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49 titles. Sort by List order. 1. Branded to Kill. 1967 1h 31m Not Rated. 7.2 (10K) Rate. After a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular. Director Seijun Suzuki Stars Jô Shishido Mariko Ogawa Annu Mari. 2. Pale Flower.
- 12 'Sonatine'
- 11 'The Yakuza'
- 10 'Outlaw: Gangster Vip'
- 9 'Violent Cop'
- 8 'Tokyo Drifter'
- 7 'Outrage'
- 6 'drunken Angel'
- 5 'Kill Bill Vol. 1'
- 4 The Original 'Battles Without Honor and Humanity' Series
- 3 'Graveyard of Honor'
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano is a filmmaker/actor who's closely tied to the yakuza genre. He's perhaps most recognizable to general audiences as the head instructor from Battle Royale(2000), but has also made plenty of great crime films throughout his career, pulling multiple duties by directing, writing, and acting in most of them. Sonatine is one of his most notable yakuza movies, but certainly provides an odd, somewhat eccentric twist on the genre. The main character is a part of the yakuza, but is beco...
Director: Sydney Pollack
The Yakuza might well be the most well-known yakuza movie made by a non-Japanese director, and filmed (mostly) in English. It was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Robert Mitchum, with the story focusing on a Westerner who travels to Japan to help out a friend, only to get mixed up with members of the yakuza in the process. The story is consistently interesting, largely thanks to it being co-written by Paul Schrader, an acclaimed writer/director. It stands as an accessible yakuza movie f...
Director: Toshio Masuda
One of the most extensive yakuza series besides the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, the Outlaw: Gangster VIP series had six entries, all released between 1968 and 1969. Of those must-see 1960s movies, the first one - simply titled Outlaw: Gangster VIP- tends to be considered the best of the lot. It's a truly underrated crime movie, with a gripping plot that focuses on a young yakuza member who seeks revenge against his superiors after his friends are hurt. Outlaw: Gangster VIP is e...
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Another great crime film from Takeshi Kitano, Violent Cop is a movie that very much delivers on what the title implies. Kitano expertly portrays a ruthless cop who's more than willing to break numerous laws if it means he can take down the yakuza gang members he's pursuing. Violent Cop is quite extreme, with a good deal of deadbeat, dark humor throughout much of its runtime that's combined with brutal violence and some very downbeat moments. It's got a thrillingly unpredictable tone, and feat...
Director: Seijun Suzuki
A movie that proves style over substance doesn't have to be a bad thing, Tokyo Drifter is a dazzling and remarkably unique low-budget yakuza movie. The plot concerns a complex web of betrayal and assassinations, with various characters engaged in desperate, convoluted games of cat and mouse throughout. The thrills contained within Tokyo Driverare prioritized over all else, and the style on offer here through the look and overall feel of the film is undeniably memorable. It's the kind of movie...
Director: Takeshi Kitano
The 21st century hasn't slowed Takeshi Kitano down as a filmmaker interested in yakuza stories, if 2010's Outrage is anything to go by. This film - the first in a trilogy - depicts a huge war erupting among different yakuza gangs. Inside the chaos, Kitano's character is on a desperate quest for revenge after being betrayed by his bosses. Even by yakuza movie standards, the body count in Outrage is huge, and it feels rare for a scene to go by without another character dying. The constant death...
Director: Akira Kurosawa
One of many Akira Kurosawa movies to star Toshiro Mifune (each being legends within Japanese cinema), Drunken Angelis also notable for being one of the earliest crime films that could fit within the yakuza genre. It’s about a young gangster getting treated by a doctor who tries to get the young man out of such a lifestyle, only to find complications ensue when the gangster’s boss gets out of prison. Those expecting plenty of action within the framework of a yakuza movie may be disappointed th...
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Volume one of Kill Bill - the film that might be Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece- is first and foremost a homage to martial arts cinema (or simply a martial arts movie in its own right). It's action-packed and contains one particularly huge fight scene, being the faster-paced and arguably more exciting half of this epic revenge story. Kill Bill Vol. 1 also owes a great deal to classic yakuza movies, to the point where it could arguably be called a yakuza movie.After all, at least half of the...
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
It's hard to mention great yakuza movies without bringing up the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (sometimes known as the Yakuza Papersseries). There are 11 films in the series in total, with most of them being made and released during the 1970s - a time in Japanese cinema when yakuza movies were all the rage. Of those 1970s movies, the original five - all released in 1973 or 1974 - are certainly the best. They're frenetic, chaotic, violent, and pulse-pounding movies, with one main p...
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
1975's Graveyard of Honor was directed by Kinji Fukasaku, who immediately before the release of this film had directed the first five Battles Without Honor and Humanity movies. Graveyard of Honor follows a different set of characters and storyline, but retains the grit, tension, violence, and energy of the five yakuza moviesthat Fukasaku had previously directed. As you'd expect from a movie with "Graveyard" in the title, this is a pretty bleak movie, focusing on a particularly monstrous yakuz...
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Uma Thurman
- Quentin Tarantino
- Outrage. Beat Kitano, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi. 105 votes. An explosive exploration of gang warfare within Japan's criminal underworld—this thriller boasts heart-pounding action sequences and a complex, twisting narrative.
- Sonatine. Beat Kitano, Susumu Terajima, Ren Osugi. 64 votes. A hypnotic, dreamlike journey into the world of Japanese organized crime, this film masterfully weaves together a tale of vengeance and brotherhood.
- Brother. Takeshi Kitano, Claude Maki, Omar Epps. 62 votes. Takeshi Kitano's foray into American gangster cinema is a thrilling tale of betrayal, bloodshed, and brotherhood.
- Outrage Beyond. Beat Takeshi, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tomokazu Miura. 58 votes. The third installment in Takeshi Kitano's heart-pounding trilogy delves even deeper into the violent world of Yakuza politics and treachery.
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Dec 2, 2011 · To commemorate the film's release, we're counting down The 25 Best Yakuza Movies. Tokyo Mafia: Yakuza Wars. Image via Complex Original. 25. Tokyo Mafia: Yakuza Wars (1995) Director:...
- Jaeki Cho
- Buzzfeed Contributor
- Yakuza Graveyard (1976) Kinji Fukasaku was always the ultimate realist when it came to the yakuza genre.
- Gozu (2003) Takashi Miike’s surrealist bow to Athenian melodrama was originally envisioned as a low-caliber release before garnering special attention at Cannes.
- Tokyo Drifter (1966) Seijun Suzuki’s ultra-stylish frolic is a fine introduction to the genre with its kaleidoscopic colours, lavish sets, unforgettable theme song, and epic gunfights.
- Black River (1957) Masaki Kobayashi (Seppuku, Kwaidan, the Human Condition Trilogy) often used social and national conflict as thematic backdrops for his films.
May 6, 2022 · Did HBO Max’s ‘Tokyo Vice’ leave you wanting more Japanese yakuza dramas? Fear not: We’ve rounded up 10 of the best Japanese mob films you can stream right now.
Top 50 Best Yakuza Movies. by ramanshrestha | created - 05 Sep 2022 | updated - 05 Sep 2022 | Public. Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc. 49 titles. 1. Branded to Kill (1967) Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama. 7.2. Rate.
