So none of you mother fuckers know how to pronounce his last name?
Pronounce the “ii” like you would the “e” in “pet”. Then pronounce the “e” like you would pronounce the name of the letter “e”. (Mekei).
I closed some Miike topics:
youngdilatedjunkie:
It’s looks like Japanese cult director Miike is ganering up a lot of attention since Kill Bill incorporated his style of violence. What do you think?
Honestly, l believe his movies are some of the best to date, not because of the graphic subject matter, but because of the coplexity his stories incorperate. He doesn’t believe in giving the audience all the answers in his films, leaving it up to us to ponder and even make our own interpretations of what really goes on in his movies. A great director is what I think he is.
If anyone is curious on the fellow, I suggest you watch the films Visitor Q, Audition, Ichi the Killer, and Fudoh to see what some real filmmaking is all about.
Bullet:
No he’s not a hack in the slightest, he may lift or borrow some styles (Lynch, Tarantino, Kitano, Woo) I don’t think he’s a hack at all, his surrealism is so different then Lynch, it’s a crazy feeling when something fucked up is happening, or he can use a Kitano-esque silence then burst it with some outragous stuff. What I really don’t like about him is how he fucks with the audience by not giving them answers (like what you stated above) and that kinda pisses me off. As in DOA the ending is one of the stupidest things I’ve seen in my life, seriously, and Miike said someone else shot that ending. Another ending which made almost no sense was the DOA: Final where this (awesome) homage to a certain director comes out of nowhere. I also heard in Violent Fire the ending is nothing but Riki Takeuchi firing a machine gun!!! He should make his films a little easier to understand throughout the film before smacking you with an obscene ending. I really love his films though, I have a bunch on order from ebay INCLUDING his first “real” film, Shinjuku Triad Soceity (part of a series). I love him, he’s weird, daring, stylish and downright cool sometimes. I love his hyper feel to his films while they move at a slow pace, DOA is a fine example of it, as well as Ichi. Here’s what I’ve seen and my ratings:
Ichi The Killer: 7/10
Audition: 8/10
DOA: 7/10 (cause of the incoherent ending)
DOA: Birds: 9/10
DOA: Final: 6/10 (Kinda weak and the ending is also a let down)
Fudoh the new generation: 9.5/10
Visitor Q: 5/10 (WAAAAAY to fucked up)
Full Metal Yakuza: 6/10 (kinda explotative)
What I plan to see:
Bird people of China
Ley Lines (part of the triad society trilogy)
Rainy Dog (Japanese heroic bloodshed)
City of Lost Souls (Fast paced action film)
Violent Fire (Super violent action packed fun time )
Graveyard of honor (Remake of a classic film)
He recently finished a film with Takeshi Kitano, about revenge the samurai way or something, I can’t WAIT for that film!
Youngd.:
[i]Out of the films I’ve seen of this dude, here’s the best.
- Audition
This just grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let goe.
- Fudoh
You will never look at shoting darts the same way ever again.
- Ichi the Killer
Kakihara is easily one of the best villians concieved.
- Visitor Q
The mosted fucked up movie you’ll ever see, but still is able to display a warm family unit by the end.
- City of Lost Souls
A great blend of the Japanese, Chinese, and Brazilian cultures.
I still have to catch the Dead or Alive trilogy, Full Metal Yakuza, Gozu and the rest. Thiers a feeling that I’m in for a crazy good time. [/i]
JoeBanana:
Theres plenty of other directors that do that and more, and dont rely on shock violence to progress the story.
Have you seen any Kurosawa/Kubrick/Truffaut/Fellini/Godard/Bergman etc.?
youngd.:
I consider Truffuat and Kurosawa to be the best directors ever in cinema. The 400 Blows and Seven Samurai have a certain distinction that to write about them would not do them any justice. Just goe see those films. Oh yeah, and Miike’s stuff, thats why we are here isn’t it?
