Reviews (51)

Babs is a great actress
These scenes are so well written - credit to the genius of arthur laurents - that any one of them could be taken out of context and make a great scene for an acting student.

The movie is shot beautifully and the score is a classic. (If a little repetitive at times)

The main reason to see this movie is for the great acting of Streisand and Redford. They are incredible.

Barbara has so many great moments in this - probably the "phone scene" is her best but so hard to choose. She is just great in this movie.

Redford is perfect - saying much more when he is silent than any actor does with dialogue.

The ending scene is a classic of american cinema - so sad and perfect. The most classic goodbye scene since CASABLANCA.

The documentary on this DVD is awesome. The interviews with Barbra, Pollack, the Bergmans, Hamlisch are great. The only disapointment is no Redford. The deleted scenes in this documentary are great and worth seeing.

I highly recommend this DVD.

DVD is Well Done - Looks & Sounds Better Than Ever
Finally! THE WAY WE WERE in widescreen! I think it really makes a difference. I've only seen pan and scan versions on video. It is especially noticeable in the opening credits where names/credits appear on one side of the screen and action takes place on the other side. For the first time we get to see Katie at her typewriter and Katie talking to her teacher.

The rest of the dvd is done just as well. The picture and sound are pristine. The menu screens are classy and easy to use. The bonus trailers from FOR PETE'S SAKE and Streisand's later films are fun to see.

The hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Sydney Pollack and Streisand is very revealing. Pollack seems humble and grateful about the film. Streisand is relaxed and beautiful - again, reflective and humble about the experience as Pollack is. There is even a segment with Marvin Hamlisch on piano playing the different versions of THE WAY WE WERE theme. And Alan & Marilyn Bergman are a hilarious couple!

Sydney Pollack's comments on the extra audio channel are interesting as well. I haven't gotten through the whole movie yet, but so far so good!

The dvd is definitely a must-have for Streisand fans. But even fans of this classic romance will find much to like about the dvd as well.

A classic! A tearjerker! Two treats in one!
I've seen this movie many, many times. I can be brought to tears by watching JUST the last scene. This movie is a true visceral experience.

Characters that could have been stereotyped are incredibly complex and true. And that's a big part of the story. We go through life and label people, yet we just don't know what might truly lie beneath.

Katie and Hubble see what lies beneath. How we don't know. Two soul mates who come into each other's lives but cannot stay. I know all of this sounds sentimental but this is a truly sentimental favorite.

Watch this movie!!

"Katie, it was never uncomplicated."
As stated many times before, THE WAY WE WERE is one of only a handful of romantic blockbusters to actually feature an intelligent script and complex characters. Writer Arthur Luarents' based his screenplay (and subsequent novel) on girl he knew in college, who fought for liberal (and sometimes communist) causes. The film was a surprise box office smash when originally released, and became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1973 and an instant classic. Katie Morosky is a character that Barbra Streisand born play, and she delivers on all accounts. Fierce and determined, yet vulnerable and self-conscious, Katie is a tricky character and Streisand inhabits her so deeply that she seems nothing less than completely believable. Justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, she was unfortunately robbed of the award.

Redford, who actually turned down the role twice before director and friend Sydney Pollack talked him into taking the part, displays some of the best reflective acting ever seen on the big screen and definitely deserved a nomination as well (he was, however, nominated for Best Actor that year for his light comedic performance in THE STING). The film's enduring popular success with the mass audience is due to the magnetic chemistry between Streisand and Redford and the gorgeous visuals and strong directorial hand supplied by Pollack, however it is the complexity of the romance with politics and the strong characterizations by both leads that continues to make THE WAY WE WERE the best love story for adults.

About the DVD: The picture quality is beautiful, quite possibly the best the film has ever looked. The sound quality is also vastly improved. Pollack's commentary track is interesting, but the 60-minute documentary is the best extra on the disc. Featuring insightful interviews from Pollack, Streisand, and Laurents (as well as composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman) the documentary is well-produced and entertaining, and it was great to finally see those much-debated deleted scenes.

