American private-eye Harry Kilmer returns to Japan to rescue a friend's kidnapped daughter from the clutches of the Yakuza.
No need to waste time endlessly browsing—here's the entire lineup of new movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix this month.
Related News
-
Paul Schrader's 10 Best Movies (As Director), According to IMDb
11 July 2020 | Screen Rant -
Sydney Pollack's 10 Best Movies (As Director), According To Rotten Tomatoes
04 July 2020 | Screen Rant -
Sydney Pollack movies: All 20 films as a director ranked worst to best
30 June 2020 | Gold Derby
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Yakuza (1974)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Robert Mitchum | ... | Harry Kilmer | |
| Ken Takakura | ... | Tanaka 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 |
Learn more
More Like This
Hardcore
(1979)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Paul Schrader
Stars:
George C. Scott,
Peter Boyle,
Season Hubley
Farewell, My Lovely
(1975)
Crime
|
Mystery
|
Thriller
Director:
Dick Richards
Stars:
Robert Mitchum,
Charlotte Rampling,
John Ireland
Rolling Thunder
(1977)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
John Flynn
Stars:
William Devane,
Tommy Lee Jones,
Linda Haynes
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
(1973)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Peter Yates
Stars:
Robert Mitchum,
Peter Boyle,
Richard Jordan
Blue Collar
(1978)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Paul Schrader
Stars:
Richard Pryor,
Harvey Keitel,
Yaphet Kotto
Across 110th Street
(1972)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Barry Shear
Stars:
Anthony Quinn,
Yaphet Kotto,
Anthony Franciosa
Underworld U.S.A.
(1961)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Samuel Fuller
Stars:
Cliff Robertson,
Dolores Dorn,
Beatrice Kay
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Larry Cohen
Stars:
Broderick Crawford,
James Wainwright,
Michael Parks
Jeremiah Johnson
(1972)
Certificate: GP
Adventure
|
Drama
|
Western
Director:
Sydney Pollack
Stars:
Robert Redford,
Will Geer,
Delle Bolton
The Sound of Fury
(1950)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Cy Endfield
Stars:
Frank Lovejoy,
Kathleen Ryan,
Richard Carlson
Light Sleeper
(1992)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Paul Schrader
Stars:
Willem Dafoe,
Susan Sarandon,
Dana Delany
Point Blank
(1967)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
John Boorman
Stars:
Lee Marvin,
Angie Dickinson,
Keenan Wynn
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
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... Written by Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>
Taglines:
The Secret Society of Japan See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Tanaka Ken: Giri? Hai.
Dusty: It means obligation, right?
Tanaka Ken: Burden.
Dusty: Burden?
Tanaka Ken: It's called, 'the burden hardest to bear.'
Dusty: Yeah, well, suppose you don't bear it. I mean, no one's going to come down on you?
Tanaka Ken: No.
Dusty: Well, you guys believe in some kind of Heaven and Hell?
Tanaka Ken: No.
[...]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Robert Mitchum and Richard Jordan had previously appeared together in The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), released one year earlier. See more »Goofs
The plane that Kilmer is boarding at the end of the film is a Boeing 707, the one shown taking off in the last scene is a 727. See more »Quotes
Dusty: This Giri...Tanaka Ken: Giri? Hai.
Dusty: It means obligation, right?
Tanaka Ken: Burden.
Dusty: Burden?
Tanaka Ken: It's called, 'the burden hardest to bear.'
Dusty: Yeah, well, suppose you don't bear it. I mean, no one's going to come down on you?
Tanaka Ken: No.
Dusty: Well, you guys believe in some kind of Heaven and Hell?
Tanaka Ken: No.
[...]
See more »
Alternate Versions
Recent US VHS releases are missing subtitles for Japanese dialogue in some scenes. Particularly when Ken makes an apology to his brother near the end, and the final, emotion scene between Harry and Ken. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Release Date:
19 March 1975 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Yakuza See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$5,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1Looking for something to watch? Check out IMDb's "What to Watch" series to find out what's really worth watching.
One of the best West-meets-East films made. Great dialogues, very realistic fighting scenes, even though this film has been made so long ago, without any CGI tricks at all, yet the sword fights still look really great. But in my opinion the story, which may be shortly described with one of the sentences spoken by Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) at the end of this film: "I have destroyed his past, and his future" - perhaps the story is what it makes this film so unique and timeless. Outstanding performance by Ken Takakura ("Ken Tanaka")! If you haven't seen it yet - get it now! And why do I say "get it" instead of "rent it"? Because unfortunately VHS version available in US is more than 10 minutes shorter, and European VHS versions have even more *vital to the plot* cuts! (More info here: http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0073918/alternateversions
or if it doesn't work try the link under "Alternate versions"). Please: don't waste your time on those! I swear these edited versions must have been edited either by some blind and deaf personae, or a child who didn't understood plot at all! Currently the only good, somewhat true to the original theatrical print (just slightly more than 3 minutes shorter), are the 2hr long versions available on the not-so-legal (and not too good quality-wise) VCDs released in Hong Kong and Asia.
I rated this film very high - and I am not any big sword-actioneers fan, but nor is this movie any kind of sword fighting flicks. Its just a great story that is told (or actually shown) very well, and it deserves full 10/10.