Starkey:
[i]His movies are so amazingly deep on such an anatomic level, that no-one will EVER just stuble upon miike’s true theme and meaning. Miike’s use of violence has always proven to be shocking, but that’s not it’s only purpose in any sence. Ichi the killer is perhaps the most populor of miike’s movies because it apeals to both the mainstream audience and just about every other fan of film, much like scarface (although I believe Ichi’s a MUCH better movie). Miike is, as pantsman likes to call him, “an always successful mad scientest of film”. When people bring up this “miike is just using violence to shock people” argument, I always bring up the silver tuna…Audition, perhaps the greatest film of the last 10 years. I’ve watched it a total of 9 times all the way through now, and I still pull out new reasoning and meaning, god, that movie is an absolute masterpiece. ANYWAYS, miike’s use of violence has always been for the further pushing of his ingenious theme’s, and they compleetly follow up with the character emotion and audience-identification. He even manages to make a musical (Happiness of he Katakuris) worth watching for it’s fantastic directing, story/theme wise, and choreographic wise.
the movie’s I’ve seen by him
- Audition 10/10
-The most beautiful merging of characer development, symbolism, and mies en cen to come out within the last 10 years…in my opinion.
-Don’t even start me on how the violence affects the audience and plays it’s own role in teling the story, from a different perspective.
2.Ichi the Killer 9.5/10
-I can’t even begin to compare this movie to anything else, other then gerne wise. It’s shockingly origional, thank you miike. I haven’t ever watched a movie three times in one day before.
-Kakihara, I’ve never EVER seen a character this fucking cool/scary before. Genious, pure genious.
-It’s use of violence is part of the scheme n telling the story, and is an incredibly difficult gateway to the audience that must be amazingly difficult to master.
3.Dead or Alive 7/10
-I can see why people love this movie, and I have the upmost respect for it, it just isn’t my bag baby. I’ve really got to give it a second viewing also, and this time it should be uncut. This wasn’t even that violent.
- Happiness of the Katakuris 8.5/10
-Asside from the West Side Story, it’s the greatest Musical ever, I’m not kidding. It isn’t violent at all
- Visitor Q 9/10
-You’ve gotta watch this movie a few times to really fully understand it. It’s very very controversial in it’s question of family and such, me lovez this one.
P.S, all credit for the rec. of watching the various Miike movies is from Pantsman and Bullet. [/i]
Pantsman:
Starkey nailed pretty much a lot of what I would have to say. I don’t really get the whole ‘too violent’ argument or what have you, I view violence as a cinematic tool, if used correctly it can be as powerful as anything in cinema (Audition). Not even to mention his extremely active imagination and ability to create something from a whole lot of nothing. Whether his films make complete sense to me on first viewing or not, they are always entertaining and after a few watches things just sort of fall together. Ahh, I’ll go with the list.
Audition
Extremely powerful cinema. Violence and ambiance used to create something entirely visual and amazing, completely unlike any other director out there.
Bird People in China
Anyone who wants to call Miike a hack has to see this film first. There’s no real violence in the film and focuses more on relationships, and has a Kitano-esque vibe to it but doesn’t necessarily take anything from that filmmaker.
City of Lost Souls
I seen some Miike-hater call this flick pretentious once, said that Miike took all his critical praise to his head. I figure if that were true the film would have been far more violent wouldn’t it? Instead it’s just a fast-charged action film with a lot of what you might expect from him noticeably missing. Doesn’t change the film, but some people do walk in with the wrong expectations.
Dead or Alive I
I may be wrong, but in my eyes, DOA is nothing short of a complete parody of all crime films. Take that in mind when watching the climax of the film and try and think of any way the film could have topped it’s self or went more over-the-top.
Dead or Alive II
I love DOA: Birds, I don’t know if I love it more than the original, but it’s an incredible film. As a drama, crime film or surrealist road trip, it’s just an entertaining and bizarre film.
Dead or Alive III
The conclusion of the series and the obvious weak point, it’s not exactly terrible by any stretch of the imagination but not hardly as unique or fun. Maybe I’m just biased against sci-fi though.
Fudoh: The New Generation
It’s not exactly Miike’s most complex film, but it’s one of his most entertaining. Before Ichi got famous, there was Fudoh. A lot of hilarious perversion and mindless violence, all encased in style and vision.
Full Metal Yakuza
Exploitive? Ahh, maybe, but I surely don’t mind! It’s a shallow Miike film I won’t deny that, but it’s a fun one that’s for sure! Like an even more stripped-down Fudoh, it takes the more entertaining route and makes for a fun watch.
Happiness of the Katakuris
I haven’t seen West Side Story, but I hate musicals, and I loved Katakuris! Probably one of Miike’s most daring creations, it’s an incredibly surreal film that even features a good bit of claymation. Not to mention dancing dead people.
Ichi the Killer
What can I say, probably one of my favorite films of all time. It’s entertaining, smart, open to interpretation and an all around beautiful piece of cinema. Even though it’s no longer a secret exactly, it will always remain a favorite.
