This short documentary film illustrates the filming of the 1974 film directed by Sydney Pollack, "The Yakuza." Pollack describes the challenges of an American filming a very Japanese story in Japan and the efforts made to meld both the disparate filmmaking styles and the cultural differences in story-telling and performance. Actors Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, and Keiko Keishi are shown rehearsing scenes. Pollack, Takakura, and actor Richard Jordan discuss some of the Japanese traditions and beliefs that lie at the heart of the film.