American Yakuza

1993
R
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

YOUR RATING

Home Video Trailer from Columbia Pictures

Play trailer1:49

1 Video

99+ Photos

Action Crime Drama Thriller

An American FBI agent is lured away by the Japanese Mafia--the Yakuza--in this action film.An American FBI agent is lured away by the Japanese Mafia--the Yakuza--in this action film.An American FBI agent is lured away by the Japanese Mafia--the Yakuza--in this action film.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.6/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:49

American Yakuza

Photos103

+ 95

More like this

5.6

Back to Back

5.9

Gospel According to Harry

5.6

Gimlet

5.4

My Brother's Gun

8.0

Under the Flag of the Rising Sun

6.2

6.0

5.0

4.2

5.8

5.7

5.6

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Viggo Mortensen, on being asked why he took the role: "I was quite broke and needed a job."

Goofs
(at around 1 min) When the Japanese bodyguard fires the last bullet out of the Thompson machine gun, the scene cuts to a shot of the spent bullet casings hitting the ground. As the shells hit the ground, you can clearly see the that ends of the cartridges, where the bullet exits the shell have been crimped, indicating that these are spent blanks. Real spent bullet casings are smooth.

Alternate versions
The 18-rated German video version was cut for violence in many scenes. The TV-Version and the DVD-Release are also cut. All cuts have finally been waived on the 2021 DVD release by Imperial Pictures/Cargo Records.

Connections
Followed by Back to Back (1996)

User reviews27

Review

Featured review

A Cut Above B-Movie

The plot offers very few surprises. It is a standard B-movie plot with formula characters.

However, two things raise this movie from the usual B-movie fare.

First, both Viggo Mortensen and Ryo Ishibashi turn in understated, yet thoughtful, performances that create chemistry and add a dimension of believability to their characters beyond what simply appears on-screen.

Second, creative camera angles and striking visuals lend an air of intelligence and elegance to many of the key scenes in the movie.