The films on this list are the most famous yakuza movies of all time, so use it to find some movies that you haven't seen already. One of Miike’s finest films if one doesn’t overdose on Minami’s allegorical sexual awakening along the way. Originally released to fleapit movie theaters in the US by New Line Cinema! Crime, Drama, Romance. A yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. Eiko Horii, Hidetoshi Imura, 86 min

Chitose Kobayashi, Hiroshi Nawa, R 105 min Unfortunately Kiryu's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball bat-wielding psycho Majima Goro who has a grudge to settle with Kiryu. The Top 10 Yakuza Films of All Time; The Top 20 Yakuza Films of All Time; The Top 50 Yakuza Films of All Time; The Top 100 Yakuza Films of All Time; The Best Horror Movies Of the 1980s; The Best Science Fiction Movies of 1977; The Best Comedy Movies Of the 2000s; The Most Recently Released Movies; The Most Recently Added Movies | Kippei Shîna, | Action, Crime, A young yakuza hitman named Goro does a job and needs to hideout away from Tokyo for a while. Takeshi “Beat” Kitano’s directorial debut, despite focusing on its protagonist, a disillusioned cop named Azuma, repeatedly draws parallels between police and yakuza. Director: 97 min This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. To which the police commissioner explains that they have hunting licenses so there’s nothing that can be done except to simply release Manabe to a hail of gunfire. Seiji and Yoshifumi are the only members of the Muto branch of the Date Family. Michiyo Kogure, Not Rated Masaya Katô, Votes: Tomorô Taguchi, Crime, Drama, Music, Ambitious yakuza Kenji befriends harmonica-playing bartender Chuji, who moonlights as a part-time drug-dealer for the opposing gang.

Go figure. His name is Takeo and he has just been released from prison for assaulting a rival yakuza boss. Misako Watanabe, | | | Hideo Kanze, See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc. Yasuzô Masumura Knee-deep in Nikkatsu studio’s “mukokuseki” era, the film proudly bears Suzuki’s flamboyant filmmaking approach. Practically everything goes wrong in Azuma’s life. 100 min Director: The film plays on a number of clichés, some of which were already firmly established at the time of its release (there’s an absurd barroom brawl amongst American and Japanese patrons over some dancing girls), but it’s all done with musical aplomb and, at times, sheer surrealism. Kato orders Ikemoto to bring the unassociated Murase-gumi gang in line, and he immediately passes the task on to his subordinate Otomo, who runs his own crew.

Tomisaburô Wakayama, Takeshi Kitano,

Misako Watanabe, Crime, Drama, Thriller. Opening with a credit sequence superimposed over a perpetually burning vehicle, Seijun Suzuki somehow manages to successfully combine sleuthing with double-crosses, dance numbers and epic gun battles, not to mention a swingin’ jazz pop score.
The Yakuza is a 1974 neo-noir gangster film directed by Sydney Pollack, written by Leonard... Vengeance Is Mine is a 1979 film directed by Shōhei Imamura, based on the book of the same... Zatoichi is a 2003 Japanese samurai drama and action film, directed, written, co-edited, and... Drunken Angel is a 1948 Japanese yakuza film directed by Akira Kurosawa. A hit man is hired to kill a mob boss. Touching on themes of poverty, oppression, and social ills whilst avoiding racial propaganda in the postwar era is an impressive balancing act. In cinema however, the mythology of the yakuza enjoys an enduring fascination. Kippei Shîna, Bunta Sugawara, After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother. Action, Crime. The film portrays these criminals not as conscienceless degenerates but as misunderstood misfits rejected by society or, as one character explains, “They’re more like wild beasts than evil criminals.” When the opportunity arises for them to help a young fugitive free his fiancé from a brothel, they collectively partake in a suicide mission to help him raise the money. Shuji is an uncompromising young filmmaker at odds with Japanese society. Nobuo Kaneko, Director: A yakuza hitman gets out of jail and decides to start a new life, but soon his old life catches up with him. Naoto Takenaka, Battles Without Honor and Humanity is a 1973 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku.... Sonatine is a 1993 Japanese film directed by Takeshi Kitano. A Yakuza wants to take revenge,his boss and his crew got killed by their enemy gang, so he made his mission as to do whatever he can do to take down the peoples who did it. | Crime, Drama. Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself.

Yoshio Harada,

M'kay?

Daniel Wu, Director: Ryô Kase, Outrage. “Phoenix” Tetsu is former yakuza who’s trying to remain legitimate in deference to his boss, Kurata, who has disbanded their gang. Fireworks (1997) 4. Stars: This list answers the questions, "What are the best yakuza movies?" Action, Crime. And like Hollywood mobster films, these motion pictures have even influenced the way yakuza portray themselves and are portrayed. Shôhei Hino, The only film on this list to depict yakuza in the Tokugawa era, Masaki Kobayashi paints a dreary tale of smugglers anticipating inevitable doom. An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman when he was young, plans to hold hostage a local bank. An autistic woman with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money. You can't blast the man for not having Citizen Kane in it.

Tamio Kawaji, R 96 min

Shôji Kaneko, Ryô Kase, Not Rated | |
Takashi Nomura

After the deed is done, he and his driver are wanted dead by rival gangs who joined forces.

He forms several liaisons, one in particular with a yakuza boss’ wife, Keiko (played by Lady Snowblood herself, Meiko Kaji). Director: Masanobu Katsumura, Not Rated Aya Kokumai, The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 film directed by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Hiroki Matsukata, Detective Kuro is contemptible of both the law and the lawless for he finds them all to be hypocrites (and in this film he is often proven right). All Kyojin, | Kinji Fukasaku

Director: Definitely a must-see if you're a fan of ultra-violent action movies. Saori Sekino, A list of the best yakuza movies ever made, ranked by movie fans with film trailers when available. Yoshiyuki Daichi, | |

| Masaki Kobayashi (Seppuku, Kwaidan, the Human Condition Trilogy) often used social and national conflict as thematic backdrops for his films. DISCUSSION. Former Yakuza underling Kiryu Kazuma, who has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration, and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his Yakuza past. If there are any great movies about yakuza you believe we missed, please feel free to add them to the list yourself. A renegade film crew becomes embroiled with a yakuza clan feud. Jerry Fujio, With an unnerving yet humorous opening where Ozaki, a once seasoned yakuza, seems to lose his mind and smash a puppy to pieces, the episodic adventures involving this (often absent) madman become progressively inexplicable. 94 min Tell us what you think about this feature. Stars: Akira Kobayashi, Ren Osugi, 95 min He truly knows his stuff, he's a good dude and, like I said, this is his list. Rokuro Mochizuki $0.00M, 110 min Academic note, the always excellent Tatsuya Nakadai appears here as Killer Jo in one of his first major film roles.

| Masahiro Shinoda Tetsuya Watari,

Shôhei Hino, Brian Keith, Stars: Brian Ashcraft. Director:

Crime, Drama, Mystery.

Kawaita hana (1964) 3. | Minako Katsuki, Not Rated

22. Shinjirô Ebara, 107 min

More details here. | Shin'ichi Chiba, $0.05M, 90 min Stars: | Using his former ties, he quickly determines that a war is brewing between old-guard Yakuza members and a young, crazed leader (Takao Osawa) with ties to the Chinese Tong. As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. Director: The colour palette in particular is simply vibrant and “Phoenix” Tetsu is always cool and collected. | | | Hideo Murota, R Fumi Nikaidô, Takeshi Kitano Akiko Kudô, Not Rated Sydney Pollack One thing I'd like to point out again. | Takashi Miike Much of the film... Underworld Beauty is a 1958 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki. Seijun Suzuki |