{"id":16240,"date":"2017-06-30T02:25:47","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T06:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16240"},"modified":"2017-06-30T10:35:31","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T14:35:31","slug":"br-yakuza-the-1974","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=16240","title":{"rendered":"BR: Yakuza, The (1974)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Film<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong> Warner Archives<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0February 14, 2017<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yakuza \/ Drama \/ Action<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0An ex-U.S. Marine returns to Japan to rescue the daughter of an old pal from a yakuza clan, but requires the aide of an acquaintance and an ex-lover, both of whom share a dark secret.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 2007 Audio Commentary by director Sidney Pollack \/ Vintage making-of featurette: “Promises to Keep” (19:26) \/ Theatrical Trailer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Derived from a story and originally scripted by brothers Leonard and Paul Schrader, respectively, producer-director Sydney Pollack, fresh off The Way We Were<\/a><\/strong> (1973), had Robert Towne (Chinatown<\/strong>) attenuate the action and violence and put a greater emphasis on the culture clashes between east and west, ultimately having the drama climax not with a grisly sequence of swordplay (which does happen near the end) but an act of contrition that liberates two men, and a shared relationship that\u2019s haunted them since the end of WWII.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. was probably rubbing its hands, anticipating a martial arts success akin to Bruce Lee\u2019s Enter the Dragon<\/strong> (1973), but Pollack delivered a long drama with very measured pacing that didn\u2019t really please the studio, audiences, and critics of the day, but through the passing decades this dud has evolved into a unique western take on Japanese culture that\u2019s a literal antithesis of Black Rain<\/strong> (1989).<\/p>\n

Whereas Ridley Scott\u2019s action-thriller had an ugly, arrogant American cop (Michael Douglas) teaching his Japanese counterpart (Ken Takakura) to loosen up, emote, sing, and become a better person by dispensing with some of the traditions and discipline and be more instinctive and improvisational, Pollack had American characters respecting a culture and following codes of behaviour, if not learning and finding virtue in tradition, observation, and calculated actions \u2013 essentially making an effort to understand rather than impose.<\/p>\n

Yakuza<\/strong>\u2019s story is tied to a quintet of characters who met during the American occupation of postwar Japan. Marine Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) was having an affair with widow & new mother Eiko (Keiko Kishi) until her brother Ken (Takakura) returned from the dead. To avoid disgracing the family, Harry broke off and headed back to the U.S., where he built up his own life, albeit highly solitary with no joy.<\/p>\n

When asked by old buddy \/ industrialist George (Brian Keith) to rescue his daughter from a yakuza clan, Harry returns to Osaka and ultimately seeks his old flame in the hope of connecting with Ken who might aide in saving George\u2019s daughter from imminent death. While in Osaka, he stays with another ex-marine, Wheat (Herb Edelman).<\/p>\n

The rescue operation is pretty irrelevant; it\u2019s dealt with quite early in the film, because instead of action, Pollack wanted to fixate on Harry\u2019s suspicions that something\u2019s amiss between Ken and Keiko, and the audience remains in the dark as long as Harry, suspecting nothing but sensing the quiet tension between the three characters is tied to a dark event.<\/p>\n

The cleverness of the script (which is remarkable, given Schrader and Towne were two very independent minds who took separate cracks at the story) is that on second viewing, just like a good mystery, we can see the signs and understand the awkwardness between the main characters, knowing full well of the dark secret and duress shared by a rare few.<\/p>\n

In his steady and generally solid commentary track (originally recorded for the 2007 DVD), Pollack explains the pains to which he tried to craft a film that emulated native yakuza films and emphasized nuances, such as the formal introductions between yakuza men, which offer respect and reassure that neither party is armed.<\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s tagalong American security \u2018shadow\u2019 Dusty (Logan\u2019s Run<\/strong>\u2019s Richard Jordan) is tasked by George to protect \/ keep an eye on Harry, and it\u2019s through Dusty that Pollack explains aspects of eastern culture. Dusty falls for Keiko\u2019s daughter Hanako (Midway<\/strong>\u2019s Christina Kokubo), and their short scenes show a loud thug calming himself and learning in slow, patient stages about respecting another culture.<\/p>\n

In a lengthy montage, Wheat explains to Dusty Harry\u2019s time in postwar Japan \u2013 a simple method to convey a quick backstory of three intertwined characters \u2013 and in a later sequence Harry seeks council from Ken\u2019s older brother Goro (Flower Drum Song<\/strong>\u2019s James Shigeta). Both men share an irritation with Ken\u2019s stiff persona, and Goro offers Harry strategic options to help Ken deal with the precarious circumstances that follow the daughter\u2019s rescue.<\/p>\n

