The Yakuza ***** (1974, Robert Mitchum, Takakura Ken, Brian Keith) – Classic Movie Review 2,716

Sydney Pollack’s startling 1974 neo-noir gangster thriller film The Yakuza is the stomach-churning tale of Japanese crime syndicate members who abduct a rich US businessman’s daughter. Robert Mitchum stars as the ex-GI assigned to trace her.

Producer-director Sydney Pollack’s startling 1974 neo-noir gangster thriller film The Yakuza is quite an eye-opener. It is the stomach-churning and hard-hitting tale of Japanese organised crime syndicate members – the yakuza – who abduct a wealthy American businessman’s daughter.

The impeccable production pedigree includes director Pollack, star Robert Mitchum as the ex-GI assigned to trace the missing girl, and three of Hollywood’s finest screen-writers, Leonard Schrader, Paul Schrader and Robert Towne. Warner Bros paid the Schraders a then-record sum of $325,000 for their début story. Mitchum had original director Robert Aldrich replaced by Sydney Pollack, who hired Towne for script rewrites. 

Mitchum plays retired detective Harry Kilmer who returns to Japan after several years away to try to rescue his old friend George Tanner (Brian Keith)’s daughter. She has been kidnapped and is being held hostage with her boyfriend by a yakuza gangster, Tono (Eiji Okada), with whom Tanner has been doing business.

Some might argue that the intelligent, deliciously stirred blend of traditional gangster film and samurai movie occasionally becomes too convoluted for its own good. However, it remains an extremely engrossing, exotic, exciting culture-clash thriller.

Perhaps because of the convoluted thing, perhaps because Mitchum wasn’t a big enough box-office draw at this point, or perhaps because of the strong love story that may have frustrated gangster movie fans, it suffered a lacklustre initial release, though it had good reviews and has since gained a deserved cult following.

Dave Grusin’s score combines both Western and Eastern musical influences for a Japanese feel for American audiences.

Also in the cast are Takakura Ken, Kishi Keiko, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan, James Shigeta, Kyosuke Mashida, Christina Kokubo, Go Eiji, Lee Chirillo, M Hisaka and William Ross.

This co-production between Warner Bros and Japan’s Toei Company is mainly filmed on location in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo.

It premiered in Japan on 28 December 1974 and was released in the US on 19 March 1975.

Budget: $5 million. Box office: $1.5 million.

Warner Bros hired Robert Aldrich to direct but replaced original star Lee Marvin with Robert Mitchum after a disagreement over his fee. Aldrich met Mitchum, who told Warners afterwards he did not want to do the film with him. Warners then hired Pollack, who wanted rewrites, and Schrader was fired, with Robert Towne hired to rewrite the script.

The cast

The cast are Robert Mitchum as Harry Kilmer, Ken Takakura as Ken Tanaka, Brian Keith as George Tanner, Herb Edelman as Oliver Wheat, Richard Jordan as Dusty, Keiko Kishi as Eiko Tanaka, Eiji Okada as Toshiro Tono, James Shigeta as Goro Tanaka, Kyosuke Machida as Jiro Kato, Christina Kokubo as Hanako Tanaka, Eiji Go as Spider/ Shiro Tanaka, Goro’s Son, Lee Chirillo as Louise, M Hisaka as Boyfriend, William Ross as Tanner’s guard, Akiyama as Tono’s guard, and Harada as Goro’s doorman

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2,716

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