American Yakuza (1993)

Director:

Frank A. Cappello

Writers:

Takashige Ichise (story)
Max Strom (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1993 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The mob has a new enemy.

Plot:

An American FBI agent is lured away by the Japanese Mafia--the Yakuza--in this action film.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Sex | Yakuza | Undercover Agent | Forklift

Cast

Viggo Mortensen	...	Nick Davis / David Brandt
Ryo Ishibashi	...	Shuji Sawamoto
Michael Nouri	...	Dino Campanela
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Sam
Yuji Okumoto	...	Kazuo
Cristina Lawson	...	Yuko
Robert Forster	...	Littman
John Fujioka	...	Isshin Tendo
Nicky Katt	...	Vic
James Taenaka	...	Taka (as James Katsuyuki Taenaka)
Saiko Isshiki	...	Aya
Fritz Mashimo	...	Okazaki
Jeff Bankert	...	Medical Student
Rosine 'Ace' Hatem	...	Agent #1
John Hammil	...	Agent #2

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | USA:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Echo Park Lake, Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

First Look International

Trivia:

For the shot near the beginning of the inside of a time clock as someone clocks in, an enormous time clock was built by the director and shot in his garage. The paper inserted is about 2 feet wide, and it was shot sideways so that they could just let the heavy stamper drop rather than come up from the side to hit the paper.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Back to Back (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Won't Be Long

There Is no Honor in Deceiving

When Nick Davis (Viggo Mortensen) leaves prison after one year in solitaire, he is hired to operate forklift in a warehouse in the harbor owned by the Japanese Yakuza patriarch Isshin Tendo (John Fujioka). The place is assaulted by the Italian Mafia leaded by Dino Campanela (Michael Nouri) and Nick rescues and saves the life of Shuji Sawamoto (Ryo Ishibashi), who is the representative of Yakuza interests in America. Shuji hires Nick to work for Yakuza and becomes his godfather in the family after his oath to join Yakuza. However, Nick is a lonely FBI undercover agent assigned to penetrate in the criminal organization. When the FBI discovers that Campanela is organizing a massive attack to destroy the Yakuza, Nick's boss Littman (Robert Foster) calls off the operation to leave the dirty work to the Italian Mafia. But the connection of Nick with Shuji and his goddaughter Yuko (Cristina Lawson) forces him to help his Japanese family.

I have just watched maybe for the sixth time the underrated "American Yakuza", one of the best movies of Yakuza movies with a solid dramatic story of code of honor and a beautiful romance. I became a fan of Viggo Mortensen after watching this movie in the 90's: his character is very well developed in one sentence of his liaison Sam, when he explains that David Brandt is a needy man without family that gives a great value to honor and does not admit betrayal. The screenplay is sharp and the production is classy, supported by magnificent direction and performances and an awesome soundtrack. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "American Yakuza"