Pollack also worked with stellar behind-the-camera talent who add authenticity to the film\u2019s look, such as Yoshiyuki Ishida\u2019s superb set designs and d\u00e9cor, which maximize the 2.35:1 \u2018scope ratio typical of many Japanese films; and Kozo Okazaki\u2019s gorgeous cinematography and use of light & darkness, and warm pastel colours. Striking locations throughout Osaka and Kyoto make Yakuza<\/strong> feel like a hybrid, crafted with reverence rather than the exploitive approach in Black Rain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting how Scott\u2019s action film devolves into a classic eighties buddy cop film where the American may learn a bit of stuff form his Japanese partner, but retains his slick, vain self. Harry may fight with shotguns and pistols in Pollack\u2019s drama, but he steps aside to allow Ken to fight his nemeses. When the dark secret is revealed, its resolution is both poetic and heart-wrenching instead of a back-slap and \u2018we got \u2018em\u2019 cheer. Back Rain<\/strong> ends with smiles and a pop song; Yakuza<\/strong> brings closure to the torment that\u2019s kept both men apart yet emotionally tethered. Moreover, the final resolution disliked by U.S. audiences in 1974 is correct because it has the hulking American offer closure that\u2019s in line with yakuza tradition.<\/p>\n

Pollack notes in his commentary the cultural differences in making amends for an offence. As the director opines, in Asian cultures saying sorry is absurd because there\u2019s no proof of contrition, hence the need for a sacrifice or act of suffering. What Harry voluntarily commits at the end is more heart-wrenching than gut-wrenching, and it\u2019s a cathartic conclusion to the constant tension that exists even in scenes where the two men aren\u2019t even together.<\/p>\n

Yakuza<\/strong> is also extremely well-cast, as both Mitchum and Takakura, himself a star of many yakuza films (Brutal Tales of Chivalry<\/a><\/strong>), have their own unique brand of stoicism and quiet suffering. Kishi is also superb as Harry\u2019s old flame, and Keith is marvelous in what\u2019s a minor role which he transcends in a great confession scene between George and clan leader Tono (Hiroshima mon amour<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Eiji Okada). It\u2019s a beautifully acted & directed moment because instead of a yelling match or displays of phony machismo, Tono orders George to confess \u2018no matter how embarrassing.\u2019 George tells the frank truth like a wayward teen who dipped into his father\u2019s wallet for extra cash, and instead of rage there\u2019s restraint on both sides. Quiet looks, physical posture, and measured tones reveal much more than emotional and verbal clich\u00e9s, and like Harry, George approaches his Japanese \u2018business partner\u2019 with deference and respect. (The scene also relates back to George\u2019s first appearance in the film, in which he tells a gun-ready Dusty to \u2018put it away\u2019 and apologizes to Tono\u2019s emissary in spite of being told his daughter will be brutally harmed in four days lest Harry not explain himself in person.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps the strangest character in the cast is Wheat, an ex-Marine living in Osaka, observing customs and living a non-violent life in spite of having his walls decorated with vintage swords. He provides Harry with classic American guns & ammo, but when Tono\u2019s killers descend and cause carnage in his home, he\u2019s a hopeless pacifist, screaming \u2018Stop! Stop! Please!\u2019 repeatedly while Dusty does the heavy fighting.<\/p>\n

Pollack may not be a traditional action director, but his grasp of suspense is rock solid, often fixating on reaction shots and glances among the balletic carnage. Yakuza<\/strong> is beautifully cut and does feature some choice violence, but perhaps the strangest omission is George\u2019s death which is never seen. Pollack cites U.S. censor restrictions, but it\u2019s bizarre that a vital scene in which Harry\u2019s payback needs to be seen and felt is shown through repeated gunfire and off-screen screams; we never even see George get plugged, just a male figure ducking under a desk in a split-second.<\/p>\n

Warner Archives\u2019 Blu-ray happily retains the classic 70s Warner Communications logo (something often replaced with the more familiar WB shield), and extras include the commentary track and a vintage making-of featurette and messy, spoiler-laden trailer.Titled “Promises to Keep,” the featurette is narrated by Pollack who stitches together thoughts on culture with aspects of the script, character, and locations, and settles for a moment on an exchange that’s crucial to the film’s three main characters: the concept of giri<\/a>, which is explained as part moral obligation to do the right thing, respect for humanity, and in another regard, a burden.<\/p>\n

Pity there\u2019s no isolated score track, as Dave Grusin\u2019s score \u2013 his first of many for Pollack \u2013 is quite beautiful, never being too pop or rock oriented, and incorporating some traditional Japanese instruments in eerie theme variations.<\/p>\n

Pollack\u2019s next film would be the brisk, politically inflected suspense-thriller Three Days of the Condor <\/strong>(1976), whereas Paul Schrader would follow his screenwriting debut with Taxi Driver<\/strong> (1976), and later direct the visually striking Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters<\/strong> (1985). Leonard Schrader would collaborate on several scripts with his brother, and do solo work on the cult shock doc The Killing of America<\/a><\/strong> (1981) and Naked Tango<\/strong> (1990), which he also directed.<\/p>\n

Ken Takakura\u2019s prolific career included many yakuza films, plus the cult film Bullet Train<\/a><\/strong> (1975).<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2017 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB<\/a> \u00a0— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
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\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

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