3. The Yakuza (1974)
The Yakuza (1974) is a cult neo-noir film directed by the acclaimed Sydney Pollack, and written by the Schrader brothers, with assistance from Robert Towne. It depicts the Yakuza as a once noble people, compared to that of the Samurai, who were gradually corrupted by their overwhelming ambitions. Japan is depicted as a dark place, mostly cloaked in darkness, and ravaged by it's warring powers, particularly the of the Yakuza. Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) is dragged into gang warfare between his old friend, who turns out to be an arms dealer, and the local head of the Yakuza. Drawing on Ken Tanaka (Ken Takakura) Harry delves into the seedy underground in order to save both himself, and Ken. The film touches heavily on the rituals, and nature of the Yakuza, as well as some Japanese cultural concepts such as 'Giri' an important or life debt one man owes to another. While the Japan we see in Yakuza is corrupted like many of the other films on this list, there is some reprieve. Through Ken and Harry, we see some mutual respect between them by the end of the narrative, regardless of the strife that once occurred between them. Some academics see this as warming relations between the west and the east since World War 2 and the accompanying trauma. The Yakuza is an unlikely, but incredibly effective blend of the samurai gang film, and the film noir thriller. Robert Mitchum's remorseful and retired private detective matches perfectly to Ken Takakura's shamed ex-Yakuza hitman, to give us a high stylized amalgamation of classic western and eastern cinema culture.