For such a great film, the dvd should have been much more!
I, like many thousands of others love this movie and could watch it over and over again. What should have been a 25th Aniversary spectacular is a very lack luster. My major complaint is with the 60 minute documentary.
1.Great, we get to see some scenes that were cut that really SHOULD have been put in the film in the first place. How about the rest of the cut scenes? Legend has it that there is much more.
2.Barbara's commentary is good but I really think she could have added a lot more. What about the screen play she supposedly was interested in that was, in essence, a part two of this movie entitled "the way we are"?
3.Redford is absent on the disc because of "scheduling" problems? Or so I have heard....Gee, nobody could have waited even to get 3-4 minutes of commentary from him? Something isnt right.

I also dont think the transfer of this movie came out too well. Not exactly great quality for such an icon. ... Read more

Description

Neil Simon's beloved story about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. Felix is fussy and fastidious to a fault. He proves that cleanliness is next to insanity. Oscar wreaks havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. An enduring and endearing picture with the intelligence one usually misses in comedies. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

The Original And Still The Best, With An Exception or Two
The story is a classic. Poor neat Felix is going through a divorce, and old, sloppy friend Oscar takes him in. Both go through mid-life crises, and we get to meet some great character actors along the way.. besides Matthau and Lemmon, of course! John Fielder is magnificent. We all know the film by its countless viewings on TV ... and of course the TV series. It's FINALLY nice, through the magic of wide-screen, to see the ENTIRE poker game. To see the ENTIRE messy apartment ... and those classic New York street scenes. What's not so nice are the color and sound. Neither has held up that well, though Paramount must have made their best efforts to put together something out of bad '60's negatives and/or prints. The color is so muted, and so is a lot of the sound for whatever reason. Still, the DVD version is much better than the pan-and-scan VHS version currently offered. Can't do too much about that '60's color.

Odd Men Out Are Still In Style
Perhaps prolific playwright Neil Simon's best known work, the 1968 film adaptation of The Odd Couple, helped to give birth to one of cinema's best comedy teams. It is clear from the begining that Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon were a match made in heaven.

Recently divorced fussbudget and neatfreak Felix Unger (Lemmon) is down on his luck. With nowhere else to turn, he finds himself, reluctantly, on the doorstep of pal Oscar Madison (Matthau), who is himself divorced. Oscar is a total slob and proud of it. The film is all about how these total opposites, can live with each other, without losing their sanity.

While I never saw the play, (save for a High School produced short version) the filmmakers didn't mess with the formula. Adapting stage plays on film, can at times, seem quite limiting . Not here though. Director Gene Saks has great sense of what works. The chemistry between Lemmon and Matthau is undeniable. The performances are pitch perfect--even from the supporting players. Simon's story and script is timeless and holds up very well...The movie may have been made over 30 years ago and yet...I always liked watching the TV series, still, nothing beats the film version.

It's great to finally be able to see the movie in the widescreen format, though, a cleaner print is called for. The only bonus material on the DVD is the film's theatrical trailer. Both of these great actors are sadly no longer with us, but thankfully their work will live on, in the films they left behind. Recommended with a **** and 1 quarter rating.

A Perfect Comedy Team in the Perfect Comedy
Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy? This movie proves that the answer is no. Oscar is a sloppy New York sports writer. Felix is a fussy neat freak who writes the news for television. Both are divorced and share an apartment together. Felix complains about a pickle on the floor, and Oscar complains about Felix washing Oscar's poker cards. Yes, they get on each other's nerves endlessly, that is, until Oscar throws Felix out. This movie is one of my all-time favorites, and unlike other movies I've seen, it doesn't get stale with repeated viewings. All in all, a classic comedy by Neil Simon.

Enjoyable comedy
This is a very funny movie with two excellent comic performances from Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Lemmon makes Felix a sympathetic and three-dimensional character, melancholy and depressive as well as fussy and compulsively neat. What's frustrating for me is that I love Lemmon's Felix, while for Oscar I prefer Jack Klugman, who played the role in the TV show THE ODD COUPLE. My ideal pairing would be Lemmon and Klugman, with the rest of the supporting cast (including the wonderful John Fiedler). Oh, well...

