7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Stationed in Japan during World War II, a retired American detective returns twenty years later on a mission for friend -- and his past is waiting for him.
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard JordanDrama | 100% |
Crime | 32% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Director Sydney Pollack made The Yakuza in between a bittersweet romance, The Way We Were
(1973), and a paranoid spy thriller, 3 Days of the
Condor (1975), both of which were box office
hits that have become classics of their respective genres. But The Yakuza was not similarly
successful. Based on a script by Paul Schrader (Taxi
Driver) and his brother, Leonard, both of
whom had lived in Japan and whose fascination with Japanese culture would reach full
expression ten years later in Mishima: A Life in Four
Chapters, The Yakuza invited American
audiences to experience a world that, in 1974, remained an unfamiliar mystery—at least to
anyone without ready access to arthouse cinemas showing samurai films and Japanese gangster
movies. Pollack was brought onto the project at the behest of star Robert Mitchum, and he seems
to have relished the opportunity to explore alien territory. The result was an uneasy mix of film
noir and cultural travelogue that was poorly received by both U.S. critics and audiences (though
the international reaction was more favorable).
The following decade would see a surge of international interest in all things Nipponese, fueled
by Japan's expansion into the global economy and also by a home video revolution that allowed
a wider audience to sample Japanese cinema. By the time novelist Michael Crichton published
Rising Sun in 1992 (with Philip Kaufman's film
adaptation the following year), eruptions of
Japanese tradition into American popular culture were no longer a novelty.
The Yakuza remains something of a cinematic curiosity. Cited for extreme violence at the time of
its release, the film's bloodletting and body count have long since been surpassed by numerous
orgies of gory excess from both East and West. Fifteen years after Pollack's film, even the
wince-inducing ceremony of yubitsume, or self-mutilation as an act of apology, could be
incorporated as a plot point into Ridley Scott's Black Rain
without further explanation. From the
vantage point of today, Pollack's exploration of honor and giri (or "obligation") seems almost
quaint, like the enthusiasm of a tourist recently returned from discovering an exotic new
destination. Still, while Pollack may be one of the least appreciated of Seventies filmmakers, in
large part because he continued to work within what remained of the studio system instead of
joining the crowd of mavericks and rebels for which the decade is famous, The Yakuza serves as
a reminder that Pollack, too, had an adventurous streak. For all the film's flaws, this superb new
presentation from the Warner Archive Collection is a welcome addition to the director's filmography
on Blu-ray.
The Yakuza was shot by Japanese cinematographer Kôzô Okazaki, except for the opening scenes
in America, for which Pollack called on Duke Callaghan, his DP from Jeremiah Johnson. As
Pollack describes in his commentary, he and Okazaki communicated with an improvised system
using grayscale cards, since neither spoke the other's language. Their signing must have been
effective, because The Yakuza is beautifully lit and elegantly shot, striking an effective balance
between the visual worlds of the two cultures juxtaposed by the screenplay.
For this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, the Warner Archive Collection has commissioned a new
scan of an archival interpositive, which was performed (at 2K) by Warner's Motion Picture
Imaging facility, followed by extensive color-correction and cleanup. The Blu-ray image is
astonishing: a shining example of the video quality that can be extracted from a well-preserved
Seventies film source. Detail and sharpness are exceptional, revealing every weary crag on the
face of Robert Mitchum's Kilmer, the tiniest flickers of expression in the stony countenance of
Takakura Ken's Tanaka and subtle textures in clothing and sets—and also giving full due to the
intricate and colorful tattoos with which the yakuza decorate their bodies (according to Pollack's
commentary, applying them to the cast was a major daily project).
Nighttime blacks are deep and solid; densities are consistently stable; and the palette alternates
between subdued earth tones, which convey the deceptively serene surface of a neatly ordered
society, and richly saturated reds and blues, which reflect the luxury and allure of the criminal
underworld. The film's grain pattern is natural and finely resolved. WAC has mastered The
Yakuza at its usual high average bitrate (here, 34.98 Mbps), with a superior encode.
The Yakuza's mono sound mix has been taken from the original magnetic print master tracks and encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. The English dialogue is clearly rendered, and the Japanese dialogue is subtitled. The track has respectable dynamic range that aptly serves sequences of violent confrontation and adequately conveys such distinctive environments as a sumptuous bathhouse or a pachinko palace. The score is by Dave Grusin, in the first of his many collaborations with Pollack, and it ably combines familiar thriller elements with Japanese instruments and intonations.
The extras have been ported over from Warner's 2007 DVD release of The Yakuza, with the
addition of the trailer.
I'm not as much a fan of The Yakuza as my colleague Josh Katz, but I
can appreciate the
performances and the cinematic craftsmanship, even as the script's shortcomings become more
apparent with each viewing. Every Sydney Pollack film has something worthwhile, and The
Yakuza is no exception. WAC's Blu-ray presentation is superb and, with due warning that the
film isn't for everyone, recommended.
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