Afraid to Die

1960

1h 36m

Crime

Drama

List

Reviews

64%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

A young yakuza hoodlum (Yukio Mishima) becomes mixed up in assassinations and revenge following his release from prison.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Continually blurs the line between passive and active, between respectable and criminal.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 17, 2023

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Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

Masumura could have focused more on the psychological status of Takeo and his fear of death in order to add depth to the movie, but as a traditional Yakuza film, the movie works quite well,

Dec 25, 2019

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

... bold, weird and unpredictable.

Rated: B+

Aug 11, 2006

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Audience Member

Masumura's cult, new wave yakuza flick, coming across like a Japanese Godard. Excellent

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Early sixties yakuza flick that has as it drawcard the casting of Yukio Mishima in the lead role. Mishima was a celebrity author and like many who succeed in one of the arts, he isn't a natural in another. (This was before the time of his patriotic right wing fervor that ended in a failed "coup" and ritual suicide in 1970). Still, his acting style, wooden at times, is somewhat unique and I got used to it. The story of rival yakuza gangs trying to eliminate each other's under-bosses (of which Mishima is one) is rather ordinary and the film feels dated. That said, seeing this on the big screen as part of the Japanese Film Festival added some extra oomph and director Masumura adds some memorable touches. I'm on the lookout for some of his weirder stuff now.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Audience Member

Very dull, but with sparingly good parts. The Banana Song is incredible. Watch it for that scene, at least.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

There's not much sense in the story line and the relationship with this criminal and his loved one is totally screwed up and at the same time the wouldn't care less attitude of the people is totally captivating.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

After the crazy Blind Beast, I had hoped for another offbeat film from Masumura. No such luck. It's mostly notable for being Yukio Mishima's first acting gig (not too bad), but otherwise it's a pretty typical Yakuza flick. It does have a wacky musical number and one heck of a great death scene, though.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Not only was Mishima the greatest Japanese writer, he was also pretty HOT at this age.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Yasuzo Masumura

Director

Yukio Mishima

Takeo Asahina

Ayako Wakao

Yoshie Koizumi

Keizo Kawasaki

Shoichi Koizumi

Eiji Funakoshi

Susumu Aikawa

Takashi Shimura

Gohei Hirayama

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Synopsis

A young yakuza hoodlum (Yukio Mishima) becomes mixed up in assassinations and revenge following his release from prison.

Director: Yasuzo Masumura
Screenwriter: Ryûzô Kikushima, Hideo Ando
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 26, 2020
Runtime: 1h 36m