"Yakuza" is a word used to describe gangster organizations in Japan, with members who often uphold samurai traditions and sport extensive back tattoos. The equivalent in the West might be an organization like the mafia, and just as there are plenty of great movies about the mafia in America - whose roots are often Italian - so too are there a host of great yakuza movies that take a look at organized crime in Japan.

This brand of gangster movie isn't super popular in the West, but they deserve more recognition outside Japan, and are likely to be just as appealing to most gangster movie fans as those about the mafia. The following movies are among the best that provide insight into the yakuza lifestyle. Most are Japanese productions, though there are a couple of English-language co-productions included below to keep things interesting. These great yakuza movies are ranked below, starting with the good and ending with the great.

12 'Sonatine' (1993)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Sonatine - 1993

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 becoming tired of the lifestyle, and starts to question the violent things he's done during his time as a gangster. It's an introspective and quiet yakuza film, as a result... besides the brief bursts of often shocking violence, of course, with Sonatine also being notable for feeling like one of the best arthouse crime movies ever made.

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11 'The Yakuza' (1974)

Director: Sydney Pollack

Robert Mitchum in The Yakuza - 1974

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 for English-speaking viewers, as Mitchum's character provides an outsider's view into the criminal underworld of Japan. As a result, some might not consider it a truly authentic yakuza film, but it's still a worthy watch, and has a particularly strong final act that more than justifies the occasionally slow pacing.

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10 'Outlaw: Gangster VIP' (1968)

Director: Toshio Masuda

Outlaw Gangster VIP

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 extremely fast-paced and unpredictable throughout, and has a slightly less sprawling scope, making it a little easier to follow – and overall less chaotic – than most films in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series. It feels personal and more down-to-earth, and it's those qualities that make the film shine, in the end.

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9 'Violent Cop' (1989)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Violent Cop 1989

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 features a story that questions whether a police officer like Kitano's character is truly any more lawful than the gangsters he's tasked with taking down. This makes it bleak and intense, but it is also strangely funny throughout for viewers who movies with dark humor.

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8 'Tokyo Drifter' (1966)

Director: Seijun Suzuki

Firing a gun in the dark in Tokyo Drifter - 1966

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 Driver are 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 where you won't necessarily lose much if you can't keep track of the plot, as it's the feeling you get from watching a movie like Tokyo Drifter that matters most. It's a hugely original and creative movie, consistently colorful, and willing to subvert the expectations of just about any viewer.

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7 'Outrage' (2010)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Guns pointed at the viewer in Outrage - 2010

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 and violence can become exhausting, but it's probably by design, knowing Kitano's eccentric style and willingness to challenge his audience. In some ways, it's very simple and blunt, but in other ways, it's very overwhelming and convoluted. It's an interesting crime movie; that's for sure.

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6 'Drunken Angel' (1948)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Drunken Angel - 1948

One of many Akira Kurosawa movies to star Toshiro Mifune (each being legends within Japanese cinema), Drunken Angel is 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 that Drunken Angel is more of a grounded drama, but it is well-acted and well-made for its time. Kurosawa did go on to make better crime/thriller movies, but none could really be described as yakuza films, even charitably, which makes Drunken Angel worth highlighting.

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5 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' (2003)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Uma Thurman facing off against a group of armed henchmen in Kill Bill Vol. 1
Image Via Miramax

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 movie takes place in Japan, with The Bride spending much of the runtime targeting O-Ren Ishii and her army of yakuza gangsters, who fight The Bride in the film's gigantic - and bloody - climactic battle. It's one of the most relentless and exciting action movies of the 21st century so far, and combines yakuza and samurai genres to spectacular effect.

Kill Bill Vol. 1
R

Release Date
October 10, 2003
Runtime
111 minutes

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4 The original 'Battles Without Honor and Humanity' series (1973-1974)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Three yakuza gangsters chilling in Battles Without Honor and Humanity - 1973

It's hard to mention great yakuza movies without bringing up the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (sometimes known as the Yakuza Papers series). 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 protagonist - Shozo Hirono - navigating a complex criminal underworld filled with murder, suspicion, and betrayal. These films are sometimes hard to follow by design, due to the complex plots, but they remain thrilling and unlike anything else out there, and still pack a cinematic punch after almost 50 years.

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3 'Graveyard of Honor' (1975)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Graveyard of Honor - 1975

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 movies that 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 yakuza member named Rikio Ishikawa. He spends much of the film betraying those close to him, acting violent and disorderly, and generally being an awful person. It's one of the darkest looks at the yakuza lifestyle, and is even more critical of such a life than the Battles Without Honor and Humanity movies were, feeling like one of the boldest crime movies of the 1970s.

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2 'Graveyard of Honor' (2002)

Director: Takashi Miike

Graveyard of Honor - 2002

2002's Graveyard of Honor may technically be a remake of the 1975 film of the same name, but it has more than enough differences to make it worth watching alongside the original. It's almost 40 minutes longer, and though it features the same main character of Rikio Ishikawa - and a similar core premise - it takes numerous different turns and detours to keep it thrilling and intense, even for those familiar with the original.

It's directed by Takashi Miike who, along with Takeshi Kitano, is keeping the yakuza genre alive into the 21st century. While he might be better known for stomach-churning horror movies like Audition, or dark, disturbing comedies like Gozu, he's also done fantastic work in the crime genre, as demonstrated by his thrilling and worthwhile take on the original Graveyard of Honor.

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1 'Fireworks' (1997)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Fireworks - 1997
Image via Nippon Herald Films

Standing as perhaps the definitive Takeshi Kitano yakuza movie, Fireworks is also up there with the very best movies of the 1990s, and understandably gets held up as one of the filmmaker’s best efforts. It follows a police officer who’s going through various hardships in his life, and the way he clashes with various personnel within the yakuza underworld, making things even more difficult for him.

It's patiently paced but never boring, with a unique rhythm that takes a little while to settle into, but eventually becomes distinct and engrossing. It’s also more emotional and beautiful-looking than various other films Kitano directed, both before and after. Fireworks is a good place to start for those new to the filmmaker’s work, and also stands as a good introduction to Japanese crime/gangster movies as a whole.

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