For me, the best part of this movie is the SUPERB theme music by Neal Hefti, which I think should have won an award. In the theme we hear a musical "portrait" of Oscar and Felix, before we even hear either of them speak. Enjoy it!

THE ODD COUPLE: The Movie
Neil Simon's THE ODD COUPLE has been a hit in three different incarnations. First, in 1965, there was the Broadway production starring Art Carney and Walter Matthau as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. The play was filmed in 1968 with Matthau and Jack Lemmon, then turned into the TV series featuring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. Though the movie opens up the one-set original to include scenes in restaurants, streets, a motel, a ballpark, and a bowling alley, the sequences set in Oscar's Riverside Drive apartment form the heart of the play; director Gene Saks keeps these intact for the movie. Matthau's deadpan Oscar is the perfect foil for Lemmon's melancholy yet funny Felix. The scenes involving the two are alternately riotous - as when Oscar becomes fed up with Felix's constant fussing - and touching - as when Felix cries in front of the Pigeon sisters, his and Oscar's dinner dates. John Fiedler shines as one of Oscar's four poker-playing buddies. THE ODD COUPLE, in whatever version, is ultimately a comedy about friendship enduring despite differences, and this theme is communicated superbly by the team of Lemmon, Matthau, and Saks. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This unique play presents the afterlife as a steam bath, in which deadsouls continue to obsess about the same petty concerns that obsessed themin their lives, until they are cast into a dark void by God, the PuertoRican attendant (José Pérez). But new arrival Tandy (Bill Bixby) at firstrefuses to accept what's happened, and when he finally does, he pleads tobe allowed to return to his life. Steambath was controversial inits day for its obscene language (which was softened for this filmedversion, originally presented on PBS), its satirical take on religion, andsome brief nudity by bombshell Valerie Perrine. Today it's still veryentertaining, but mostly as a core sampling of the surprisinglyuncensored male attitudes from the dawn of the 1970s. Everyone gives asolid performance and Bixby's easy charm makes his self-centered charactersympathetic. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Amazon.com

Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht's classic newspaper comedy--about a conniving editor who talks his star reporter out of getting married long enough to cover a big story--has survived lesser adaptations than this one. (Ever see Switching Channels?) But few have been more disappointing. Billy Wilder teamed Walter Matthau (as the unscrupulous editor) and Jack Lemmon (as the fast-talking reporter), who try to get the scoop on everyone else in the story of a convicted killer who escapes on his way to the electric chair. But Matthau and Lemmon, as good as they are, succumb to the temptation to do shtick--and Carol Burnett shows up in a florid, unfunny performance as a hooker. An attempt to bottle the same lightning that struck with The Sting--but Wilder, Lemmon, and Matthau just can't do it. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great Entertainment!
In my opinion the best of the Lemmon/Matthau movies. It's everything a screwball-comedy should be: fast, funny, cynical. The cast is perfect and Wilder's direction brilliant. I liked "His Girl Friday" but "The Front Page" is even better.

Another great comedy hit by Matthau and Lemmon

They were great in the 'seventies, weren't they?Lemmon and Matthau were a great team with the Grumpy Old Men, and in this one, too.They are good entertainment for an evening full of laughs.

This is a 1920s comedy, directed by Billy Wilder, about the ruthless editor of a Chicago newspaper (Matthau) whose immediate problem is covering a hanging.His number one reporter (Lemmon) is about to quit on him and get married, leaving newspaper life forever.The plot is complicated by a blundering sheriff (Vincent Gardenia) and a venal mayor who try to hide the fact that the convict who is scheduled to be executed the next day has been pardoned by the governor who has gone fishing, but who is not REALLY fishing--he's with a girl friend and is incommunicado, a fact which they are trying to cover up for political reasons,

This is a thoroughly enjoyable fil, with a great cast, including Carol Burnette.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Lemmon and Mathau are comic gold!!
"The Front Page" is a must-see for any fans of Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau! I bought the movie before I ever even saw it and I loved it! These two are as funny as ever in this comedy about two reporters who are on top of the hottest story in town. This is a great film to watch, although Carol Burnett's character was a down side to it, but you hardly even notice it with the rest of the fine cast. The DVD offers an overall good presentation of the film in standard (unfortunately not widescreen)format. Bottom line- it's worth buying, even if you've never seen it! Especially with the great price!

Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau At Best
A very funny movie, if you like to laugh buy this one it is one of the best comedies you'll ever see.

A Sad Waste of Talent
Expect no sparkle from stars or script in this remake of the witty comedy classic, which has been repeatedly filmed with varying degrees of success since 1931.There is no chemistry between the male leads, and Burnette isunspeakably bad in her cameo appearance.Recommendation: see instead"His Girl Friday," starring Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant; it iseasily the finest screen version of the famous stage play. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

fantastic!
It's worth a look just for the cast (Prior, Cosby, Alda, Fonda, Smith, Caine, Matthau, etc.), but trust me, you won't be disappointed. Prior & Crosby had me in tears. It does get a bit dramatic towards the end, so I'd probably give this 4.5 stars, but I laughed so hard at points, it gets rounded up to 5 stars.

Tip-Top tragi-comedy par excellence
Jane fonder and Alan Alder are hysterical, claws are drawn at dawn as she muses to her one-time hubby about how very 'California' he is, all boyish charms and effervescence, as she...ever the sharp New Yorker...pops another ciggy in her cake-hole and manages the impossible, a verbal tirade while inhaling. (Reminded me of the blood letting dialogue delivered so deftly by Kate Hepburn in 'The Lion in Winter'). Walter Matthau is side splitting as he seeks to cheat on the good wife (Elaine May..she is so sweet most men would cheat with her not on her), of course for Walt it all goes Royally wrong. .
Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor play rich-man poor-man doctors et spouse on the vacation from hell in LA...and take competitiveness to interstellar levels. What totally ices this summer pudding though is Maggie smiths' awesome performance as an Englishwoman coping....just...with not getting the Oscar for which she's been nominated...for not having a clue how to dress in superficial, bitchy, hot LA...for not noticing her husband eyeing up every man under 30 (Michael Cain at sympathetic best), and not lobbing herself out the emergency escape hatch on the flight home..."Oh my God!...tell them I want to get off...darling tell them I want to get off..they're only playing my f-ing film". She did get that Oscar though. What a performance

FUNNY!!
This is a funny movie...different people with different issues!! Could have had a little more Alan Alda, but it wasn't just about him...all characters had fair air time. Good movie.

One of the best adaptations of a Neil Simon play.
Clever direction means that this doesn't seem too play-like and the hotel rooms never seem claustrophobic. A very strong cast is assembled here, with Caine cast against type as a closet case preparing to receive an Oscar with his bitter and scathing wife Maggie Smith. Alan Alda turns in a moving performance as Billy, and Pryor and Cosby, both usually associated with other actors, show us what a good double-act they could have been. It seems to be four plays in one, with the tone of the comedy varying from piece to piece. Alda's section is touching comedy, Walter Matthau's is farce, Caine's is wry observation while Cosby's is farce again. The brevity of the individual pieces means that the film moves along at a cracking pace, leaving you wanting more. If you do want more, I suggest Neil Simon's Plaza Suite.

Makes you want to go on vacation
This film in wonderful. All of storylines went interesting and made you want to hang on to find out. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht's classic newspaper comedy--about a conniving editor who talks his star reporter out of getting married long enough to cover a big story--has survived lesser adaptations than this one. (Ever see Switching Channels?) But few have been more disappointing. Billy Wilder teamed Walter Matthau (as the unscrupulous editor) and Jack Lemmon (as the fast-talking reporter), who try to get the scoop on everyone else in the story of a convicted killer who escapes on his way to the electric chair. But Matthau and Lemmon, as good as they are, succumb to the temptation to do shtick--and Carol Burnett shows up in a florid, unfunny performance as a hooker. An attempt to bottle the same lightning that struck with The Sting--but Wilder, Lemmon, and Matthau just can't do it. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Another great comedy hit by Matthau and Lemmon

They were great in the 'seventies, weren't they? Lemmon and Matthau were a great team with the Grumpy Old Men, and in this one, too. They are good entertainment for an evening full of laughs.

