The NZA Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive, Audition) lifts from the pages of the manga and puts out one of the more violent, bloody films ive seen, while still managing to not take itself too seriously. Its definitely not for the weak of stomach - if you were bothered by, say, Kill Bill, steer clear, because lots of people lose lots of parts. To jack from an Amazon reviewr: When an anonymous killer named Ichi takes down a yakuza leader, the boss's underlings, including a bleach blond thug by the name of Kakihara, seek revenge. At first, Kakihara thinks rival groups had something to do with the disappearance, so he kidnaps some thugs and tortures them in an effort to get information. These gruesome antics go so far beyond the pale that the yakuza overlords send Kakihara and his fellow gang members into exile. Instead of putting an end to the out of control violence, this judgment only encourages Kakihara to even more extreme acts of nastiness. It turns out that this blond goon worshipped his boss because the leader possessed the ability to fulfill Kakihara's S&M cravings. This is sick stuff, to be sure, but it only gets worse as the movie progresses. All this before a retired cop who psychologically manipulates Ichi to slaughter said yakuza members for him - perhaps the most interesting part is when you realize Ichi is not the stone-cold killer you'd think he was... Anyway, i managed to see the full, uncut version with La Lindsay, and there's more than a few executions, torture scenes, and generally brutal beatings, so again, if youre down for gore & the like, youll be pleased. The plot itself feels like it did come from a manga, and seems a bit all over the place at times, but some of the twists kinda help from you noticing that too much. All in all, it was an alright flick. Ive read that another called Riki-Oh is supposed to be in the same vein, so i might check that (and Dead or Alive) out as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Lindsay Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 thank god for directors cuts becuase blockbuster only offers the my little pony versions of movies. fuck blockbuster. i only saw the first half and i can't imagine watching this movie with all of that cut out. it would be downright shameful. so the rest of the movie was good nick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalHeart Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Ichi the Killer is the mother fucking shit! Cj and I approve this thread. We like the fact that there seems to be no good guys. Only Bad, and Worse. haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 MH, that is very, very true. LL - it just got crazier, if you can imagine that. im leaving it on your desk, in the fort. ps » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... « what the hell happened at the end? was the cop really that diesel, or just hypnotizing again? and why didnt the blonde guy have that cut through his forehead when he landed, was that just in his mind or wha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunkerSeed Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Ichi rules. Leave it to Mike to give us a Freudian Yakuza film. You mentioned the Story of Riki -oh. Now that is a fucking masterpeice. There is no deep plot to Riki -oh, there no ambiguity in it's meaning. What there is is some fucking mad violence. Dead or Alive is great too. Also by Takashi Mike (riki oh isn't by him). I think it's great, it's mostly known for it's ending, but I think the whole think is a acted well acted, well edited, amazingly paced Yakuza movie. Parts 2 and three are really interesting, but part 1 is by far the most solid and universally likeable one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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