Highlights
- Yakuza movies have been a popular feature in Japanese cinema for decades, depicting violence, traditions, and style associated with Japanese crime gangs.
- Films like Dead Or Alive and Rainy Dog showcase the absurd and action-filled world of Yakuza, with over-the-top endings and complex relationships.
- The Yakuza genre has also been explored in American-made films like The Yakuza , which brings the grit of 70s cinema to a Japanese setting, creating a cult classic.
Since the 1920s, the gangster genre has been in full swing for cinemas after the American prohibition law. Organized crime was elevated to seemingly mythical levels, and filmmakers and writers used these gangs to write unique stories for the public's imagination to run wild. Yet, the Yakuza was seemingly unlike American gangsters, with unique customs and traditions to cause intrigue amongst viewers and their world of crime.
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The Japanese movie industry is seemingly older than America's, and within that industry, American gangster movies are instead painted over with Yakuza films, which depict the raw violence and traditions that are often associated with criminals. These films rank among some of the best Yakuza films for viewers to watch.
10 Dead Or Alive
IMDB Rating: 6.7
- Directed: Takashi Miike
- Released: 1999
- Running Time: 1h 45 mins
Takashi Miike is one of Japanese cinema's most prolific and controversial filmmakers. Often directing three films a year, his heroic output has produced some of the most memorable films in world cinema. Miike’s films often deal with the breakdown of society, commonly depicted through the eyes of a foreigner living in Japan.
Dead Or Alive is an energetic, action-filled extravaganza, as two men wage a personal war with each other that borders on the absurd. A Chinese-descent Yakuza squares off against a Japanese Cop, which culminates in one of the most over-the-top endings in cinema history.
9 Dragnet Girl
IMDB Rating 7.0
- Directed: Yasujirô Ozu
- Released: 1933
- Running Time: 1h 40 mins
Yasujiro Ozu was one of Japan's most respected filmmakers. Throughout his career, he never strayed far from his unique style of cinema. Characterized by his often static, low-angle shots and scenes where characters talk directly into the camera. Ozu became a master of his craft.
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Ozu's silent film, Dragnet Girl, made him a well-established name in the film community. The depiction of a small-time gangster and his entwined love story made for a heartbreaking redemption-seeking path with his girlfriend. With a tale of crime, love, and regret, this is one of the best and earliest Japanese gangster cinema.
8 Rainy Dog
IMDB Rating: 7.0
- Directed: Takashi Miike
- Released: 1997
- Running Time: 1h 35 mins
Another of Takashi Miike’s most controversial films, Rainy Dog, is the second part of his Black Society trilogy. A series of films connected by theme rather than story and includes Shinjuku Triad Society and Ley Lines. Each film deals in different ways with the conflict between two of Asia's most notorious organized crime gangs, the Yakuza and Chinese Triad gangs.
Rainy Dog follows an exiled Yakuza, Yuji, living in Taiwan and working as a hitman for a local Triad boss. The story unfolds with all the twists and actions of a Yakuza film, but the heart lies in the relationship between Yuji, his mute son, and his girlfriend/hooker.
7 Under The Open Sky
IMDB rating: 7.1
- Directed: Miwa Nishikawa
- Released: 2020
- Running Time: 2h 6 mins
The newest film on this list, Under The Open Sky, tells the story of a Yakuza recently released from prison after 13 years. Now older, he travels to find his mother, who abandoned him years before. Throughout the film, he struggles to adapt to the outside world and life away from crime.
Under The Open Sky deals with the notion of the Yakuza and their diminished stature within Japanese society, as well as the anti-social nature of criminal life. The lead character struggles to connect with others, hold down a normal job, and reintegrate into society as he has spent most of his life in prison.
6 Tokyo Drifter
IMDB Rating: 7.1
- Directed: Seijun Suzuki
- Released:1966
- Running Time: 1h 29 mins
Tokyo Drifter tells the story of Yakuza hitman Phoenix Tetsu. After his boss suddenly disbands his criminal empire, Tetsu attempts to go straight. These dreams are soon dashed when his old accomplices come calling and want his help in fighting a rival gang.
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Tokyo Drifter is a colorful and violent thriller that brings all the swinging styles of 60s cinema to the Yakuza genre. The film deals with themes of corruption, the excesses of power, and loyalty that are synonymous with the world of Yakuza.
5 The Yakuza
IMDB Rating: 7.2
- Directed: Sydney Pollack
- Released: 1974
- Running Time: 1h 47 mins
The Yakuza is an oddity in the list due to it being American-made. Sydney Pollack decided to make this neo-noir thriller set in Japan, which follows the story of a Private Eye, Harry Kilmer, as he looks into the disappearance and kidnapping of his friend's daughter.
Whilst initially released to mixed reviews, The Yakuza has become a cult classic amongst cinema-goers, and it's a great way for Western audiences to introduce themselves to Yakuza films with its 70s grit and Japanese setting.
4 Sympathy For the Underdog
IMDB Rating: 7.4
- Directed: Kenji Fukasaku
- Released: 1971
- Running Time: 1h 33 mins
This 1971 crime epic is the classic tale of warring rival gangs fighting for their lives and territory. The film follows Masuo Gunji, as he and his gang are driven from Yokohama and imprisoned. Years later, Gunji is released from prison and sets out to rebuild his lost empire.
This Yakuza classic is expertly crafted with all the flourish and skill of Fukasaku's later films. It's a must-watch for fans of Yakuza movies due to the studded and talented cast that truly elevate this motion picture into a crime-heavy drama.
3 Sonatine
IMDB Rating: 7.5
- Directed: Takeshi Kitano
- Released: 1993
- Running Time: 1h 34 mins
Whilst the actor Takeshi Kitano is more known for his comedic roles in Japan, his gritty thrillers like Sonatine have helped to cement him as a classic filmmaker who knows how to not only get laughs but get audiences tense in their seats for what comes next.
Sonatine follows gang boss Aniki Murakawa, sent to Okinawa to settle a local dispute. When the gang members are ambushed, they are forced to flee to a local beach house, where they wait out for their inevitable and violent end, all whilst passing the time in casual manner, providing a human-less for Yakuza and their everyday dealings.
2 Drunken Angel
IMDB Rating: 7.6
- Directed Akira Kurosawa
- Released: 1948
- Running Time: 1h 38 mins
One of Japan's most famous cinematic names, Akira Kurosawa, directs this post-war Yakuza film during some of the strictest censorship by the occupying USA. Drunken Angel tells the story of two unlikely men who form a strong bond. An alcoholic doctor and a Yakuza suffering from tuberculosis.
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The film was the first collaboration between Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, who would go on to make 16 films together, which included the classics Rashomon and The Seven Samurai. Despite the strong censorship at the time, Kurosawa managed to include several references to the US occupation of Japan in the film, something that was strictly prohibited at the time.
1 Pale Flower
IMDB Rating: 7.7
- Directed: Masahiro Shinoda
- Released: 1964
- Running Time: 1h 36 mins
Following on from the Japanese New Wave of cinema, Pale Flower is a story that follows protagonist Muraki, newly released from prison, as he discovers that the world he had known before being locked up, has drastically changed forever. His story delves into love when he falls for Saeko, a charismatic gambling addict. When the two develop a dangerous relationship, things are bound to crash and burn due to Saeko's desire to seek thrills in the Japanese underworld.
Pale Flower is a stylish film noir that warns of the perils of dangerous activities such as gambling and crime. The duo of protagonists cement themselves in a seduction of cool that helps to raise the tension with every scene.
