Listen to the names involved in the 1975 film The Yakuza:
Sydney Pollack, Paul Schrader, Robert Mitchum, Leonard Schrader, Robert Towne and Ken Takakura
What a list of talent in that movie. Well now Cinematical are reporting that the movie is to be remade with the Production helm being taken by…Bill Gerber, the Producer behind The Dukes of Hazzard. I weep. I really do.
Sydney Pollack’s 1975 flick The Yakuza, about a detective who heads back to China to rescue his daughter’s friend after she’s been kidnapped by the Yakuza, is being remade…The film, naturally, will be set in modern Japan. The original starred Robert Mitchum and was written by screenwriting legends Paul Schrader and Robert Towne.
However, we’ve yet to hear a name for a Director or Screenwriter (I presume they’ll rewrite) so things might not be all dark clouds and stained swords. Any fans of the original out there? How can they think of replacing Mitchum, and with whom?
I would just like to add my feelings of the casting of the remake or whatever of a great movie. Madsen or Russell would both be good choices, and Watanabe as well as his “Last Samurai” co-star Hiroyuki Sanada would also be great in the role of Tanaka Ken. If Ken Takakura is still alive, he would be a great choice for Goro, Ken’s brother. As for Brian Keith’s role of George Tanner, how about Baldwin for that one? I love to see him die. That leaves two caucasian male roles, Oliver and Dusty. It may sound strange, but what about Joaquin Phoenix as Dusty and Dan Aykroyd as Oliver in a non-comedy role? Just a thought. Anywho, if it is to be a remake, I hope it is at least a solid film and not some Hollywood garbage that we have far too much of these days. In any case, I hope that the original is out on DVD soon.
D.R.U.
Thanks for the site Rick, I actually found your blog pretty interesting. I’ll check some of the movies you recommended out. Like your site says, though, this movie is NOT a remake of “The Yakuza”. This is a completely new film, about an American orphaned in Japan, raised by yaks, and who goes on to lead a gang in the midst of warfare.
http://yakuzagear.blogspot.com/
Well, in the spirit of this yakuza madness, I found this site:
http://www.yakuzagear.com
They sell yakuza related shirts and hats and such. Quite bizzare, and worth a look.
-Rick
What made the original story so good, asides from Mitchum and Takakura, was the exploration of giri. Until I saw this film, I had always assumed the word for it meant a duty, or even honor, but something that was generally held in esteem. but here it’s the painful the predictament of the Takakura’s charachter drives the film’s pace and flavor. Any remake without addressing this theme, either in its current decline, or in a period piece would miss the point entirely.
It sickens me that there’s a remake in progress and you can’t get the original on DVD. I’d love Criterion to release it with some cool extras, but that’s likely a dream. Watanabe is a good pick for Takakura’s role, but I think another choice is Ryo Ishibashi (American Yakuza and Audition). Great actor and good look for part.
The Yakuza has been a personally important film in my life since I first saw it by accident on late night TV over 20 years ago. I’ve got the laser disc, and now, finally, at last, I got the fantastic Dave Grusin score on CD. It’s just out from Film Score Monthly:
http://www.screenarchives.com/fsm/detailCD.cfm?ID=340
Now news of a possible remake has me hoping the original will finally be out on DVD.
I like very much the idea of Michael Madsen, and for the role Ken Tanaka I can’t see anyone but Ken Watanabe, who was so excellent with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai.
My worry is that with Bill Gerber producing it, it’ll be just as brainless as The Dukes of Hazzard, which was even more brainless than the source material. If he can’t perform up to even that low standard, my fear is that a remake of The Yakuza will be pitched at 14-20 year suburban males; I.E. full of over-the-top gunfights, swordfights and action action action. Oh, and look for the character of Oliver Wheat to be turned into comedy relief. Or worse yet, Dusty will become the wacky side-kick character.
The original film was so intelligent and so sensitive; I just can’t see Hollywood today producing anything nearly as good. I really don’t want to see the Action/Comedy version no matter whom they cast in it.
The Mitchum/Takakura “Yakuza” differed from the original book/screenplay in important aspects. The original is actually much more complicated than the movie. Trying to locate a copy of this rare book is very difficult. My old copy has been rebound and the pages are almost brown with age. Since the original movie is a variation of the book, then the new movie will probably be in this tradition of,yet, another variation. I only hope they find actors to replicate the critical element of the “good bad guy” mystique of Mitchum and Takakura which makes the original movie work so well. My hope is that the remake will encourage a DVD of the original.
