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Highly Overrated But Still Good

Blistering performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I've got little to say other than I am a movie buff and This may be the best movie I have ever seen. Oh, I have been watching movies for 60 years. Just in case someone thinks I haven't seen anything.

Even for 70's standard this film was quite lame. Everything about this film felt pretty dull and boring.The most ridiculous thing about the film is the casting. There are bunch of old timers in this so called action based film, which made the action sequences a bit funny rather than exciting. And their acting performance in the film was below average also. The expressions in their face and the dialogue delivery seemed very amateur. The script was a typical one, it had no strong or moving character which audience could admire. It neither had any gripping story nor have any dramatic climax. Not recommended.

THE YAKUZA is the best film about Japanese gangsters ever made in America – because the filmmakers go above and beyond the call of duty to provide a literate, mature, and realistic depiction of those feared mafia gangs who lurk in the shadowy recesses of Asian life. This is old-fashioned film-making at its best, without a reliance on outlandish special effects or action to move the story along. Of particular interest is Paul Shrader's script, which is undoubtedly of superior quality. It's hard to see how a bad film could have been made out of it, but with veteran director Sydney Pollack calling the shots that was never going to happen.Robert Mitchum is the big draw, providing a lovable, grizzled lead through whose eyes we witness the dark side of Japanese culture. He's given quite wonderful support by the man he's partnered with – Ken Takakura, the epitome of the Japanese 'stone face'. There's a supporting cast of strong character actors too, including James Shigeta, the guy who played the boss in DIE HARD. I recognised his voice immediately although not his appearance.Don't go in expecting this to be an action film, because it's not. There are a couple of shoot-outs, yes, but for the most part this is a slow, mannered film exploring themes of honour, redemption, loyalty, and justice, all from the distinct Yakuza perspective. Saying that, there is an extended climax in which our two heroes attack the enemy base – Mitchum wielding a shotgun, Takakura a samurai sword – and proceed to wreak havoc on the bad guys in long, breathtaking, stylised scenes of violence that always keep realism to the fore. It's a great end to what is an assured and developed piece – not a film to get excited about, perhaps, but one to enjoy and feel nonetheless.

Sydney Pollack produced and directed this very classy and somewhat unusual gangster picture set in Japan. Robert Mitchum is the hard-boiled American who goes to Japan to help secure the release of the kidnapped daughter of friend Brian Keith. For most of its length it's a slow moving, intense movie beautifully shot in widescreen by Okazaki Kozo and with a cracking script by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne from a story by Leonard Schrader. It isn't as well known as some of Pollack's other pictures and isn't much seen now which is a pity as this is the kind of gripping and intelligent thriller we would welcome in our multiplexes these days.