The Yakuza
Encyclopedia
The Yakuza is a 1974 neo-noir
gangster
film directed by Sydney Pollack
, written by Leonard Schrader
, Paul Schrader
, and Robert Towne
.
The Yakuza portrays the clash of traditional Japanese values during Japan's transition from the US occupation
to economic success in the early 1970s. The story's themes are concepts of moral indebtedness and obligation, loyalty to family and friends, and sacrifice; Eastern and Western cultural values are contrasted, and classical Japanese tradition versus the modern, Westernized, tradition of contemporary Japan. Following a lacklustre initial release, the film gained a cult following
. It is regarded as a significant film of the 1970s. This action film is noted for having an unusually intelligent plot, and for cultural depth. It also broke with the then Hollywood aversion to giving full roles to ethnic actors in casting Takakura Ken as a pivotal co-star character.
) is called by an old friend, George Tanner (Brian Keith
). Tanner has been doing business with a yakuza
gangster, Tono, who has taken Tanner's daughter and her boyfriend hostage to apply pressure in a business deal involving the sale of guns. Tanner hopes that Kilmer can locate and rescue the girl using his Japanese connections.
Tanner and Kilmer had been Marine MPs and friends in Tokyo
during the post-war occupation. Kilmer had fallen in love with a local woman, Eiko Keiko Kishi, who was involved in the black market. When her young daughter fell ill, Kilmer helped Eiko find penicillin for the child, saving her life. After they'd been living with each other, Eiko's brother Ken (Takakura Ken
) returned from an island where he'd been stranded as an Imperial Japanese soldier. Both outraged that his sister was living with his former enemy and deeply indebted to Kilmer for saving the lives of his (apparently) only remaining family, he disappeared into the yakuza criminal underground and refused to see or speak to his sister. Kilmer repeatedly asked Eiko to marry him but she consistently refused. Then and since, Eiko has been cautious to do nothing to offend her brother further. As a parting gift, Kilmer bought Eiko the bar (with five thousand dollars that he borrowed from George Tanner) which she operates to this day. They parted, neither of them falling in love or marrying since.
Traveling to Tokyo with Tanner's bodyguard Dusty (played by Richard Jordan), they stay at the home of another old military buddy named Oliver Wheat (played by Herb Edelman). Kilmer visits Eiko at her coffeehouse at closing time; seeing her once again, it is clear Kilmer still loves her deeply and again proposes. Asked about Ken, Eiko says that Ken is no longer a yakuza. Eiko tells Kilmer that her brother can be found at his kendo school. Ken's debt to Kilmer, giri, is a lifelong debt that traditionally can never be repaid. Ken would, Tanner insists, do anything for Kilmer. Traveling to Kyoto, Kilmer visits him at his Kendo
school. Ken's animosity towards Kilmer is clear, but together they find and free the girl and her beau. In so doing, Ken "takes up the sword" once again, injures one of Tono's men, and is discovered by one of the gangster's lieutenants. This is an inexcusable intrusion by Ken in yakuza affairs. Contracts on both Ken and Kilmer's lives are issued. Kilmer resists leaving until the danger to Ken can be resolved. Eiko suggests that he talk to Ken's brother, a high level legal counselor to the yakuza chiefs whom Kilmer hadn't known about. Goro (James Shigeta) is unable to intercede due to his impartial role in yakuza society, but suggests that Ken can remove the death threat by killing Tono with a sword. The only alternative is for Kilmer to kill Tono.
Guilt-ridden that once again he's interfered with Eiko's family and also endangered Ken, Kilmer stays in Tokyo. After a failed attempt on Kilmer's life in a bath house, he learns that his old friend Tanner has taken out the contract on him. Despite appearances, Tanner and Tono are well-acquainted and successful business partners. During an attack on Ken and Kilmer in Oliver Wheat's house, Dusty is killed with a sword and Eiko's daughter, Hanako, is shot and killed. Both men are crushed by the tragic loss of Hanako.
