stellan-sjolin SPOILER: This is really not a bad movie, if you enjoy the genre that is. Somewhat ordinary, but quite solid entertainment. Or would have been if not for a very disturbing rape preformed by the main actor, which leads to the rape wictim actually falls for him and they start a relationship. In which he keeps abuse her, among other things he tries to force her to do an abortion. If they portrayed this as him being an ashole abusing a woman who loves him, it would have been ok, but they dont. It is quite clearly angled as her being a weak woman who needs/deserve this.This ruins the movie. I could not enjoy this it at all. But at least the bastard gets shot in the end.

Uriah43 After serving in prison for two years and seven months, a Yakuza gangster named "Takeo Asahina" (Yukio Mishima) is within hours of finally being set free. However, an assassination attempt is made just hours before his release which unnerves him to the point that he requests to remain even longer. Unable the fully comply, the warden agrees to allow him to stay an additional twelve hours to temporarily keep other potential hit men in the dark concerning whether or not the assassination attempt was successful. What then follows are repeated attempts by Takeo to distance himself from a couple of personal relationships in order to confuse his rivals in the "Sagara gang" so that they cannot target those close to him. Unfortunately, this becomes more difficult for him when a new woman named "Yoshie Koizumi" (Ayako Wakao) enters his life. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I found this to be an enjoyable gangster film for the most part. One particular aspect that I found somewhat amusing was the manner in which Takeo's use of common sense to avoid being killed was interpreted as cowardice by his associates. Be that as it may, I often find that cultural differences like this make some films even more appealing. In any case, although I liked the acting of both Yukio Mishima and Ayako Wakao, I thought that the story dragged in certain places which tended to make the film seem solid but not necessarily spectacular. For that reason I rate this movie as slightly above average.

poe426 It was in late 1970 that I first became aware of Yukio Mishima. There was a shocking spread in a photo-news magazine (Life or Look, I don't remember which) that showed him, wearing a military uniform and a headband emblazoned with the traditional red rising sun, on a balcony, fist outstretched, addressing a crowd below him. According to the article, he and his associates had taken over a government building and were loudly advocating a return to the old (samurai) ways. He was booed by the crowd. Going back inside, he promptly committed seppuku. A companion (a man who, I have since learned, was his lover) decapitated him before himself committing suicide. Being a kid, I found all of this mind-boggling. Years later, I sought out his books and read them (including THE PATRIOT, which reads for the most part like a dress rehearsal for his own death). Coming across AFRAID TO DIE, I felt compelled to rent it. Mishima, whose actions proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't afraid to die, wasn't (based on just what I've seen here) a very charismatic actor. In fact, there are scenes where he looks downright amateurish just trying to throw down a shot of booze on camera- and the scene at the end where he's trying to walk back down an escalator that's going up is so bad it's hilarious. I know for a fact that Mishima was a great writer. I know for a fact, too, that his acting debut was something less than stellar. (AFRAID TO DIE is a very well crafted movie, make no mistake about it, but it's also very slow. Mishima's performance doesn't help.)

John Seal Novelist Yukio Mishima stars as the hired gun for a down at heel yakuza clan in this top notch action flick. Unlike the previous reviewer, I think Mishima's performance is excellent, especially for those who go for that brooding James Dean attitude. Karakkaze yarô (Afraid to Die) was superbly shot in brilliant colour by cinematographer Hiroshi Murai (Sword of Doom, Samurai Assassin) and the widescreen Daieiscope process is well utilized by director Yasuzo Masumura. There are some wonderful and memorable set pieces, notably a completely twisted night club scene featuring a naughty song about bananas, and the final scene involving Mishima and an escalator. Well worth a look.