Visitor Q
His most perverse and mind boggling film that I’ve seen. I love Visitor Q, even though it’s certainly a hard film to watch. By the end of it I have to catch my breath, and that’s exactly what makes it so good.
Anyway, that’s it for the moment, plan to get more from him sometime soon. They’re so widespread these days. Anyway, if somebody is looking for a hack dial up Bruno Mattei or Umberto Lenzi. And should this topic really be moved to the Chat Lounge? It is discussion on a director and the merits therein.
Dick Richey:
I have to admit, with the exception of directors like Kurosawa, Woo, and some classic kung-fu/samurai films, I really don’t know as much as I’d like about Asian cinema. But everyone I know who has seen any films by Miike always describes them as “extremely fucked up/disturbing/warped/sick.” This is usually a red flag to me, meaning I’d probably love his work. I love disturbing films, that’s what art’s all about to me, fucking with peoples’ heads. I’m just curious as to why so many people look at his films this way. Is it the violence? The story? The sick and twisted characters? All of the above? I’ve bumped many of his films to close to the top of my Netflix queue, but I’m just wondering exactly what I’m in for.
Starkey:
It’s the violence that usually captures people in the first place, espcieally in Ichi the Killer, but it’s (in my opinion) the one of a kind stories that Miike brings to the table, and his clearly unique style of directing. But If you do happan to watch one of his movies, PLEASE don’t take it at face value, although they’re enjoyable at any level…All the Miike film’s I’ve seen are ocean deep, and the movie just means so much more to people who understand that.
Holiday:
I, much to my shame, have only seen two of his films. Luckily, they were both masterpieces. They being:
Audition-(2 times thus far) Here is one of the best anf most horrifying movies I’ve ever seen. So many wonderful things about this, but I don’t want to give anything away.
Ichi the Killer-(2 times thus far) One of the most graphically entertaining movies ever. The second time I didn’t like Ichi, and Kakihara seemed to be cooler than sliced bread…well…even more so than he was the first time. Kakihara is way up there with my very favorite villains of all time. This is one cool, vile, messed up dude. He makes the movie. Speaking of, this is a wickedly awesome movie.
Takashi Miike has a big thing with Romantic Sadism…anywho. I love his work thus far. It’s messed up, but it’s some of the most brilliant visual work I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t rate any of these films because the rating movies pisses me off. I feel it really limits the films but having to place a number on them…I dislike it for the same reason I don’t like making top ten lists. (That’s not to say that nobody can rate movies or make lists…it’s just I won’t do it…and I’ll try to fight the system so it isn’t needed anymore. )
Also, congrats to Takashi Miike for having, what? 4 threads now?
Jacks total…:
LOL I too have only seen those same 2 movies, Audition and Ichi. I envy those of you who have seen so many, Audition was at my local Cockbusters but other than that if I wanna see Miike it has to be a blind purchase. However Audition blew me away so it was an easy descision to buy Ichi.
As far as those two the greatly original stories and characters are the reason I love them so much, more so than the violence. Also that Miike doesn’t just give you the plot you have to really think to understand both these flicks. Both get better with multiple viewings.
I recomend ebay for purchasing his movies I’ve seen pretty much all of them mentioned here for around 10 bucks. Next for me is definitely Visitor Q.
Inglorious Bastard:
Audition is great on the first viewing, but there’s nothing there to keep me entertained through the second viewing.
The Happiness of the Katakuris is one weird film, on paper it looks terrible but on the screen it so damn entertaining
Ichi the killer - Best Miike film in my view
Bullet:
I just finished watching Shinjuku Triad Society (AKA China Mafia War) and it has to be one the most sickest, depressing and vile films, I’ve ever seen, the camerawork is handheld making everything seem real and gritty. The violence is here and there, but once it rears its ugly head, you’ll be SUPER shocked at what you’re seeing. Fuck, if anyone thought Ichi was extreme for rapes and violence then check this sick motherfuckin movie out. No wonder Miike got his due right after this film. DAMN!
