The Yakuza

Sydney Pollack directs this 1975 East-meets-West collision of American crime drama and Japanese gangster movie written by film critic turned screenwriter Paul Schrader early in his career. Robert Mitchum stars as American private eye Harry Kilmer, sent to Japan to rescue the daughter of a friend (Brian Keith) from Japanese gangsters. Harry calls in a debt of honor from Tanaka (Takakura Ken), a former Yakuza soldier. The pair hate each other—for reasons that are revealed by the end—but work together like a veteran partnership as they cut a swath through the Japanese underworld. Mitchum is like an aging Philip Marlowe in the ‘70s, revisiting a past love that could not be, and however much he understands the Yakuza code he still fights like a Westerner. Where Tanaka takes up the traditional sword, Harry uses a gun because that's his customary weapon. Pollack fills the film with violent action and plenty of blood—dozens die in the search for the girl—but this lacks both the grace and the ferocity of the Japanese gangster films that it references, and it never really connects with the romantic core of the warrior code that guides the heroes. But the performances are excellent (including Richard Jordan as an American gunman won over by the code that guides Harry and Tanaka), the action scenes are often impressive, and the old world ideas of honor colliding with the cynical opportunism of modern gangsters makes for a compelling story. Debuting on Blu-ray, extras include an archival audio commentary by Pollack, and a vintage behind-the-scenes featurette. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)