This is a 1920s comedy, directed by Billy Wilder, about the ruthless editor of a Chicago newspaper (Matthau) whose immediate problem is covering a hanging. His number one reporter (Lemmon) is about to quit on him and get married, leaving newspaper life forever. The plot is complicated by a blundering sheriff (Vincent Gardenia) and a venal mayor who try to hide the fact that the convict who is scheduled to be executed the next day has been pardoned by the governor who has gone fishing, but who is not REALLY fishing--he's with a girl friend and is incommunicado, a fact which they are trying to cover up for political reasons,

This is a thoroughly enjoyable fil, with a great cast, including Carol Burnette.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Lemmon and Mathau are comic gold!!
"The Front Page" is a must-see for any fans of Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau! I bought the movie before I ever even saw it and I loved it! These two are as funny as ever in this comedy about two reporters who are on top of the hottest story in town. This is a great film to watch, although Carol Burnett's character was a down side to it, but you hardly even notice it with the rest of the fine cast. The DVD offers an overall good presentation of the film in standard (unfortunately not widescreen)format. Bottom line- it's worth buying, even if you've never seen it! Especially with the great price!

Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau At Best
A very funny movie, if you like to laugh buy this one it is one of the best comedies you'll ever see.

A Sad Waste of Talent
Expect no sparkle from stars or script in this remake of the witty comedy classic, which has been repeatedly filmed with varying degrees of success since 1931. There is no chemistry between the male leads, and Burnette is unspeakably bad in her cameo appearance. Recommendation: see instead "His Girl Friday," starring Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant; it is easily the finest screen version of the famous stage play.

Utterly hilarious, worth watching over and over again
In terms of depicting life in a newspaper office and the part-sleazy, part-unscrupulous and (maybe) part-honorable behavior of journalists, this film is as good as you will ever get. Tetchy, growling, circulation-obsessed Walter Matthau is exactly what most newspaper editors think they should be like, while Jack Lemmon, keen to get married but ultimately more interested in a good scoop, represents everything that non-journalist women have never been able to understand about journalist men. There are moments when the movie descends into farce - as in the scenes involving the Viennese psychiatrist - and it is true that Carol Burnett's hooker is the one character part that doesn't quite work. But the script is sizzling, and the one-liners rarely falter. One of Billy Wilder's best. ... Read more

Description

When two wannabe actors named Frank travel to Hollywood to become movie stars, they unknowingly become the key witnesses in convicting a local mob boss. On the run from the Mafia, both Franks disguise themselves as women to outsmart the Mafia, cooperate with the FBI and try to get laid. Featuring one of the largest celebrity casts, "The Naked Truth" is an uproariously funny movie--and that's no lie. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

A truly international production, Wheels on Meals teams up Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao in a comedic-action-crime caper that includes what some consider one of the greatest fight scenes ever filmed. Directed by Hung, the movie takes place in Spain, marking the first Jackie Chan vehicle set in a non-Asian location.Chan and Biao play two lunch-truck restaurateurs who are trying to make a living selling egg rolls and hamburgers in the busy squares of Barcelona. Hung is a novice private investigator searching for a beautiful pickpocket named Sylvia (Lola Ferner) whose thieving teams her up with Chan and Yuen. Sylvia is kidnapped after she discovers she is actually a wealthy heiress, and that's when Chan, Yuen, and Hung join forces to free her and kick some bad guys' butts. Wheels on Meals is lighthearted fun with stunts and action scenes (including skateboarding tricks and a scene in which Chan and Yuen face off against a motorbike gang) that simply reaffirm the stars' physical and comic talents. The celebrated fight scene is a matchup between Chan and international kickboxing champion Benny "the Jet" Urquidez.The intensity of their scenes together spurred rumors of a rivalry beyond the film.Whether or not this was true, the two paired up again four years later in Dragons Forever.As for the nonsensical title, one theory claims the film's distributor (Golden Harvest) had little success with films whose titles started with "m" so they simply switched the two words around. The DVD boasts subtitles in eight different languages but does not include the "blooper" outtakes that frequently accompany Chan's films. --Shannon Gee ... Read more

Reviews (46)

The best fight ever filmed
This movies is high lighted by what has been called the Best Fight Ever Recorded, between Jackie Chan and Benny "the Jet" Urquidez. The two went at it with reckless abandon in the finale.

