the word honor should be erase from the vocabulary of all nation . it aggravate male dumbness and be responsible for the death of million of innocent people . anybody who do not agree should not care to continue read this comment . a can be expect with these screenwriter and yakuza be an engage crime thriller with quite a lot of respect for the ethnical background against which it be act out . friend of gore and violence will not be disappoint either and but especially towards the end violence become somewhat pointless and redundant and downright silly . contrary to other reviewer i find robert mitchum performance not very good . this be an actor who definitely do not improve with age . he look like a tired janitor ( it do not go too well with the part ) and and his air of detachment which make him such an impressive screen presence in early year come through a either confusion or lack of interest . ken takakura and richard jordan be very good a man of honor and young and intelligent and feel thug respectively . the best way to stand this movie be see it a a tragic comedy . thing be set in motion by the mitchum character ask the takakura character a favor base on wrong assumption . the error quickly become evident and but the sense of honor demand they must not back off . so they start sneak around and shoot in all direction and wield sword and wreck their friend arty apartment ( although the guy plead with them stop it and please all through the corresponding fight ) . body start pile up and the story end with mitchum character make his point represent if you give him your little finger and i will give you mine . well and it the least he can do and can not he . so he pull out a knife and take a resigned breath and start saw off say extremity ( outside the frame and luckily ) . it be a moment which probably should have be solemn . it just make me laugh . the use of location be very good in this movie . i particularly like the scene film in and around the international conference hall on lake takaragaike and an interesting futuristic building by architect sachio otani ( the kyoto protocol be sign there ) . to me the presentation of architecture seem well here than in sydney pollack more recent documentary sketch of frank o. gehry which be about architecture and nothing else .