Azumi 1 & 2

Rate these movies (explain please)

Do you have seen Azumi, the movie made by Kitamura? What do you think about it?



IMO it was a fun to watch and I have high hopes for AZUMI 2 in which beneath Aya Ueto also our sweet Gogo will be a part of.

(Ueto is the chick in my Avatar btw)



Some people told my, they found Azumi too slow paced or too long, but I liked it as it is…

I thought Azumi was a really fun film. Waaaay better then Versus and a tiny bit better then Sky High IMO. Plus, I love Aya Ueto. I enjoy anything with her in it.

I’m REALLY looking forward to the second one. Especially CHIAKI’s performance





(…where the hell is the “modify” button???)

Thanks cps, we really needed this topic!

“Azumi”'s the shit. No, serious, I really love that movie. It’s not perfect, there’s still a lot of unfinished potential, there are also some flaws like too random bloodshed (some killings don’t have blood at all), or the sometimes very basic hack&slash-choreography. But what the heck, it’s such a fun-movie to watch, Aya Uetos fine, the psychotic villain with the rose is even finer (made me think of Alan Rickmans performance as Sherriff of Nottingham) and since there is only this “Azumi” I love it the way it is. Point.



Will post something about “Azumi 2” later.

Hey Diceman, do me a cute and post some of the fine pics of the both chicks from the set, please. And didn´t you write a review about AZUMI 1?

Yes, I wrote a BIIIIG Review with LOOOOTS of pictures, but unfortunately it’s only in german. Have started to translate it into english, though, so stay tuned. About those pictures, starring Aya Ueto and Chiaki Kuriyama in the upcoming “Azumi 2” by Shusukue Kaneko . . . well, here they are:

I think Azumi was one of the best films of last year. It may not win any writing or acting awards but it sure was a lot of fun. I haven’t seen such kick ass movie since Kill Bill. And Aya Ueto is absolutely gorgeous. I’m sure the sequel will be good too. The only thing bugging me is that it’s not directed by Kitamura. But having Aya and Chiaki both in one movie is like best the news ever.

anyone knows what the budget was for azumi 1 and what the budget is for 2?

i have waited for a long time to get a azumi with an english sub but i never found any one lucky me i found one with a swedish sub a couple of days ago…







that girl in those pictures not azumi but the other girl…wasnt she like in battle ryale or is she that girl that played gogo in kill bill v1? ???

[quote=“kill olle”]
wasnt she like in battle ryale or is she that girl that played gogo in kill bill v1? ???
[/quote]

both

[quote=“kill olle”]
i have waited for a long time to get a azumi with an english sub but i never found any one lucky me i found one with a swedish sub a couple of days ago…
[/quote]

Which version was that? I have the japapanese (deluxe edition) dvd which runs about 142 minutes. But the dvds released in the UK and Korea are about 15 minutes shorter international cut. So the difference is pretty big, especially as I never felf the movie was dragging.ÂÂ

Now, there’s a Teaser for “Azumi 2” online. It’s not much and quality’s rather poor, but you can guess already what kind of movie we can expect: Just more of the asskicking stuff the first part already offered. “Azumi 2: Death or Love” is due sometime in the first third of 2005, then it will hit movie-theaters in Japan, or somehting like that I gathered from the internet. Information’s poor on that movie. Anyway, here’s the teaser (zipped it, and uploaded it to my webspace):

http://diceman.at.interims.de/DeathOrLove



Something about the Story:

Premise: Azumi II continues shortly after the end of the previous film with Aya Ueta returning in the title role of a young ninja assassin charged with keeping the nation from falling into civil war. Her main opponent is a government official named Masayuki Sanada (Mikijiro Hira) who employs a “killer ninja squad.”

www.kungfucinema.com



Director will be Shusuke Kaneko. Somewhere I heard he’s a big shot when it comes to those Kickass You-Just-Lost-20-Points-From-Your-IQ-But-I-Don’t-Care-Godzilla-Movies from Japan. I just hope the guy can shoot some cool sword-fighting-scenes as well. And they definetely need a better choreograph. Yuen Wo-Ping or Corey Yuen would be the shit, but thats just a personal wet dream of mine.

[quote=“diceman”]
I just hope the guy can shoot some cool sword-fighting-scenes as well. And they definetely need a better choreograph. Yuen Wo-Ping or Corey Yuen would be the shit, but thats just a personal wet dream of mine.
[/quote]

Why are so many people criticizing the action choreography in first Azumi? I thought the action scenes were really great. They weren’t so much about physical performances (like many HK films), but they were definitely cool and fun to watch.

