The Yakuza

1975 "A man never forgets. A man pays his debts."
7.2| 1h52m| R| en| More Info
Released: 19 March 1975 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

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.

Genre

Drama, Crime

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Director

Sydney Pollack

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Yakuza Audience Reviews

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism
AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Kirpianuscus for a lover of old classic cinema, a must see. for a story about duty, past and duty. for inspired script and for the smart use of clichés. and, sure, for Robert Mitchell in a role who seems be perfect for him. because Japan of "Yakuza" has the gift to be a complex and realistic portrait . traditions, history, crime, the war against a powerful organization. and, sure, an admirable story of friendship. short, one of films for see it time by time.
billcr12 The Yakuza are members of the Japanese Mafia. They make our American version seem like school girls by comparison. Robert Mitchum is a sort of every man who drifts from job to job, just getting along. An old friend appears asking for a favor. He is a wheeler dealer named George (Brian Keith) whose daughter has been kidnapped by the Yakuza for reneging on an arms deal with them. Harry (Mitchum) travels to Japan to rescue George's kid. In the process, he set off a mob war. He also reunites with an old flame and her daughter. The violence is what one would expect from this kind of film, with guns, knives and swords used frequently. Mitchum is his usual cool self, taking over every scene. The supporting cast are all good and The Yakuza is a fun ride for two hours.
WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed on DVD. Mostly shot on location. A time capsule of what Tokyo looked like some 40 years ago. Japanese actors look fabulous; not so much for the American actors. Minimal scrip; what there is of it is pretty silly. Direction is languid and seems to have been lost in translation (an interview with the Director indicates that the language barrier was a major problem with the film). Gorgeous print with lots of easily read (uncluttered and leisurely presented/photographed) Hiragana and Katakana symbols to practice your reading skills. Just turn off the sound (unless you are monitoring the accuracy of the subtitles) and enjoy the views! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.
arminhage There are some serious problems with the movie from the screenplay to production. Let's start from the screenplay.It starts slow plain boring. There is a flat opening scene which a Yakuza member offers his service to the mob boss in Japan, follows with an exceptionally long opening credits and then again one flat scene leads to another. Nothing really happens till almost half of the movie and by that time I bet half of the audience decide not to waste more time. When the action begins again there is another surprising fact to the downside. It was not supposed to be a Kill Bill type of movie in which a good swordsman kills an army without getting a scratch and apparently that's what happening. I really didn't expect the movie to get as unrealistic as it got but what really bothered me was that the hero of the movie was aging Robert Mitchum (Kilmer), at 57 years old he was already in bad shape, seeing him I could easily dream of heart attack! How come this 57 years old, 75 looking heart attack dreamcatcher manages to shoot and kill everyone like John Wayne in his 30s? Also the Yakuza looks like an army of brainless zombies... Makes sense, they better be if the hero is that old fart otherwise the movie would look even worse than what it already was. Kilmer and Tanaka managed to kill the zombie Yakuza army easily, kilmer attacked with guns representing USA and Tanaka with samurai sword representing Japan and by the way, apparently Japan has no police. People are being killed by white Americans in public places and yet they walk free no one looking for them, isn't that awesome?Anf finally the post climax... Post climax should short and sweet, showing how the characters are doing after the end of action but apparently the post climax on this movie was a episode of it's own! almost 25 boring minutes!!!This movie could be descent if not awesome with a faster and shorter screenplay and of course better cast selection but for what it is, it belongs to the hall of fame of worse movies ever!