Deaner:
In regards to Miikes films having meaning on a deeper level, yes, many of them do, but some of them are just made to fuck with the audience. Ex. Dead Or Alive. There is no point to this film other than to fuck with the audiences head and manipulate their emotions and senses. It goes from a fast-paced, music video style opening filled with images meant to disturb and shock; to a fairly conventional, yakuza storyline which has its moments of brutality, but is almost mundane; to a completely absurd and incoherent ending that to to me makes the whole film worth watching. This is one of the things I love most about Miike: he, like very few other directors, has an innate ability to manipulate his audience, and make them feel a whole range of emotions, even ones that they had never felt before while watching a movie. I think this is apparent in a lot of his movies, I was just using Dead Or Alive as the best example.
Grindhouse Ezekiel:
Takashi Miike is a genious! The whole Dead or Alive trilogy is great and Ichi the Killer and Audition are genious, too. He’s a great movie maker and the most important director from japanese. OK, he might be controversial and he makes very brutal movies, but when you look behind the gory “wall”, you’ll see brilliant asian movie making.
The Shepherd:
are you talking all time best japanese director?
FUCK NO!
Kurosawa is much better and more influential than Miike.
not to take anything away from Miike, he’s a great director, but he’s just not the best
Bullet:
Yeah, same goes for Kitano along with Kurosawa. Besides, every cult fan by now has seen Audition, DOA and Ichi.
Holiday:
Kitano might be great, but even he isn’t within a mile of Kurosawa. Akira is the man, and no one but Hitchcock has ANYTHING on him. (Although QT, is relatively close, and could eventually, if he’s lucky, reach Kurosawa’s level)
Bullet:
When you say something like “Kitano might be great” leads me to think that you’ve seen nothing from him.
The Sheperd:
i didn’t include Kitano into my argument for that exact reason. i have never seen a Takeshi Kitano film, so i didn’t want to unfairly judge him.
what film best represents his talent as a director?
Bullet:
For Kitano it would obviously be Sonatine. But I think Hana Bi would show his best talents for storytelling and drama. But then there’s Kids Return and Kikujiro which hold up for his more non violent films.
But watch and see, in 50 years, Kitano’ll be as highly respected as Kurosawa is now. Same with Miike, kinda like how Kinji Fukasaku and Akira Kurosawa share the same type fan bases, but on different levels. So in 50 years it’ll be Kitano and Miike in their places for classic japanese cinema.
Grindhouse Ezekiel:
Hey folks, stay cool. I thought that Kurosawa is allready dead, so that Miike is no on top. OK, Kitano is great, but for me, Miike makes 1. more movies and 2. more better movies. And I don’t like these Kitano comedy-films. Kurosawa was great sure, but I thought he is dead, am I wrong?
The Sheperd:
no, you’re not wrong, Kurosawa is very dead. i think he died in the early 90’s.
Holiday:
You would be absolutley correct (as I’ve never seen a full and complete movie of his). I will remedy this, however, as soon as my dumb local rental place starts carrying a movie of his. after I really like one, I’ll feel comfortable blindly buying the rest.
And, reading the rest of the arguement, I HIGHLY doubt he’ll be as big as Kurosawa (as I haven’t seen any of Kitano’s films, I’ll talk about Miike). In any event, I’d lose all hope in mankind if he did. I mean, I love him and all, but he hasn’t come close to doing ANYTHING as classic or powerful as a Kurosawa film. That level has remained largely untouched by directors, and it is my contention that it’ll remain that way. Now, I might buy Tarantino, as the man already has huge influence, and has directed 4 masterpieces for 4 movies…
Bullet:
Ah Holiday. You might dig Kitano more then Miike. I can tell you that.
And about Miike films. I checked out the AWESOME City of Lost Souls last night. It’s my second favorite Miike film now, bumping Fudoh and DOA down a notch. That really was a fun fucking film.
Holiday:
I may indeed. I may indeed. Alas…
I’ve wanted to see City of Lost Souls for FOREVER now! I can’t get ahold of the sucka.
The man with no name:
I saw Audition and I thought it was really good. Didn’t Miike make something like 40+ films in 11 years? All Iknow is that I want to see more of this guy’s stuff.
Pantsman:
I’m a huge fan of Takashi Miike, i’ve seen a great deal of his films and i haven’t been dissapointed yet. If you’re expecting all of his films to be like Audition though, you might be a bit let down. A lot of his earlier films were straight to video, and most of his films, new and old, aren’t as subdued as Audition.
From looking at imdb, i believe his record is seven films in one year. They have him listed as 52 films in 11 years, but there may be more. I believe i read in an interview with him that he wasn’t even sure how many films he had made.
