The cinema of Takashi Miike
Here is how I would describe the genius of Miike:
Compared to a guy like, lets say Tarantino, who is meticulously crafting a masterpiece like carving out a magnificent statue from a great mountain of gold with having a lot of time on his hands, Miike is *beep* out flawed exploitative, yet poetic, gems of cinema, three times a year.
Miike's (in my opinion) finest collaborator is Daisuke Tengan (the first son of Miike's own mentor Shohei Imamura).
Tengan wrote the screenplay for Audition and 13 assassins.
Then we have Masa Nakamura who wrote the screenplay for both young thugs movies (who I have yet to see) The bird people in china (a masterpiece) Dead or alive 2: Birds, -Big, bang love: Juvenile A- and Sukiyaki western Django.
Sakichi Satô (Charlie Brown from Kill Bill) Wrote Ichi The killer and Gozu.
Kikumi Yamagishi Wrote Hara-kiri and Katakuries.
Ichiro Ryu Wrote Dead or alive: Hanzaisa, Ley Lines, The city of lost souls and dead or alive: final.
Toshiyuki Morioka Wrote Fudoh and Blues harp.
Itaru Era Wrote Full Metal Yakuza and Visitor Q.
---------------------------------------------------------
Miike Cinema - from best to worst:
1. Audition.
2. The bird people in China.
3. 13 assassins.
4. Three extremes segment: "Box."
5. Ichi The killer.
6. Ley lines.
7. Gozu.
8. Dead or alive 2: Birds.
9. Visitor Q.
10. Over you dead body.
11. The happiness of the Katakuries.
12. Dead or alive: Hanzaisa.
13. Agitator.
14. Blues harp.
15. Yakuza Graveyard.
16. Fudoh: The new generation.
17. Rainy dog.
18. Sukiyaki western Django.
19. Hara-kiri: Death of a samurai.
20. City of lost souls.
21. Big bang love, Juvenile A.
22. Deadly outlaw: Rekka.
23. Shield of straw.
24. Lesson of the evil.
25. Blade of the immortal.
26. First Love.
27. Yakuza apocalypse.
28. Izo.
29. Shinjuku triad society.
30. The great Yokai War.
31. Full metal yakuza.
32. Imprint.
33. Dead or alive 3: Final.
34. As the gods will.
35. The mole song: Undercover agent Reiji.
36. Yakuza: Like a dragon.
37. Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City.
38. Zebraman.
39. Crows Zero II.
40. Crows Zero.
41. JoJo's Bizarre adventure: Diamond is unbreakable - Chapter 1
42. Terra formars.
43. For love's sake.
44. Yattaman.
45. One missed call.
46. Detective story.
47. Shangri-la.
----------------------------------------------------
Miike films that I Need to see:
Young thugs: Innocent blood.
Young thugs: Nostalgia.
Demon pond.
Yakuza demon.
Sabu.
Bodyguard Kiba.
Sun scarred.
God's puzzle.
The Man In White.
Family.
Guys From Paradise.
Osaka Tough guys.
The negotiator.
--------------------------------------------------
"Miike is one of the greatest directors living today"
"The ultimate anarchist/artist... Miike paints... landscapes with blood...
His films are always disturbing... guaranteed to push the limits..."
"Miike films are pure punk rock. He is a true visionary and does things that
few other directors would dare."
"Many actors hope to one day participate in a Takashi Miike film. Especially guys. They want to go back to back being naughty boys and go wild. Miike lets them indulge themselfs in this fantasy freely and knows exactly how to provoke them. And once provoked, the actors bombard each other with their energy, lifting the film up and spinning it off into higher orbit. I was also one of those guys who were allowed to indulge themselfs. It was a very joyfull experience.
Fierce. Nonsensical. Vulgar. Powerful. These are words that could be used to describe Takashi Miike. But without a doubt the most essential words are self-assured and clever."
Compared to a guy like, lets say Tarantino, who is meticulously crafting a masterpiece like carving out a magnificent statue from a great mountain of gold with having a lot of time on his hands, Miike is *beep* out flawed exploitative, yet poetic, gems of cinema, three times a year.
Miike's (in my opinion) finest collaborator is Daisuke Tengan (the first son of Miike's own mentor Shohei Imamura).
Tengan wrote the screenplay for Audition and 13 assassins.
