice
Thomas Stanford

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Yoshiyuki Ishida		(as Ishida Yoshiyuki)

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Garry Morris	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John R. Coonan	....	production manager (as John Coonan)
Isao Nagaoka	....	unit production manager (as Nagaoka Isao)
William Ross	....	assistant production manager
Yoshio Yamamoto	....	unit production manager (as Yamamoto Yoshio)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Abe	....	assistant director
Stephen B. Grimes	....	second unit director (as Stephen Grimes)
Michael D. Moore	....	assistant director (as Michael Moore)

Art Department
Toshio Miyagawa	....	props (as Miyagawa Toshio)
Seiji Moori	....	tattoo artist (as Mohri Seiji)

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound mixer (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ed Scheid	....	sound effects (as Edwin Scheid)

Special Effects by
Tomoo Kasai	....	special effects (as Kasai Tomoo)
Richard Parker	....	special effects

Stunts
Bill Saito	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bobby Byrne	....	camera operator (as Robert Byrne)
Duke Callaghan	....	director of photography: american sequences
Yoshiaki Masuda	....	gaffer (as Masuda Yoshiaki)
Tamio Matsuo	....	assistant camera (as Matsuo Tamio)
Haruhisa Murase	....	grip (as Murase Haruhisa)
Clifton Ralke	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mamoru Mori	....	wardrobe (as Mori Mamoru)

Editorial Department
Carol Ann Jackson	....	assistant editor
Ralph Sandler	....	assistant editor
Fredric Steinkamp	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Other crew
Kuroki Masami	....	production personnel
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Michie Ross	....	production secretary
Masao Sato	....	assistant to executive producer (as Sato Masao)
Gaylin P. Schultz	....	production coordinator (as Gaylin Schultz)
Takeshi Sugimoto	....	production personnel (as Sugimoto Takeshi)
Keiko Tsushima	....	script girl (as Tsushima Keiko)
Hope Williams	....	script supervisor
Seiji Yada	....	production personnel (as Yada Seiji)

Production Companies

• Toei Company
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1979) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print - Panavision)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Toei Company  special thanks (as Toei Motion Picture Company)

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:

Martin Scorsese wanted to direct after Mean Streets (1973) but the producers wanted Sydney Pollack.

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:

Eiko Tanaka: Did you speak to Ken?
Harry Kilmer: Yeah
Eiko Tanaka: Does he know we are here?
Harry Kilmer: Sure.
Eiko Tanaka: Is he unhappy?
Harry Kilmer: I'm on my way over to see him now.
Eiko Tanaka: But is he unhappy?
Harry Kilmer: Of course he's unhappy, he's been unhappy ever since he lost the war. I keep trying to tell him it's not his fault, he won't take my word for it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Only the Wind

widely unrecognized gem

I have to agree with the preponderance of viewers here who rate this as a neglected classic of the 70's. All aspects of the film - performances, script, and direction - raise this to the level of greatness. This is certainly among Mitchum's greatest performances - his subdued, world-weary toughness undergirds the movie. The story as has been noted, is a rich and multilayered one with a sadness that aspires to and quite nearly reaches the level of tragedy. It also must be noted that this is one of the most effective portrayals of Japanese culture on celluloid. The movie does not shrink from violence; the various scenes of assassination and slaughter could have been done by Peckinpah. The movie deserves a restoration and should be brought to tv in letterbox mode. (Are you listening, American Movie Classics?)