Of his films, i’ve seen Dead or Alive 1, 2, Audition, Bird People in China, Fudoh: The New Generation, Full Metal Yakuza, Ichi the Killer, City of Lost Souls, Visitor Q and The Happiness of the Katakuris. All are different and all are great in their own way, at least they are to me. If i had to pick favorites, i would say Ichi the Killer and Audition. Ichi is his most violent and to some degree his most stylish. Audition is his most relaxed and meaningful. My least favorite would be City of Lost Souls, but even though it’s not great it’s still pretty good. Just doesn’t have as much going for it as his other films.
chia kun:
oh sweet lord Pantsman! You have seen a lot of Miike films! I have only seen Audition, but i thought that was damn cool. I saw the trailer for dead or alive (you know, the one with the “Warning:contains atrocious violence, sex, drugs, and the like”) and i was like “MUST WATCH!!!” Still haven;'t found a copy of that though…
Pantsman:
Haha, yeah i’m a bit of a Miike nut. You should try not to expect too much from Dead or Alive because it might throw you for a loop. If you think of it more as a parody it works better. The beginning of the film is insanely kinetic and is like a six minute hard rock music video collage of drugs, death and sexual perversion. Then the film kind of slows down for the next hour or so. I’m talking about SLOW, and this usually upsets people because they expect it to be all action, but the film takes on the pacing of something along the lines of Takeshi Kitano. The whole film is kind of a parody of Kitano and other Yakuza movies really. The ending though will blow your mind. There aren’t too many endings that can top it for pure bizzareness
I read an interview with Miike on the net a while back where he said the whole film was supposed to be kind of a rip off of Michael Mann’s Heat, but since the film was supposed to go direct to video Miike felt like nobody would care anyway so he just kind of made the film he wanted to. The whole music video style intro was originally 26 scenes that established all the characters, but since Miike didn’t feel he needed anyone to ‘understand’ his characters he just threw it all in a blender and created one of coolest introductions to any movie ever.
Miike is kind of a rebel and i think that’s what attracts me to his movies. People accuse him of just being a sensationalist but i think he creates movies that interest him and his imaginitive visuals prove there’s more to him than just the blood and guts.
For all out insanity and gore, Ichi the Killer is probably his top film. It’s not as gory as you may be lead to believe, but it is incredibly sadistic and that’s basically the whole theme of the film. Despite what the naysayers may feel, the film is quite deep in it’s own way. Who’s pulling who’s strings, who’s controlling who, that sort of thing. Not to mention Tadanobu Asano portrays one of the most vile and coolest characters ever put to celluloid, the ruthless and trendy Kakihara.
Okay, i think i’ve went on a bit too long, but i can’t help it i love Miike’s films
chia kun:
Man, this dead or alive sounds better and better. A movie that is all action kind of wares you out (you don’t believe me, go see Hard Boiled) and i like a lull in the middle. I find it hilarious that Miike was like “ahhh screw it! Forget charecters or coherence - lets just put in a bunch of crazy shit”
Have you heard that Ichi the Killer is going to be made into an anime OAV? Weird…
Pantsman:
Actually, i’m quite the fan of Hard Boiled It’s perhaps my favorite John Woo next to The Killer and A Better Tomorrow.
Anyway, yeah i heard about the anime. I would really like to see that. It’s supposed to take place right after the film, and Miike even does the voice of Kakihara. The only info i could find was here.
Anyway, i really want to see this thing because i think it might clear up some of the confusion about the ending, but then again it might not
the man with no name:
Man, i’ve still only seen Audition. Something just tells me i’d like this guy though. I knew it was supossed to be a horror movie but I forgot after about ahalf an hour in. Man, I hadn’t been scared by a movie since I saw The Exorcist for the first time. I actually felt disturbed afterwords and that never usually happens. I want to see Vistitor Q but the necro and incest shit kinda puts be off.
Pantsman:
I agree with you on Audition, that ending is one of the most powerful things i think i’ve ever seen. I showed it to one of my friends who isn’t really used to ‘really’ violent films and it took him like ten minutes to regain his composure. Afterwards he said he loved it though. Anything that can provoke that kind of reaction has to be great
If the incest and necrophilia scare you, Visitor Q might not be the best place to go next. the film opens with an almost pornographic sex scene between a father and his daughter. Don’t worry, their private parts are blurred out thanks to the japanese censors It’s kind of a dark comedy, and it might be a bit too dark for some people. After watching it i wasn’t sure whether i wanted to laugh or go and take a shower.