Before this scene however the action/fight scenes are sparse. This movie is mainly supposed to be a comedy vehicle. However, with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao along for the ride fight scenes couldnt be too far behind.

This movie only gets 3 stars in my book. However the last fight scenes alone give this movie another star for its landmark battle.

wheels on meals is raw!
i had heard 'bout the famed jackie chan vs. benny urquidez fight featured in wheels on meals years before i ever watched the movie, so, when i finally got to watch it, i already had high expectations. but i still wasn't prepared for the explosive energy radiating from chan, biao, urquidez, hung, and vitali. it was mindblowing!

the story doesn't have much to offer (weak plot, some dumb comedy, some not-as-dumb comedy...great for laughs), but the fighting is what really captures you. man, those guys are amazing! samo hung's fight choreography is so intricately designed--so many things happening at the same time--that sometimes you have to rewind and watch the sequence over again, just to figure out what all happened. and the players (chan and co.) dance to samo hung's tune with perfect timing and coordination. consequently, every fight featured in the movie is a joy to watch, especially the heaven-sent battle at the end. samo hung's sword play was pretty good, yuen biao vs. keith vitali was great (biao was amazing with his acrobatics, and vitali did a splendid job of holding his own in the fight), but the jackie chan vs. benny urquidez no-holds-barred brawl was amazing. absolutely amazing. i know all of you readers have probably heard enough about it, so i'm not gonna say too much about it. all i'm gonna tell you is that this fight is what made me cheer even when i caught a small glimpse of benny urquidez as an extra in "gladiator" (the one with james marshall and cuba gooding jr.) as far as one-on-one fights in movies go, this stands unequaled in it's power, speed, and complex choreography.

in conclusion, get this movie!!! pleeease, get it. you won't be sorry.

LIGHTHEARTED, FUNNY, ROMANTIC
I saw this movie originally on video and was thrilled and delighted that it was in Cantonese - I love to watch movies in their original languages, rather than "dubbed".

Of course I appreciate fighting scenes in Jackie Chan's movies, but I also love the variety of international scenery. This is additional pleasure - it's like traveling around the world with Jackie. The castle in this movie was such a romantic touch.

No, this is not much of a wild-chase action movie, it's more of a lighthearted romantic comedy and thoroughly enjoyable.

Ok movie but bad experience
First off, I've been watching Jackie chan movies since the lo wei days and i've seen horrible pictures and horrible sounding movies. This movie isnt action packed but has a few good fights in it. The subtitles go so fast you need to have lightning fast eyes at some points in time. Theres only two language versions.. cantonease and manodrin (spelling?) and well if you can't read fast youll have to watch alot of the dialog over and over again. The movie is about Jackie and Yuen biao running a chuck wagon stop through a van and they run into a pick pocket/hooker which is actually part of the plot. She steals from everyone and well sammo ends up getting a job to locate her since the bad guys paid and tricked him into nabbing her. The comedy isn't as funny say as magnificent butcher but the action is great. Benny the jet ends up beating jacky up through alot of the movie then in the end jacky gets his revenge. The quality of the picture is as good as a high fi vhs and the sound is decent. My only complaint is the subtitles moved too fast or i would have loved and english dubbing even though im sure one is available. The end fights are really decent but they end really fast. The fight with biao ends when youd think it just started. This isn't one of jacky's best films but the fights make up for it. How would i rate benny vs jacky? Well its alot of kicking and punching with a few odd holds here and there and its much like the brad style fighting in georgeous with more speed and emotion. Good fight though but this movie isnt the can opener of the world.