Seeking advice again from Ken's brother, Goro advises them that they have no choice but to assassinate Tanner and Tono. This will embarrass the partners in the eyes of the yakuza and restore Ken's honor. Goro discloses that he has a "wayward son" who has joined Tono's clan and asks that Ken spare him should he be caught in the battle. The son has a distinctive spider tattoo on his head. Ken vows that the son will not be harmed. In private, Goro then discloses a shocking family secret to Kilmer: Eiko is not Ken's sister, she is his wife and Hanako their only child. Hearing this, Kilmer realizes the true meaning of Eiko and Ken's rift, and Ken's anguish at the death of Hanako, all brought about by his presence in their lives.
Kilmer finds and kills Tanner then joins Ken for a near-suicidal attack on Tono's residence. During a tense, prolonged battle, in which Ken kills Tono in the traditional way with a katana
, Goro's son attacks them and Ken is forced to kill him in self-defense. Bearing the news to his brother, Ken moves to commit Seppuku
, but his brother forbids it. Instead, Ken performs yubitsume
(the ceremonial yakuza apology by cutting off one's little finger). After Ken excuses himself, Goro talks with Kilmer, and compliments him on his adherence to Japanese traditions, surprising for a gaijin
.
As Kilmer is riding in a taxi to the airport to leave Japan, he is visibly troubled and decides to go back and visit Ken one last time and asks to speak to him formally. While Ken prepares tea, Kilmer quietly commits yubitsume, and when Ken enters the room, waits for him to be seated. Sliding the folded handkerchief that contains his finger to Ken, he says "please accept this token of my apology," the exact same words that Ken used when he presented his finger to Goro. Then, Kilmer apologizes for "bringing great pain into your life, both in the past and in the present." He humbly requests that "if you can forgive me, then you can forgive Eiko." Accepting the apology, Ken professes that "no man has a greater friend than Kilmer-san," and Kilmer reciprocates. Parting at the airport, both men bow deeply to each other.
paid Paul and Leonard Schrader the then-record sum of US$
325,000.00 for their début story, which proved Paul's opportunity into Hollywood
, where he later wrote the Scorsese
classics Taxi Driver
(1976) and Raging Bull (1980). Originally, Robert Aldrich
was the film's director, but Robert Mitchum
, who had worked with Aldrich on the The Angry Hills (1959), had Sydney Pollack replace him. Robert Towne was asked by Pollack to perform rewrites on the Schraders' script.
Track listing
of The Yakuza was released by Warner Bros.
on 2007-01-23.
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
film directed by Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, written by Leonard Schrader
Leonard Schrader
Leonard Schrader was an American screenwriter and director, most notable for his ability to write Japanese language films and for his many collaborations with his brother, Paul Schrader...
, Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
, and Robert Towne
Robert Towne
Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...
.
The Yakuza portrays the clash of traditional Japanese values during Japan's transition from the US occupation
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
to economic success in the early 1970s. The story's themes are concepts of moral indebtedness and obligation, loyalty to family and friends, and sacrifice; Eastern and Western cultural values are contrasted, and classical Japanese tradition versus the modern, Westernized, tradition of contemporary Japan. Following a lacklustre initial release, the film gained a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. It is regarded as a significant film of the 1970s. This action film is noted for having an unusually intelligent plot, and for cultural depth. It also broke with the then Hollywood aversion to giving full roles to ethnic actors in casting Takakura Ken as a pivotal co-star character.
Plot
Retired detective Harry Kilmer (Robert MitchumRobert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
) is called by an old friend, George Tanner (Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
). Tanner has been doing business with a yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
gangster, Tono, who has taken Tanner's daughter and her boyfriend hostage to apply pressure in a business deal involving the sale of guns. Tanner hopes that Kilmer can locate and rescue the girl using his Japanese connections.