Burton’s Apes was a bit different, much like his Wonka tale, he’s gone back to the original material and adopted that. The first Apes was a “based on” whereas Burton was a lot truer to the original text.
This is just going to remake it, and in all honestly probably spoil it.
The remake should be a “rethinking” of the plot as was done with Burton’s “Planet of the Apes”. The original classic is time specific to its era. All of the comments neglect the critical ingredient of Ken Takakura as also making the movie work. No matter which American actor is selected, his co-star would have to be of equal talent and stature for a successful remake. I have been waiting for years for a DVD release.
Madsen has the tough thing in spades, but can you like him? There are a lot of tough guys out there. You could cast Mickey Rourke if all you were looking for was tough. Mitchum had the tough-with-heart thing, though. The audience wanted him to win or not get caught or whatever the thing happened to be. Of course, Madsen did those Free Willy movies. I guess he hasn’t *only* played a guy whose death elicits a cheer from the audience. ;-)
You know, Baldwin has been pretty heavy on occasion. His monologue in Glenngarry Glen Ross is one of the classic deliveries of Mamet’s writing. For that matter, he does Mamet justice in The Edge, too.
Clooney, on the other hand, seems to really be trying not to take himself too seriously. I think The Peacemaker kind of left a bad taste in his mouth. That’s why you don’t see him playing Seth Gecko roles anymore, IMO, but I think he has the chops to give a really hard-edged performance for the right director.
Hey, you never know. Madsen might be the guy to do it.
“Any fans of the original out there?”
Yo!…Here!…Aye!…Yes…Of Course!
My cup would be full if they would just release a DVD of the original.
Know if it’s in existence now, before they get going on a remake??
Jo
Clooney? Baldwin??? What the ?
Two words – Michael Madsen.
It’s really got to be an imposing guy. Not a huge guy, but not some little 130-pound actor who you’d never be able to imagine getting in a brawl. I mean, I know that they aren’t casting a guy to play Robert Mitchum playing this character, but when you do a re-make it comes front-loaded with the memories people have of the original film and impressions they have of the original cast. It always seems like the idea is to kind of riff on that in an interesting way and spin it somehow. I think about this stuff too much, I know. ;-)
Anyway, true or not, Mitchum’s reputation as a pot-smoking, bourbon-drinking, womanizing, ex-con built up a certain illusion in the audience before the lights ever went down. Then he didn’t have to overdo it on screen. I was thinking about it a little this afternoon and Nick Nolte kind of has that going for him. A lot of people have seen those police mug shots of Nolte. He might be really good in a role like this.
-Rob
Baldwin and Russell are good choices. I would see this movie if they were in it.
Donna A.
Oh wow, yes, Alec Baldwin. He’s a great actor and suits the role perfectly. Good choice.
Second I’d go for your Kurt Russell, but it might be too close to Big Trouble!
Clive Owen has a kind of coldness that fits the role, but he’s not a “regular guy” like Mitchum. I do think Clive Owen would be about perfect as James Bond, though. He could bring a ruthlessness to the role that hasn’t really been there…well, ever. Timothy Dalton kind of had it.
This role, though. You know, George Clooney or Alec Baldwin could do it. They both have that ability to smack a guy around one minute and have a beer with him the next. Or Kurt Russell. He could do Mitchum. It has to be someone with that kind of “star” self-confidence, though. That’s kind of integral to Robert Mitchum’s persona, IMO. One of the reasons you could buy into Mitchum walking around Japan kicking ass and not getting a tempered-steel enema was because…well, it was Robert Mitchum. It would be really hard for a lesser-known actor to turn in that kind of performance. Bruce Willis could do a Mitchum-style character, too, but he hasn’t got that “traditional good looks” thing going.
Another thing worth noting is that Mitchum wasn’t exactly a kid when he made the film. In fact, he was 58 when he made The Yakuza. Clooney’s only 44. Baldwin is 47. Willis is 50. Russell is 54. You know, Tim Matheson is 58. He’s never really been a huge star like any of those guys, but hey…he’s Otter. ;-)
I have always thought Clive Owen reminded me of Robert Mitchum. And I have always loved Robert Mitchum. He was one cool dude.
Donna A.