Then we have Masa Nakamura who wrote the screenplay for both young thugs movies (who I have yet to see) The bird people in china (a masterpiece) Dead or alive 2: Birds, -Big, bang love: Juvenile A- and Sukiyaki western Django.
Sakichi Satô (Charlie Brown from Kill Bill) Wrote Ichi The killer and Gozu.
Kikumi Yamagishi Wrote Hara-kiri and Katakuries.
Ichiro Ryu Wrote Dead or alive: Hanzaisa, Ley Lines, The city of lost souls and dead or alive: final.
Toshiyuki Morioka Wrote Fudoh and Blues harp.
Itaru Era Wrote Full Metal Yakuza and Visitor Q.
---------------------------------------------------------
Miike Cinema - from best to worst:
1. Audition.
2. The bird people in China.
3. 13 assassins.
4. Three extremes segment: "Box."
5. Ichi The killer.
6. Ley lines.
7. Gozu.
8. Dead or alive 2: Birds.
9. Visitor Q.
10. Over you dead body.
11. The happiness of the Katakuries.
12. Dead or alive: Hanzaisa.
13. Agitator.
14. Blues harp.
15. Yakuza Graveyard.
16. Fudoh: The new generation.
17. Rainy dog.
18. Sukiyaki western Django.
19. Hara-kiri: Death of a samurai.
20. City of lost souls.
21. Big bang love, Juvenile A.
22. Deadly outlaw: Rekka.
23. Shield of straw.
24. Lesson of the evil.
25. Blade of the immortal.
26. First Love.
27. Yakuza apocalypse.
28. Izo.
29. Shinjuku triad society.
30. The great Yokai War.
31. Full metal yakuza.
32. Imprint.
33. Dead or alive 3: Final.
34. As the gods will.
35. The mole song: Undercover agent Reiji.
36. Yakuza: Like a dragon.
37. Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City.
38. Zebraman.
39. Crows Zero II.
40. Crows Zero.
41. JoJo's Bizarre adventure: Diamond is unbreakable - Chapter 1
42. Terra formars.
43. For love's sake.
44. Yattaman.
45. One missed call.
46. Detective story.
47. Shangri-la.
----------------------------------------------------
Miike films that I Need to see:
Young thugs: Innocent blood.
Young thugs: Nostalgia.
Demon pond.
Yakuza demon.
Sabu.
Bodyguard Kiba.
Sun scarred.
God's puzzle.
The Man In White.
Family.
Guys From Paradise.
Osaka Tough guys.
The negotiator.
--------------------------------------------------
"Miike is one of the greatest directors living today"
- Quentin Tarantino.
"The ultimate anarchist/artist... Miike paints... landscapes with blood...
His films are always disturbing... guaranteed to push the limits..."
- Guillermo Del Toro.
"Miike films are pure punk rock. He is a true visionary and does things that
few other directors would dare."
- Eli Roth.
"Many actors hope to one day participate in a Takashi Miike film. Especially guys. They want to go back to back being naughty boys and go wild. Miike lets them indulge themselfs in this fantasy freely and knows exactly how to provoke them. And once provoked, the actors bombard each other with their energy, lifting the film up and spinning it off into higher orbit. I was also one of those guys who were allowed to indulge themselfs. It was a very joyfull experience.
Fierce. Nonsensical. Vulgar. Powerful. These are words that could be used to describe Takashi Miike. But without a doubt the most essential words are self-assured and clever."
- Shin'ya Tsukamoto.
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- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKippei ShînaTomorô TaguchiTakeshi CaesarAmidst a Chinese and Japanese mafia war, a lawyer for the Chinese mob finds a rift forming between him and his corrupt police office brother.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShôsuke TaniharaMiho NomotoTamaki KenmochiIn order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaLi-Wei ChangShih ChangA Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTsuyoshi UjikiTomorô TaguchiTakeshi CaesarAn inexperienced gangster is killed alongside his strong, respected boss and awakens to find a mad scientist has given him a new body made partly of his boss and partly of indestructible bionics.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsMasahiro MotokiRenji IshibashiMakoA salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more than they expected.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHiroyuki IkeuchiSeiichi TanabeSaori SekinoAmbitious yakuza Kenji befriends harmonica-playing bartender Chuji, who moonlights as a part-time drug-dealer for the opposing gang. Their friendship is threatened by Kenji's plans for advancement, as well as by his bodyguard's growing jealousy of Chuji.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.Takashi Miike's flawless masterpiece Audition is a perfectly paced film in absolute need of viewers fervent attention, patiente and open intellect. It moves steadily/slowly with twists and turns of chocking imagery, pitch dark humour, extreme tension and a raised middle finger (with the rest of them fingers being cut off, spare the thumb) to the weaklings of modern cinema.