Tanner and Kilmer had been Marine MPs and friends in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
during the post-war occupation. Kilmer had fallen in love with a local woman, Eiko Keiko Kishi, who was involved in the black market. When her young daughter fell ill, Kilmer helped Eiko find penicillin for the child, saving her life. After they'd been living with each other, Eiko's brother Ken (Takakura Ken
Ken Takakura
, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
) returned from an island where he'd been stranded as an Imperial Japanese soldier. Both outraged that his sister was living with his former enemy and deeply indebted to Kilmer for saving the lives of his (apparently) only remaining family, he disappeared into the yakuza criminal underground and refused to see or speak to his sister. Kilmer repeatedly asked Eiko to marry him but she consistently refused. Then and since, Eiko has been cautious to do nothing to offend her brother further. As a parting gift, Kilmer bought Eiko the bar (with five thousand dollars that he borrowed from George Tanner) which she operates to this day. They parted, neither of them falling in love or marrying since.
Traveling to Tokyo with Tanner's bodyguard Dusty (played by Richard Jordan), they stay at the home of another old military buddy named Oliver Wheat (played by Herb Edelman). Kilmer visits Eiko at her coffeehouse at closing time; seeing her once again, it is clear Kilmer still loves her deeply and again proposes. Asked about Ken, Eiko says that Ken is no longer a yakuza. Eiko tells Kilmer that her brother can be found at his kendo school. Ken's debt to Kilmer, giri, is a lifelong debt that traditionally can never be repaid. Ken would, Tanner insists, do anything for Kilmer. Traveling to Kyoto, Kilmer visits him at his Kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
school. Ken's animosity towards Kilmer is clear, but together they find and free the girl and her beau. In so doing, Ken "takes up the sword" once again, injures one of Tono's men, and is discovered by one of the gangster's lieutenants. This is an inexcusable intrusion by Ken in yakuza affairs. Contracts on both Ken and Kilmer's lives are issued. Kilmer resists leaving until the danger to Ken can be resolved. Eiko suggests that he talk to Ken's brother, a high level legal counselor to the yakuza chiefs whom Kilmer hadn't known about. Goro (James Shigeta) is unable to intercede due to his impartial role in yakuza society, but suggests that Ken can remove the death threat by killing Tono with a sword. The only alternative is for Kilmer to kill Tono.
Guilt-ridden that once again he's interfered with Eiko's family and also endangered Ken, Kilmer stays in Tokyo. After a failed attempt on Kilmer's life in a bath house, he learns that his old friend Tanner has taken out the contract on him. Despite appearances, Tanner and Tono are well-acquainted and successful business partners. During an attack on Ken and Kilmer in Oliver Wheat's house, Dusty is killed with a sword and Eiko's daughter, Hanako, is shot and killed. Both men are crushed by the tragic loss of Hanako.
Seeking advice again from Ken's brother, Goro advises them that they have no choice but to assassinate Tanner and Tono. This will embarrass the partners in the eyes of the yakuza and restore Ken's honor. Goro discloses that he has a "wayward son" who has joined Tono's clan and asks that Ken spare him should he be caught in the battle. The son has a distinctive spider tattoo on his head. Ken vows that the son will not be harmed. In private, Goro then discloses a shocking family secret to Kilmer: Eiko is not Ken's sister, she is his wife and Hanako their only child. Hearing this, Kilmer realizes the true meaning of Eiko and Ken's rift, and Ken's anguish at the death of Hanako, all brought about by his presence in their lives.
Kilmer finds and kills Tanner then joins Ken for a near-suicidal attack on Tono's residence. During a tense, prolonged battle, in which Ken kills Tono in the traditional way with a katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
, Goro's son attacks them and Ken is forced to kill him in self-defense. Bearing the news to his brother, Ken moves to commit Seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, but his brother forbids it. Instead, Ken performs yubitsume
Yubitsume
is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger...
(the ceremonial yakuza apology by cutting off one's little finger). After Ken excuses himself, Goro talks with Kilmer, and compliments him on his adherence to Japanese traditions, surprising for a gaijin
Gaijin
is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
.
