''American Yakuza'' is a 1993 American crime film directed by

Frank Cappello Frank A. Cappello is an American filmmaker. His credits include writing the screenplay for '' Constantine'' and writing, directing and producing ''He Was a Quiet Man ''He Was a Quiet Man'' is a 2007 American black comedy drama film, written and ...

and starring

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argent ...

Ryo Ishibashi is a Japanese actor and lead singer of the Japanese rock band ARB. He is known around the world for his roles in the Japanese horror films '' Suicide Club'' and ''Audition.'' He is also recognized in America for his role as Nakagawa in ''The Gr ...

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on '' All My Children'', Eli David in ...

Franklyn Ajaye Franklyn Ajaye (born May 13, 1949) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. His nickname is "The Jazz Comedian" for his distinctive jazz-inflected style of delivery, timing, and astute use of silence. He released a series of comedy a ...

Yuji Okumoto is an American actor of Japanese descent. He is best known for his role as Chozen Toguchi in The Karate Kid (franchise), ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. He has also appeared in such films as ''Real Genius'' (1985), ''True Believer (1989 film), Tru ...

, Anzu Lawson, and

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

. The screenplay by

John Allen Nelson John Allen Nelson is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles on television as Warren Lockridge on '' Santa Barbara'', John D. Cort on '' Baywatch'', Walt Cummings in '' 24'' and Silas Bunch in ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend''. ...

and Max Strom is based on a story by executive producer Takashige Ichise. ''American Yakuza'' was released in the United States on December 22, 1993.

Premise

American

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent Nick Davis works undercover, rising through the ranks of the

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

to infiltrate their operations. Adopted by the Tendo crime family, he is entangled with the

Italian Mafia Organized crime in Italy and its criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially Southern Italy, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions since at least the 19th century. There are six ...

, the Yakuza, and the FBI. In the end he must decide what is most important to him.

Cast

as Nick Davis / David Brandt *

as Shuji Sawamoto *

as Dino Campanela *

as Sam *

as Kazuo * Anzu Lawson as Yuko *

as Littman *

Nicky Katt Nicky Katt (born May 11, 1971) is an American actor. Katt often plays unsympathetic characters, such as an irascible motorhead in ''Dazed and Confused,'' an ill-fated white supremacist child rapist in ''A Time to Kill'', and an embittered bu ...

as Vic *

John Fujioka John Mamoru Fujioka (June 29, 1925 – December 13, 2018) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was particularly known for performing the role of a Japanese holdout soldier in '' The Last Flight of Noah's Ark'', ''Who Finds a Friend F ...

as Isshin Tendo *

James Taenaka James Katsuyuki Taenaka (妙中克之 ''Taenaka Katsuyuki''; born November 27, 1964), better known as Jimmy T, is an American film and television actor. He starred opposite the late Brandon Lee in '' Showdown in Little Tokyo'' (1991) as well as ...

as Taka *

Toni Naples Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegia ...

as Mrs. Campanela *Saiko Isshiki as Aya *Fritz Mashimo as Okazaki *Joey Ciccone as Rudy

Critical response

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' wrote that director Frank Cappello did "an adequate job of weaving a relatively intricate storyline together, while delivering numerous explosive, action-packed sequences". The reviewer said that

excelled in his performance, and

was impressive in his role. They concluded that overall, ''American Yakuza'' "is a surprisingly powerful portrayal of the loyalties that exist in the underworld, where violence and betrayal are a way of life." Reviewer Anton Bitel wrote after considering Viggo Mortensen's acting in this 1993 film, and how he is better remembered now as

Aragorn Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Ar ...

in the ''Lord of the Rings'' films, this one "will leave viewers wondering why Mortensen's talents were not generally recognized a lot earlier." He also notes that one of the film's ironies is that when the Mafia takes on the Yakuza in the film and "boast of their 'American drive and know-how'", they forget the similarities in that a century earlier they were just as eager as the Yakuza "to get a foothold in this country". Bitel feels that "''American Yakuza'' is in effect 'The Godfather: the next Generation' – an immigrant saga of family, blood and assimilation that just happens to be set in the world of organized crime." He found flaws in that parts of the film "have the look of a rock video" and overall suffers from needing a larger budget. He concludes with praise for the acting, twisting plotline, and the carefully restrained violence.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:American Yakuza 1990s crime action films 1993 directorial debut films 1993 martial arts films American crime action films American martial arts films Yakuza films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s Japanese films