Asami Yamazaki is a woman of intense beauty and unflinching horror, thus making her insanely attractive for any man of any kind. The man of any kind is named Shigeharu Aoyama, a greeving widower who finds it troublesome approaching women in the pursuit of a partner, so he lets his film producing friend drag him into agreeing on hosting a fake audition for a fake film. The fake leading lady (Asami) will be the one for him to date.
Alas, beauty is not the only thing she brings along, she also has a past and unlike her face, it ain't pretty.
A slow burning asian film released at the beginning of the century, dealing with savage imagery, sporting washed out colors going from the screen to unpleasant memories chewed into the mind of the viewer with its content being highly complex. This is Art-house exploitation at its finest and it is not to be missed by anyone. Though, Fans of Transformers 2 might not like it. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKazuki KitamuraTomorô TaguchiDan LiA group of Chinese youths living in Japan struggle to make their way in life and eventually find trouble with the local crime syndicate.”As for a typical Miike movie, probably the one film that best sums up the entirety of his thematic and stylistic concerns is Ley Lines. If you want to understand the filmmaker Takashi Miike, that film is an absolute must-see. And even if you don't, it's still a must-see, since it's an amazing piece of work.” - Tom Mes.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaRiki TakeuchiRenji IshibashiA yakuza of Chinese descent and a Japanese cop each wage their own war against the Japanese mafia. But they are destined to meet. Their encounter will change the world.If you are great, DOA is a great picture. If you are limited, DOA is limited.
The first in a trilogy (with the three films being linked through theme rather than story), helmed by the maverick-badboy-powerhouse-extraordinaire-director Takashi Miike, wrestling this great cinematic apocalypse of a gangster film with seeming ease.
Miike is one of the most prolific directors working today with a cinematic output of 50 films in 10 years. The difference between him and someone like Quentin Tarantino is that whilst QT gives us one film every third year or so, with each of them being meticulously crafted from a great mountain of gold, Miike *beep* out flawed cinematic gems three times a year. In 1999 he made Audition, DOA and Ley lines. All of them are terrific with Audition being a flawless masterpiece.
This Miike gem boasts, what one could easily argue to be, an opening and ending greater than any other openings and endings of any other films. The opening is a nearly 7 minute non-stop rollercoaster of drugs, corpses, strippers, hookers, assassins, gaysex, gore and an exploding belly filled with noodles - all scenes being energized by an awesome soundtrack, constantly pushing uncontained adrenaline through the screen, into our minds. In the midst of all this ongoing chaos we are being told a number of different narratives, setting up mood, atmosphere and theme. The ending is, just as the opening, mindnumbingly great. It is more unpredictable than the ending of Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (released the same year) with what I would say being very similar to DOA concerning reason and effect.
We follow the two Miike regulars as the two lead characters of the film - Riki Takeuchi as the violent gangster Ryuuichi faced up against Shô Aikawa as Detective Jojima. Any further explanation of the plot is not needed since the film isn't about plot, nor is it about characters, it is about whatever an uber experimental, tabu breaking, mad, avant-garde genius is willing to fill the screen with. Rootlessness, homosexuality and boring stretches of not much happening are only some of Miike's trademarks, making their mark in what is one of his most (if not his most) Miike-esque films. Alot of the scenes are not to be taken literally since they are exaggerated metaphors. Though, you could take them as they are, making the film funny and insane instead of earthshakingly beautiful and profound. The more you bring to it the more you shall receive. Reminds me of Alejandro Jodorowsky's take on his own film El Topo: "If you are great, El Topo is a great picture. If you are limited, El Topo is limited".
For those who hate the film I think the great critic Elvis Mitchell put it best when he called it "a soulless compilation of cheap thrills." In his review of Audition he writes: "His most recent film, Dead or Alive, was a crime drama catalog of shock effects by a man capable of showy and empty gestures, all reflexes. This film is the polar opposite, where every note is thought through and worked out."
I think that there is more to the film than what Mr Mitchell makes of it. Most Miike films tend to get boring only to wake you up with something utterly out of this world bizarre and/or breathtaking scenes of extraordinary beauty. So the films of his that are not exclusively story driven or expertly paced are not meant to be taken as such. You are meant to immerse yourself in the world that he has created, be it a boring scene or an eventful one.