As Kilmer is riding in a taxi to the airport to leave Japan, he is visibly troubled and decides to go back and visit Ken one last time and asks to speak to him formally. While Ken prepares tea, Kilmer quietly commits yubitsume, and when Ken enters the room, waits for him to be seated. Sliding the folded handkerchief that contains his finger to Ken, he says "please accept this token of my apology," the exact same words that Ken used when he presented his finger to Goro. Then, Kilmer apologizes for "bringing great pain into your life, both in the past and in the present." He humbly requests that "if you can forgive me, then you can forgive Eiko." Accepting the apology, Ken professes that "no man has a greater friend than Kilmer-san," and Kilmer reciprocates. Parting at the airport, both men bow deeply to each other.
Background/production
Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
paid Paul and Leonard Schrader the then-record sum of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
325,000.00 for their début story, which proved Paul's opportunity into Hollywood
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
, where he later wrote the Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
classics Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
(1976) and Raging Bull (1980). Originally, Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
was the film's director, but Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, who had worked with Aldrich on the The Angry Hills (1959), had Sydney Pollack replace him. Robert Towne was asked by Pollack to perform rewrites on the Schraders' script.
Cast
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Harry Kilmer - Ken TakakuraKen Takakura, born , is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles.Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka...
as Ken Tanaka - Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
as George Tanner - Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
as Oliver Wheat - Richard JordanRichard JordanRichard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
as Dusty - Keiko Kishi as Eiko Tanaka
- Eiji OkadaEiji OkadaEiji Okada was a Japanese film actor. Okada served in the Japanese army during World War II, and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor....
as Toshiro Tono - James ShigetaJames ShigetaJames Shigeta is an American film and television actor. He is also a standards singer, musical theatre and nightclub performer, and recording artist. He is a Nisei or second-generation American of Japanese ancestry.-Early life:...
as Goro - Kyosuke Mashida as Jiro Kato
- Christina KokuboChristina KokuboChristina Kokubo was an American film and television actress; she was also a drama teacher.-Career:Kokubo appeared in several feature films, including The Yakuza , a neo-noir gangster film set in Japan, and Midway , in which she played a Japanese-American who has a troubled romance with a white...
as Hanako - Eiji Go as Spider
- Lee Chirillo as Louise
- M. Hisaka as Boyfriend
- William Ross as Tanner's guard
- Akiyama as Tono's guard
- HaradaHarada-People:*Tetsuya Harada, Japanese cyclist*Harada Daiun Sogaku, Japanese zen monk*Koichiro Harada, Japanese mathematician*Shintaro Harada , Japanese footballer*Daisuke Harada , Japanese professional wrestler...
as Goro's doorman
Soundtrack
All compositions by Dave Grusin.Track listing
- "Prologue" 2:42
- "Main Title" 3:17
- "Samurai Source" 2:03
- "Tokyo Return" 1:29
- "20 Year Montage" 3:28
- "Scrapbook Montage / Scrapbook Epilogue" 2:13
- "Kendo Sword Ritual / Alter Ego / Night Rescue / Amputation / Amputation (alternate)" 3:19
- "Man Who Never Smiles" 1:49
- "Tanner to Tono / Tono Bridge / The Bath" 2:27
- "Girl and Tea" 1:36
- "Pavane" 1:10
- "Get Tanner" 1:40
- "Breather / Final Assault" 4:43
- "The Big Fight" 5:51
- "No Secrets" 1:32
- "Sayonara" 2:02
- "Apologies" 2:09
- "Bows / End Title (Coda)" 1:46
- "Shine On" 9:47
- "Bluesy Combo" 6:20
- "20 Year Montage / Scrapbook Montage (film mix)" 5:00
- "End Title (film version)" 1:10
- "Only the Wind" 2:50
Home media
The Region One DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of The Yakuza was released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
on 2007-01-23.
See also
- Black Rain (1989)
- BrotherBrother (2000 film)All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Drifter... in LAX"#"Solitude"#"Tattoo"#"Death Spiral"#"Party "#"On the Shore"#"Blood Brother"#"Raging Men"#"Beyond the Control"#"Wipe Out"#"Liberation from the Death"#"I Love You, Aniki"#"Ballade"...
(2001) - Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
(2004) - Into the Sun (2005)
External links
- Film Score Monthly - recently released soundtrack on CD