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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Takashige Ichise (story)
Max Strom (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
22 December 1993 (Japan) more
Tagline:
The mob has a new enemy. more
Plot:
An American FBI agent is lured away by the Japanese Mafia--the Yakuza--in this action film. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
‘Katana’ Slices, Dices, Premieres on Strike.TV
(From Tubefilter News. 22 January 2009, 7:07 PM, PST)
User Comments:
There Is no Honor in Deceiving more (20 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Sound Mix:
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 more
Company:
Fun Stuff
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. more
Movie Connections:
Followed by Back to Back (1996) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Won't Be Long more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (20 total)
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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"