It's an experience where you are being given the opportunity to watch all of the conventional cinema get clinically destroyed, left for dead, re-assembled, shuffled around, stepped on, burned up, eaten up, turned into excrement, used as fertilizer - giving a beautiful flower of transcendent cinema the strength to flourish, putting said flower on a podium only to be misunderstood by people who were expecting something easy to digest over night. Miike doesn't do easy nor does he do conventional. He makes self indulgent silliness mixed with hardcore arthouse-exploitation. Always intelligent, always witty (mostly dry) and never afraid with a camera.
The film is brilliant and as always with Miike, extremely polarizing. Even if you were to hate it I'd be surprised if you were to regret having seen it and even further surprised should I find out that you wouldn't want to check out some of his other (nearly 100) films in what is an overall outstanding oeuvre.
Miike is my favorite director of all time (so I'm biased, but whatever you think of most of his films, Audition is still a masterpiece) and if I haven't convinced you to go see this piece of his I'll make one last try with a quote from the great Miike analyst, author of Agitator – The cinema of Takashi Miike.
"I'd met Japanese director Makoto Shinozaki (who wrote the foreword to my book) during the festival and he recommended I should go see Dead or Alive, because, and I quote: ‘The last ten minutes will kill your mind.’ That was no lie, because I haven't been the same since.” - Tom Mes.
No lie, upon watching this film, your mind will die. In a good or in a bad way, I say who cares? atleast you watched something challenging, and that is always worthy of praise. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaRiki TakeuchiNoriko AotaTwo contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends."Even after all the viewing, re-viewing, analysing, and writing I did on this film, I still cannot get over how amazingly intricate, yet incredibly clear and to the point, and at the same time deeply touching this film is." - Tom Mes.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTeahMichelle ReisKôji KikkawaWhen Brazilian-Japanese Mario is unleashed from jail, he sets out to rescue his beautiful Chinese girlfriend, Kei, from being deported to Japan.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKen'ichi EndôShungiku UchidaKazushi WatanabeA troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTaisaku AkinoMickey CurtisYoshiyuki DaichiA fearless Yakuza captain's loyalty is tested as two ambitious underbosses attempt a takeover of both his clan and a rival Yakuza gang.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKenji SawadaKeiko MatsuzakaShinji TakedaA family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.This is it, right here, one of the coolest pieces of film trivia one could ever hope to find. Takashi Miike made a musical remake out of The quiet family - Awesome.
"The hills are alive with the sound of screaming".
So we have what is basically a musical of The quiet family. Add in some -out of this world- bizarre stop-motion scenes followed by dancing zombies. Insane doesn't begin to describe the film but from a filmmaker such as Miike - director of Ichi the killer, Gozu and Visitor Q - who'd expect anything else?
It is funny, dark, bizarre and impossibly original - It's a Miike musical for Christ sake! It highlights the beauty of east-asian cinema: The comedy, the weirdness, the inventiveness and (maybe most importantly) the originality. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsGorô KishitaniRyôsuke MikiNarimi ArimoriA barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However his fear of nothing soon causes problems.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRiki TakeuchiRyôsuke MikiKen'ichi EndôWhen his beloved boss is killed, a dangerous young gangster cuts a path of vengeance through the Japanese mafia.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaMaria ChenRichard ChenThe ace cop of a totalitarian police force and a drifting android play their parts in a post-apocalyptic society. They are destined to fight. Their encounter will change them forever.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaShirô SanoYû TokuiFollows the lives of a group of homeless people in Japan who run into a man who nearly commits suicide and decide to help him out of his financial troubles. Using their various ingenious resources they embark on a complex scheme to blackmail a crooked businessman, whose bankruptcy claim has put people out of work.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiShin'ichi TsutsumiKazue FukiishiPeople mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their deaths.
- DirectorFruit ChanPark Chan-wookTakashi MiikeStarsBai LingLee Byung-hunKyoko HasegawaAn Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors.Segment "Box"
Miike felt comfortable in experimenting with this one because, and I'm paraphrasing: "If it turns out bad atleast I'll make the other two segments look good." It does look good, in fact, it turned out great.