Aah, don’t misunderstand me, the first “Azumi” ist one of my most favorite sword-play-movies ever. I have written about it in several forums over and over, so I’m a little afraid I’m repeating myself, but anyway: I also thought that the fight-scenes were great to watch, but they were basically down-to-earth hack&slash, and I’d like to see a little more whirling around, jumping, rolling on the ground and stuff. But thats for the second part, in fact I like the first one as it is. It’s great, fun entertainment and the action kept me satisfied, too. I especially liked that part where Azumi split an arrow with her sword, thus killing off two bad guys, who happend to be standing right behind her. I hope, I made myself clear on this matter . . . 8)

Sorry diceman, I misunderstood you. But anyway, I know many people who are saying that the choreography sucked. Some even said that Azumi is no better than all those Hollywood summerblockbusters. But like I have said, me and most of my friends loved the movie (I have seen it 5 times). I hope Azumi 2 can live up to my high expectations.

[quote=“Hung Fist”]




Which version was that? I have the japapanese (deluxe edition) dvd which runs about 142 minutes. But the dvds released in the UK and Korea are about 15 minutes shorter international cut. So the difference is pretty big, especially as I never felf the movie was dragging.
[/quote]

I have - of course - the longer version too. I don´t wanna miss one second of the movie.
Unfortunaly some of my friends critizise the director for the fact that his movies are too long. They think even the short version is too long! Argh!

Till now, I´ve only seen VERSUS (aww, shame on me :-</E> ) , and that flick really is too long. I guess Kitamura has a lot of fun shooting his movies, but in my opinion, as a director, you gotta look at what´s right for the pace of the film and what´s not - and a 45 minute swordfight with 987.654.321 slomo shots and two guys spending 80% of their screentime on taking up poses is not.



I liked VERSUS, but… I don´t know… Kitamura should learn to restrict himself a little for the sake of his movies.

[quote=“Yoshitsune”]
Till now, I´ve only seen VERSUS (aww, shame on me :-</E> ) , and that flick really is too long. [/quote]
I guess, you haven’t even seen “Ultimate Versus”? It’s even longer, about 10 minutes, and, guess what, its all fighting!!! ;D ;D ;D

[quote]
I guess Kitamura has a lot of fun shooting his movies, [/quote]
Yeah, and that’s all that matters. A lot of nowadays directors could learn from this guy. You gotta LOVE your movie, not just the money it will make. Sure, money’s an important thing, but I’d spend it rather for a movie, that has some minor flaws but is made with LOVE, than throw it away for some non-risc mainstream-shit that’s nice to watch, but got a stale taste like a McDonalds-Burger: It’s tasty as long as it lasts, but shortly afterwards you gotta shit, and then your even hungrier than before.

[quote]
but in my opinion, as a director, you gotta look at what´s right for the pace of the film and what´s not - and a 45 minute swordfight with 987.654.321 slomo shots and two guys spending 80% of their screentime on taking up poses is not. [/quote]
Hmm, if this ain’t the right thing, what is? It’s all entertainment, and as long as he doesn’t repeat himself (in the same movie), it’s all fine. The final sword-fight in “Versus” is pure O.W.N.A.G.E. in capital-letters.

[quote]
I liked VERSUS, but… I don´t know… Kitamura should learn to restrict himself a little for the sake of his movies.
[/quote]
No, he shouldn’t, because if he would, who would be making those cool Style-Over-Substance-Kitamura-Movies? You’re right, the key-word is “Kitamura”. There are lots of other directors shooting well-paced movies. And a lot of good ones, too. But isn’t it nice to have someone out there who sticks to his own rules, and will always be a bit different than the rest?

[quote=“Yoshitsune”]
Till now, I´ve only seen VERSUS (aww, shame on me :-</E> ) , and that flick really is too long. I guess Kitamura has a lot of fun shooting his movies, but in my opinion, as a director, you gotta look at what´s right for the pace of the film and what´s not - and a 45 minute swordfight with 987.654.321 slomo shots and two guys spending 80% of their screentime on taking up poses is not.



I liked VERSUS, but… I don´t know… Kitamura should learn to restrict himself a little for the sake of his movies.
[/quote]

Well, I guess it depends on how much you like the movie. I loved Azumi and did’t want it to end even after 142 minutes. However, Versus and Sky High could have benefited from a little editing, but I’m talking about a minute or two, not fifteen or twenty. But no matter how long Kitamuras movies get I still wouldn’t even consider watching any international cuts of them. Movies should be seen as the director intended.

@ dice

And I thought I was prepared for your counterstrike… ;D



You´re right, Kitamura´s style is special, and I´m the last one to say he should quit on that. But what´s the use in being special if it´s not supporting the movie?? I absolutely like action movies, but sometimes, enough is enough. The showdown in VERSUS simply was too long and not diversifying enough, i felt a little tired when I saw it for the second time. For me, that is a “problem” of Kitamura´s style: When I watched it the first time, I felt like being stuck in some out-of-control rollercoaster of visuals. Then I watched it for the second time a few weeks later and that feeling wondrously had tailed off.



I think you need some kind of “substance” in a movie to keep it fresh, to provide the chance of seeing it over and over again and not getting bored with it. And in two hours, you have a lot of possibilities to create that “substance”.