The Yakuza (1974)

An American private eye returns to Japan to rescue a friends' daughter from the hands of the Yakuza. It's a simple enough premise, and yet The Yakuza makes this fairly straightforward set up go a long way. Director Sydney Pollack followed this up with the much more famous The Three Days Of The Condor (1975), but I personally had more fun with this one. Rumour has it that Martin Scorsese wanted to direct this after Mean Streets (1973) but the studio wanted Pollack; whether this is true or not it's Pollack who makes good on faith put in him. The Yakuza, despite somewhat falling down in its last quarter is a beautifully shot film, bringing you into the cultural world of Japan and throwing in a love story that holds extremely well. Robert Mitchum is as cool as a cucumber as Harry Kilmer, the man sent by his friend George to rescue his daughter, and the performances are generally good across the board. Pollock hasn't directed a huge amount since this, which is a real shame because he has an eye for visuals and especially location and settings. The Yakuza was something I picked up out of the blue, I knew nothing about it; and although it has flaws, this is an impressive piece of work and possibly Pollack's best as director. 7.2/10