The Yakuza

Superb East-meets-West movie, I suspect largely due to Schrader's insight. Takakura Ken's performance really steals the show, though all actors are more than capable; Mitchum gives a great performance again. Not a martial arts movie, but contains a katana showdown that I can watch over and over again without finding fault [more believable than anything you'll see in 'Kill Bill'].

The story is gorgeously convoluted, keeping it's secrets to the very end, in a fitting Japanese manner. Action scenes are relatively restrained, and the story tells how Mitchum's character finally comes to understand Takakura Ken's character, and his apparently icy antagonism. When can we see a DVD copy?!