BEST
SIMPLY PUT IF YOU BUY ANOTHER MOVIE AFTER YOU SEE THIS MOVIE's review and us telling u about it YOU WILL BE WASTING YOUR MONEY IF U DON'T BUY THIS before ... Read more

Reviews (10)

PUT IT ON DVD PLEASE!...
I have never seen this particular version of the video. I have the original one that came out and guard it jealously! What I cannot understand is why this movie has never been released on DVD!... There are so many underlying themes throughout this movie besides that of the main plot of betrayal by old Army buddies and the honor gained through the loyalty of newly formed friendship between Mitchum and Ken. I've often wondered if I would experience the same feelings Mitchum experienced coming back to Tokyo, if I went back to Saigon and saw those I knew back when I was in Nam. What a feeling to see how much things had changed and yet remained the same. There are many deep themes explored in this movie. Definitely one of Sidney Pollack's more under rated, yet finer films for nuance!... I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants more than swords and blood.

Not a martial arts movie: worth watching!
The Yakuza is certainly worth watching as both film noir and a look at post-war Japan. Mitchum and Ken, classic "tough guys" representing disparate cultures, form an unlikely "buddy team" in what is ultimately an exploration of differences in the Western and Japanese view of life and it's responsibilities. Great writing by Paul Schrader with Robert Towne doing the script doctoring.

A DVD version is now imperative!
This is the landmark film saga of the "tough guy" gangster with a heart of gold, both Japanese and American. In many ways and at many levels it represents an achievement decades ahead of it's time. Quentin Tarantino has obviously been inspired by this film for many of the key scenes of "Kill Bill: Part One", and as such has paid it great homage. It would seem quite likely that the creators of "The Yakuza" had some level of cooperation with actual Japanese organized crime syndicates during it's filming (it has that sense of realism, and the "extras" just look too good), and a behind the scenes account would likely prove fascinating.

A man always pays his debts . . .
Well, if this film doesn't put hair on your chest, nothing will.

Look up 'film noir' in the dictionary and there should be a picture of Robert Mitchum in The Yakuza, alongside Bogie in The Maltese Falcon. It's that good of a film.

The theme is about honor, or "giri." The last bastion of manhood in an relativistic world ambivalent towards heroism, unsure about any values, moral or otherwise, and gone to hell.

Against this background, you may be a tad on the shady side of the law, but do you keep faith with your friends?
For that matter, would you risk taking a bullet for someone you personally loathe but whom you "owe" because he's saved the life of your wife and child?

The plot begins when Mitchum is approached by an old army buddy that he hasn't heard from in decades, save for the annual obligatory Christmas card. His daughter's been kidnapped by Japanese mobsters and he needs his help.

As to Mitchum, his character is established in one line.
"You've been successful?"
Mitchum: "That depends on how you figure those things."

True enough. He has no family, no friends, no one even remotely close. The film noir loner, now in his sixties.

He goes back to Japan, links up with the only woman he ever loved, and the one enemy who can help him gain entry into the dark world of the Yakuza; an ultra-traditionalist latter-day Samurai ( Tanaka Ken ) who "owes" Mitchum.

One small problem, he's no longer a Yakuza. He's been out of the mob for years. When Mitchum finds out this unpleasant bit of inforation and blurts out "I can't ask you to do that!" Tanaka Ken quietly replies: "You already have."

The aged warriors go to it again. A great story of love and betrayal. Acted in a style of understated whispers between flashing katanas that bring the house down.

A five star movie turned into a three star video ...
The movie is excellent. It really rates 5 stars for its strong plot, acting, direction, and camera work. The theme throughout is honor, and obligation. But pay attention to the "obligation" part. There is the notion that we are defined by our obligations, a concept that is vastly different between east and west. Personally, I think we could use a little more of the Japanese context of obligation in our own society and culture. And this movie's depiction appeals to something in me that is, admittedly, fundamentally romantic.

My problem with the video is this: there are omissions from this version that were in the first version I saw. Some footage has been edited out, and although its omission does not adversely affect the story line, it was an effective contribution. Also, there are sections where subtitles are omitted. (My most recent viewing was in the company of a friend who speaks Japanese and English, and they provided their own comments regarding the accuracy, not necessarily of the English rendering, but more on what the Japanese "should" have been in the context.) Mind you, the movie is in English, with some segments of Japanese dialog. But it was disappointing that some of the most eloquent dialog wasn't even translated.

Maybe someone, somewhere, will grant my wish and produce an unexpurgated version on DVD ... ... Read more