To me Visitor Q is probably his most hard to sit through film. It’s not really all too violent, and it’s supposed to be humorous, but sometimes it can just get really messed up. The son beats his mother, the father goes insane, the mother is obsessed with her lactating breasts… it’s just a truly bizzare film. Still, it’s so brilliantly pulled off it’s hard not to like. The one thing that bothers me about the film though is in one scene the boom mic is so obviously in frame it’s a wonder it stayed in the film. If the film wasn’t so serious i would have laughed at the mistake.
Chances are you can stomach it though. I never felt the urge to cut the film off while watching, so chances are you won’t either. The violence is minimal, and all the perversions aren’t shown in a gratuitous manner… at least not to me. It’s there because these people are all insane, and it’s their madness that actually brings them together as a family.
Inglorious Bastard:
I’ve only recently watched visitor q, yes it’s quite hard to sit through. It reminded my alot of the happiness of the Katakuris as in how the family after alot of incidents become closer together.
My fav Miike film though is Ichi, I have yet to see many of his other films.
Winslow Leach:
I think I posted this in the original Takashi Miike topic, but I loved Deadly Outlaw Rekka. Its one of my favorites by Miike. Try to check it out if you can find it. A friend of mine got me a bootleg of it with Tennen Shojo Man: Next and I had a blast with both of them.
My other favorites Ive seen so far are: Fudoh, Blues Harp, DOA 1- 3, Audition, Ichi. I still havent seen Visitor Q, but it sounds good.
Mysterio:
I borrowed AUDITION from a friend who loves it and I couldn’t stomach it - just not for me - maybe 8 years ago but it just isn’t working.
I saw Ichi also and just really didn’t like it all that much.
Now I’ve seen the most fucked up movie my eyes have seen which is THE UNTOLD STORY and I will never watch that again.
To each their own but I just don’t dig on the violence for the sake of violence.
Hisayasu S:
First Review of Miike 's latest movie IZO:
Mark Schilling in Tokyo 22 June 2004
Dir: Takashi Miike. 2004. Jap. 128mins.
The bad boy of Japanese film, with a growing international following, Takashi Miike likes violence well enough, injecting everything from slow torture to mass slaughter into his 50-plus films. But until his latest, Izo, he had never done samurai swordfighting. The traditionalist genre, until younger film-makerscame along like Nakano (Samurai Fiction), Kitano (Zatoichi) and Kitamura (Azumi), was dominated by the older generation and went against his image.
Miike, however, likes trashing critical preconceptions as much as he enjoys messing with prop blood. Thus his interest in Izo, a genre-bending film whose hero ends up battling not only his own demons, but the forces that rule the universe.
More than his first samurai swashbuckler, though, Izo is Miike’s first serious effort to transcend genre conventions and make an auteurist statement about big questions. His true role model is Akira Kurosawa. His overseas fan base will enjoy the abundant ultra-violence, but those expecting two hours of trash entertainment will leave disappointed - or scratching their heads over the film’s leaps through time, space and logic.
There are playful moments, but the old prankishness - the sense that Miike is having a good laugh at the expense of the squares is mostly gone, replaced by an intensity that batters the audience into dazed submission. One doesn’t watch this movie so much as become embedded in it.
In Japan, where the film is scheduled for a mid-August release, Miike has become more of a name, although his two recent mainstream films - One Missed Call and Zebraman - were sold more on their subject matter and stars than their director. His lower budgeted projects, like Izo, are still considered cult.
It begins in 1865, when the Shogunate is on its last legs, but still capable of punishing its enemies. One is Izo (Kazuya Nakayama), an assassin in the service of Lord Hanpeida (Ryosuke Miki), a supporter of the anti-Shogun forces. After killing dozens of the Shogun’s men, Izo is captured and crucified.
His rage against his captors propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. There he transforms into a new, improved killing machine, out for revenge for his treatment in his past life. His targets - the authority figures who are the Shogun’s spiritual heirs.
He attracts the attention of the lords of the universe, who are like a pre-war House of Peers, in office for eternity. Though hardly a threat to their power, his trans-temporal killing spree is annoying, like static in the music of the spheres.
Izo, however, is not about to bow to anyone, even the gods. He invades a temple sacred to the Peers and slaughters its monks and head priest (Hiroyuki Nagato). Finally he rapes Mother Earth herself (Haruna Takase) and unleashes chaos on the world. The Peers, led by the Prime Minister (Beat Takeshi), decide to act, calling on allies from all eras, from samurai swordsmen to the yakuza.
