The Yakuza (1974)

Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter - and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia...

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Paul Schrader (screenplay), Robert Towne (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Kyôsuke Machida	...	Kato
Christina Kokubo	...	Hanako
Eiji Gô	...	Spider (as Go Eiji)
Lee Chirillo	...	Louise
M. Hisaka	...	Boyfriend
William Ross	...	Tanner's Guard
Akiyama	...	Tono's Guard

Storyline

Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter - and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia...

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Plot Keywords:

japan | yakuza | love | business | mafia | 

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Taglines:

A man never forgets. A man pays his debts.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Yakuza

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Dusty: American saw cuts on a push stroke, Japanese saw cuts on a pull stroke. When an American cracks up, he opens up the window and shoots up a bunch of strangers. When a Japanese cracks up, he closes the window and kills himself. Everything is in reverse.

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Connections

Referenced in Remington Steele: Your Steele the One for Me (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Only the Wind"
Japanese Lyrics Yû Aku (as Aku Yu)
Composed by Dave Grusin

User Reviews

Top Notch Gangster Movie

I stumbled across this movie, back when I was in college, on late night television. At the time, I wasn't a Robert Mitchum fan. I always thought Mitchum had a way of sauntering through film roles, not always giving his best. The Yakuza, made when Mitchum was 58 years old, utilizes his style and persona to its maximum potential. He's world-weary, he's been through the mill and he's come out wiser, but not necessarily harder for it.

Written by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne, The Yakuza shows us a different side of the Gangster world than we have been privy to before. This is not a movie of good vs. bad; it's a movie about loyalty and honor to friends and family. We follow Mitchum as Harry Kilmer on a mission to save a friends daughter. For most movies made these days, that premise would be enough, but The Yakuza is deeply layered and far more interesting than that. It turns out that Harry had been in Japan after WWII and had fallen in love with a beautiful woman, Eiko. 30 years later Harry is back in Japan, much has changed, but his feelings haven't.

Harry teams up with Ken Tanaka, Eiko's brother, to find the kidnapped girl. Samurai swords slash and guns blaze, adding intense, well-choreographed action as the plot thickens and Harry realizes that this is no ordinary rescue. We learn a lot about the characters in the movie, from Harry and Eiko to Ken Tanaka and Harry's buddy George, but more than that we learn about Japan and its infamous and historic gangster world. This is a classic movie in every sense of the word and should be viewed as such. And if you're not a fan of Robert Mitchum before seeing this movie, you will be afterwards.