With the tagline, "A man never forgets. A man pays his debts," and starring Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura, The Yakuza (1975) is surprisingly an entertaining crime drama that layers the intrigue so delicately we hardly realize we're falling deeper into a maze until each new revelation unfolds.

 

Brian Keith

© Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Mitchum plays Harry Kilmer a somewhat private eye Harry Kilmer, that reluctantly agrees to return to Japan to get his old friend George Tanner (Brian Keith) out of trouble with the yakuza, an organized crime group heavy into gambling and cons. Toshiro Tono (Eiji Okada), a member of the yakuza has kidnapped George's daughter because George owes him money for a shipment of guns that never arrived. George wants Harry to be the negotiator.

Keiko Kishi

© Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Harry owes George a debt, but is hesitant about going back because he left the love of his life there, Eiko (Keiko Kishi). After the war Harry rescued Eiko and her daughter, Hanako (Christina Kokubo) devastation. Eiko's brother, Tanaka Ken (Takakura), a former yakuza and master swordsman, feels deeply obligated to Harry for his deed. The word debt rises as the theme in this movie. George is banking on this debt being repaid with helping Harry to find Toshiro Tono.

Robert Mitchum

  © Warner Bros. Pictures

When first arriving back in Japan, Harry and Dusty (Richard Jordan, Rooster Cogburn, Gettysburg), George's body guard, stay with Harry and George's other war buddy who never left Japan, Oliver (Herb Edelman, The Way We Were, The Odd Couple). While Harry must go to find Eiko to learn where to find her brother, Oliver fills in the past about this group to Dusty, which is really story feeder to the viewers as well. It seems that when Eiko turned Harry down, he borrowed $5,000 from George and bought a coffee house and bar for Eiko, which she named Kilmer House.

James Shigeto © Warner Bros. Pictures

Once Harry and Ken rescue George's daughter, the intrigue increases into a full scale war between Harry and Ken and the yakura's. The plot thickens with the introduction to Ken's brother Goro (James Shigeto), a Yakuza advisor, who is now jeopardized in is position as counselor.

Although the title of the movie suggests this might be one told through martial arts action, it's not. The story is never formulaic and has complete and interesting characters we learn about slowly.

Ken Takakura

© Warner Bros. Pictures

There some involvements of yakuza which does bring in several martial arts scenes but they are quite compelling in the way that the staid Ken Takakura performs his role.

Mitchum (Out of the Past) comes alive more in his noir and crime roles than others, and he lives up to that honorable and tough-guy exterior but he's also believable as man who has longed after a woman for twenty years and still loves her.

Award-winning actor Ken Takakura, plays the same character in most of his films, and always quite well. His 2006 role in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qian li zou dan qi) was phenomenal and earned him a Best Actor award from the San Diego Films Critics for his performance.

Excellent coloring and a clear print enhances The Yakuza as an entertaining film about honor, ancient codes, and always meeting one's obligation. The movie, supposed to be a film noir but I feel lacking the elements for that classification, is made more enjoyable by Pollack's vision that the story unfolds more through plot than endless sword-fighting action.

Director: Sydney Pollack (Three Days of the Condor)

Writer: Leonard Schrader - story, Paul Schrader (Raging Bull) & Robert Towne (Chinatown) - screenplay

Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Keiko Kishi, Brian Keith, Richard Jordan, Eiji Okada, Herb Edelman, Christina Kokubo, James Shigeto

Rating: R for violence

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Run Time: 112 minutes

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Format: Color -  widescreen version

Photo credits: Warner Bros. Pictures