From here on the slaughter becomes non-stop. Playing the title character, Kazuya Nakayama tirelessly charges and slashes through scene after scene, as though he trained for the part like an Olympic athlete.
Beat Takeshi - known in his directorial incarnation, including films like Zatoichi, as Takeshi Kitano- gets relatively little screen time, but he makes his presence felt. One would hate to incur the wrath of his “tight-lipped, hollow-eyed immortalâ€?, who “forgot the meaning of mercy eons agoâ€? - and hasn’t missed it.
There is a method in Miike’s madness - or at least a point. He and scriptwriter Shigenori Takechi, a frequent Miike collaborator, are making a larger statement about the insanity and futility of violence, murder, war.
One obvious contemporary parallel is Iraq, with Izo as the ultimate insurgent. In “staying the course” the Peers only fan his flames of rage. His lover from a previous life, Saya (Momoi Kaori), proposes another way - sexual healing. Also, the youthful, androgynous Emperor (Ryuhei Matsuda) wields the sort of power George Bush could only wish for.
The pounding that Miike delivers, like a two-hour mortar attack from the same position, becomes wearing, however. Izo is admirable for its ambition and sheer chutzpah - but by the end all but Miike loyalists will be glad to get out of Baghdad.
cps:
I really wait for this movie!
hehehe, if someone speaks japanes, he could translate me the Website:
http://www.izo-movie.com/
Boba Fett:
Wait isn’t my boy Takeshi Kitano in that one? I’m definetly gonna have to see that. And guess what boys and girls, I just got Fudoh in the mail from netflix today! Yay, hurrah for Buono.
cps:
Yes, take a look:
http://www.izo-movie.com/flashsite.html
here some information: Miike! Kitano! A Samurai Film! So cool it'll freeze your drool!
Boba Fett:
Takashi Miike needs to be anally electrocuted for the ending of City of Lost Souls.
WORST FUCKING ENDING EVER
Bullet:
That’s a good point. I mean it was pure bullshit, Miike should’ve been slapped hard for that.
Hisayasu S:
I’am totally Miike- Addicted. I’ve seen:
Agitator
Andromedia
Audition
Blues Harp
Bodyguard Kiba
Bodyguard Kiba 2
City Of Lost Souls
Daisan No Gokudo
Daisan No Gokudo 2
Daisan No Gokudo 3
Dead or Alive
Dead Or Alive 2
Dead Or Alive 3
Family
Fudoh- The New Generation
Full Metal Gokudo
Go ! Go ! Fushimi Jet
Gozu
Graveyard Of Honour
Guys From Paradise
Human Killing Machine
Ichi- The Killer
Jingi Naki Yabo
Jingi Naki Yabo 2
Kenka No Hanamichi
Kikoku
Kintaro- The White-Collar Worker
Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai
Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai 2
Kumamoto Story
Last Run
Ley Lines
MPD Psycho
MPD Psycho 2
MPD Psycho 3
MPD Psycho 4
MPD Psycho 5
MPD Psycho 6
Naniwa Yuukyôden
Oretachi Wa Tenshi Ja Nai
Oretachi Wa Tenshi Ja Nai 2
Part Time Detective
Peanuts
Rainy Dog
Sabu (Theatrical Version)
Sabu (TV Version)
Shangri- La
Shinjuku Outlaw
Shinjuku Triad Society
Silver
Tennen Shôjo Man
Tennen Shôjo Man 2
Tennen Shôjo Man 3
Tennen Shôjo Man Next
Tennen Shôjo Man Next 2
The Bird People In China
The Happiness Of The Katakuris
The Man In White
The Men In White (2)
Violent Fire
Visitor Q
And I LOVE them ALL
cps:
And do you think there is a chance to see IZO on the big screen - maybe in some art house theatres - or will it be a direct to DVD being film?
Some information about “coming soon”  Miike DVDs:
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/catalogue/e … blood.html”>http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/catalogue/expandedviews/youngthugsinnocentblood.html</LINK_TEXT>
From the linked site: A Miike film that is to a degree autobiographical, Young Thugs - Innocent Blood follows three school friends through their first year after leaving. After robbing their teacher on their last day at school, Ryoko gets a job in a hair salon, while the two boys settle down to a career of enforcement and protection. Set in Kishiwada, a fishing district in the industrial town of Osaka, Innocent Blood lives up to its title. A lot of blood gets splattered around without anyone getting too badly hurt or taking too much offence. This is a story of rough kids trying to find their way in the world, a world of violence, sentiment and comedy, in a film that moves at a cracking pace from the opening shot.
