The Yakuza

R

1975

1 hr. 52 min.

Crime

Drama

List

58%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When George Tanner (Brian Keith) does business with the high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) to Japan to investigate. Harry starts by visiting his old flame, Eiko (Kishi Keiko), and enlists her brother, Ken (Takakura Ken), to help him search. Together, they find the girl, but Ken wounds one of Tono's men and is subsequently marked for death by the Yakuza. Wracked with guilt, Kilmer tries to exonerate Ken.

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David H

I sometimes enjoy watching movies from the '60s and '70s which I was too young to see at the time they came out. This was an interesting foray into a foreign culture, and it reminded me of some of the old episodes of Hawaii Five-0 which deal with Pacific-Rim cultures and characters. Unfortunately, I got a little sleepy at one point, which caused for a bit of confusion about who was who later on. But the film featured a lot of Asian color and culture which I found quite interesting. The Yakuza are an interesting phenomenon, and I'm not sure quite what to make of them. I heard a radio program about the group just a few weeks ago (in 2024) which made me realize it's more complicated than good guys vs. bad guys. The situation with the Yakuza in Japan is definitely shades of gray.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/26/24

Full Review

Jt P

Brilliantly understated. The themes are consistent, and for those that understand older Japanese culture, are powerfully delivered with as little explanation as necessary. Mitchum and Takakura were awesome while Jordan and Shigeta were not too far behind. Keith was good, but his character wasn't well written or developed.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

Full Review

Russ

Worst thing I've ever seen Robert Mitchum in.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Ben D

The Yakuza (1975)→ (79) The pleasant surprise of this movie is that it avoids the orientalism explaining from a Westerner (i.e. Sean Connery in Rising Sun, where every other sentence begins with "The Japanese…") and allows for the plot to unravel everything — or, at a minimum, have Japanese characters explain concepts like giri and yubitsume. The Yakuza starts slow but is laying the foundation for a shocking bloodstorm to come. When Robert Mitchum as Kilmer starts yelling, "Tanner! Tanner!" it was as if I was transported into a different movie. Mitchum, with his reptilian stare, is firmly in my imagination as the ultimate plodding villain (The Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear), but here, he not only convinces but thrives as the honorable protagonist, returned to Japan for the first time since he was stationed there during the American occupation. Director Sydney Pollack wants you to know that the yakuza were covered in ornate, mesmerizing tattoos, as he gives us many shots of them. The film has one of the most somber love triangles put on-screen, which leads our already dour protag to reconsider his inadvertent influence on the spirit of those he encounters in Japan. It's a story concerned with high honor, guilt, and shame — plus plenty of close-quartered sword-fighting violence. After all has been revealed, you can't help but exhale for Ken (Ken Takakura), who just cannot seem to catch a break. It wouldn't be a yakuza movie if it didn't have some severed phalanges — just wait until the end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/16/23

Full Review

Liam D

With Director Sydney Pollack (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Fugitive) writers Paul Schrader (Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist) and Robert Towne (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) plus star Robert Mitchum (El Dorado, The Enemy Below) it need to be more than an decently entertaining crime drama

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/24/22

Full Review

Audience Member

An American private eye returns to Japan to rescue a friends' daughter from the hands of the Yakuza. It's a simple enough premise, and yet The Yakuza makes this fairly straightforward set up go a long way. Director Sydney Pollack followed this up with the much more famous The Three Days Of The Condor (1975), but I personally had more fun with this one. Rumour has it that Martin Scorsese wanted to direct this after Mean Streets (1973) but the studio wanted Pollack; whether this is true or not it's Pollack who makes good on faith put in him. The Yakuza, despite somewhat falling down in its last quarter is a beautifully shot film, bringing you into the cultural world of Japan and throwing in a love story that holds extremely well. Robert Mitchum is as cool as a cucumber as Harry Kilmer, the man sent by his friend George to rescue his daughter, and the performances are generally good across the board. Pollock hasn't directed a huge amount since this, which is a real shame because he has an eye for visuals and especially location and settings. The Yakuza was something I picked up out of the blue, I knew nothing about it; and although it has flaws, this is an impressive piece of work and possibly Pollack's best as director.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Sydney Pollack

Director

Robert Mitchum

Harry Kilmer

Ken Takakura

Tanaka Ken

Brian Keith

George Tanner

Keiko Kishi

Eiko

Herbert Edelman

Wheat

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The script is humorless, and Pollack, despite his willingness to make action films, doesn't seem to understand how action-film mechanisms work.

Oct 11, 2023

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

A confused and diffused film which bites off more than it can artfully chew.

Nov 6, 2007

Full Review

Time Out

The final show-down is one not to be missed.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Q.V. Hough

Vague Visages

The interactions between Mitchum and Takakura offer a jolting look at man’s acceptance of grief, but the technical aspects of The Yakuza transform the film to a higher level.

Jun 23, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's a different kind of crime film, an overlooked gem.

Rated: A-

Jun 26, 2020

Full Review

Quentin Tarantino

The New Beverly

In The Yakuza, for the last time as a lead, Mitchum was vibrantly alive.

Jun 22, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

When George Tanner (Brian Keith) does business with the high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) to Japan to investigate. Harry starts by visiting his old flame, Eiko (Kishi Keiko), and enlists her brother, Ken (Takakura Ken), to help him search. Together, they find the girl, but Ken wounds one of Tono's men and is subsequently marked for death by the Yakuza. Wracked with guilt, Kilmer tries to exonerate Ken.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Screenwriter: Paul Schrader, Robert Towne
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016

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