Trailer: <LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/trailers/yo … index.html”>http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/trailers/youngthugsinnocentblood/index.html</LINK_TEXT>
<LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/catalogue/e … algia.html”>http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/catalogue/expandedviews/youngthugsnostalgia.html</LINK_TEXT>
From the linked site: Nostalgia is Takashi Miike’s favorite film of his considerable body of work.
Including inserted biographical elements, Nostalgia centers around the home and school life of a young boy whose family mix the violent and dysfunctional with the comic and lovable. Though containing elements of the sudden and shocking brutality that many associate with this director, Nostalgia is more concerned with a child’s moment of leaving the internalized world of fantasy, and passing on eagerly to the next stage of life. A wonderful, touching, startling vision that is uniquely Miike’s.
Trailer: <LINK_TEXT text=“http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/trailers/yo … index.html”>http://www.artsmagicdvd.com/trailers/youngthugsnostalgia/index.html</LINK_TEXT>
how good is Gozu?
#&#(&($&(#&(#&)#^)
Of those that I’ve seen, fav’s:
Ichi The Killer
DOA2
Fudoh
Rainy Dog
Audition
DOA
Full Metal Yakuza
Happiness of the Katakuris
Visitor Q
Shinjuku Triad Society
City of Lost Souls
Ley Lines
Kintaro-White Collar Worker
Deadly Outlaw Rekka
DOA 3
I have only seen and this in the order that I love them too:
- Visitor Q
- Fudoh the New Generation
- Audition
- Ichi The Killer
- Happiness of the Katakuris
- DOA trilogy
- Full Metal Yakuza
The top four have made him one of my favorite cult film directors, quite an original visionary. Though Audition is quite derivative. The last three range from good to terrible, FMY is pretty fucked up “V” quality material as is 1 or 2 volumes of DOA.
Update-I’ve seen a few more:
Ichi The Killer
DOA 2
Gozu
Fudoh
Rainy Dog
Audition
The Bird People in China
DOA
Full Metal Yakuza
Happiness of the Katakuris
Visitor Q
Shinjuku Triad Society
City of Lost Souls
Ley Lines
Deadly Outlaw Rekka
Kintaro/White Collar Worker
Yakuza Demon
Andromedia
DOA 3
Does anyone have any info about the DVD releases for IZO? The japanese DVD is already out but it doesn’t have english subs. Any other DVDs coming out soon?
I have seen IZO in a theatre, but I also wanna buy the DVD, cuz this is a kind of movie you have to see several times.
It is really a pity, that the DVD has no subs!
The 2 DVD set looks cool, but NO fucking english subs? That is absolutly stupid!
Ihave ask some people and noone was able to tell me about a DVD with english subs… If you decided to buy the one without engl subs, you can find the subs here: http://subs.2ya.com (this link is legal to give in Germany), but don´t talk about how to use her (that could be illegal here…), If you have some questions, you can pm me.
[quote=“CPS”]
I have seen IZO in a theatre, but I also wanna buy the DVD, cuz this is a kind of movie you have to see several times.
It is really a pity, that the DVD has no subs!
The 2 DVD set looks cool, but NO fucking english subs? That is absolutly stupid!
Ihave ask some people and noone was able to tell me about a DVD with english subs… If you decided to buy the one without engl subs, you can find the subs here: http://subs.2ya.com (this link is legal to give in Germany), but don´t talk about how to use her (that could be illegal here…), If you have some questions, you can pm me.
[/quote]
I got to see it few weeks ago. I got the bootleg of ebay. The begining was brutal with all the spears and shit.
Updated List:
Fudoh
Izo
Ley Lines
Ichi The Killer
DOA 2
Audition
DOA
Full Metal Yakuza
Happiness of the Katakuris
Visitor Q
Shinjuku Triad Society
City of Lost Souls
Ley Lines
Deadly Outlaw Rekka
DOA 3
Still need to watch the other half of my Miike collection.
For the german:
REM will release a IZO DVD in April!!!
On some websites it is announced for February, but this is not right. They bring out Lady Snowblood in February and IZO in April!
“Ist das geil oder was?”