I'll skip describing the plot, all you have to know is that it's surreal and slow - a puzzle movie, far more complex than the other two, with an ending image sure to put you in place for several days to come. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKazuya NakayamaKaori MomoiRyûhei MatsudaAn executed samurai takes an existential journey throughout time, space and eternity in search of bloody vengeance.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaKyôka SuzukiAtsuro WatabeA down-and-out school teacher receives the calling to become the real life personification of an old television superhero, Zebraman.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyunosuke KamikiHiroyuki MiyasakoChiaki KuriyamaA young boy is chosen as the defender of good and must team up with Japan's ancient spirits and creatures of lore to attempt to destroy the forces of evil.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyûhei MatsudaMasanobu AndôShunsuke KubozukaA visually stylish tale of two male prisoners bonded by emotion, love and murder.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsBilly DragoShihô HarumiMichiéIn the 1800s, an American returns to Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with, but instead learns of the physical and existential horror that befell her after he left.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHideaki ItôKôichi SatôQuentin TarantinoA nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKazuki KitamuraShun ShioyaSaekoCult Japanese director Takashi Miike draws inspiration from the popular Playstation 2 title Yakuza for this unhinged tale of underworld violence in Tokyo starring Goro Kishitani and Kazuki Kitamura. It's summertime in Tokyo, and as the temperature rises, two undercover cops stake out a high-profile bank robbery while complaining about the air conditioning. When the masked gunmen make their way into the vault only to find that the Tojo gang's ten-million-yen deposit has mysteriously vanished, an already complicated situation gradually starts to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, in another part of town, psychotic yakuza Goro Majima (Kishitani) strikes out on his own to pay a visit to rival gang leader Kazuma Kiryu (Kitamura) and track down the missing mother of adorable youngster Haruka (Natsuo). It seems that Haruka's mother has some valuable information, and Majima is determined to find her at any cost. Now, as Majima makes his way through the neon-lit streets of Tokyo, Satoru (Shun Shioya) and his girlfriend, Yui (Saeko), embark on a bold robbery spree, and South Korean hitman Park (Yoo Gong) prepares to locate and terminate the thieves who absconded with the Toho gang's money. Later, after Majima and Kiryu engage in a series of fights all across the city, a confrontation at the top of Tokyo's Millennium Tower finds the true criminal mastermind finally stepping out of the shadows.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKai AtôTomoharu HasegawaPâko HayashiyaA detective and a businessman search for a serial killer who removes people's organs.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShun OguriKyôsuke YabeMeisa KurokiA transfer student attempts to take over the most violent high school in the country, whose students form factions and battle each other for power.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShun OguriKyôsuke YabeMeisa KurokiTension escalates and violence ensues when a young student unwittingly breaks a non-aggression pact between two rival high schools.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeEisuke NaitôHatsuki YokooStarsShô SakuraiSaki FukudaKyôko FukadaA toy shop owner/hero and his assistant/heroine battle a leather-clad vixen and her minions to prevent them from acquiring the pieces of a mystical skull.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoTakayuki YamadaYûsuke IseyaA group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.One of the best remakes of all time.
With this brilliant piece of directorial genius, Takashi Miike bested the world of action cinema, crafting an aweinspiring 50 minute battle sequence, presenting a staggeringly high body count, captured by a tremendous amount of beautiful cinematography.
Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira (Gorô Inagaki) is a man capable of the most extraordinary offences, the most wretched slices of evil, the most barbaric acts of savagery that one could ever hope to imagine. He kills and torture women and children out of boredom. He loves violence and so he wants to reinstate the age of war because, qoute: "with death comes gratitude for life". And since he keeps gaining political momentum, a world view such as his could very easily become reality. Suffice to say, he must be stopped.
After witnessing one of Naritsugu's victims (he deformed her body with cutting out her tounge and taking all her limbs) crying in pain, begging for the death of the monster responsible, Samurai Shinzaemon Shimada (Kôji Yakusho) decides to take action and so in turn, he forms a group of 12 fellow assassins with one ultimate goal: Extract the head of one Lord Naritsugu.
The film is devided into two parts, with the first hour being filled with (occasionally clunky) exposition followed by a dynamic last hour filled with: blood, traps, bulls and an giddily exhilarated villain (he's like King Joffrey minus the whining).
On their way to what will shape out to be almost an hour long battle sequence, our heroes teams up with the thirteenth assassin Koyata Kiga (Yûsuke Iseya). Note that unlike the twelve, he is not a samurai but a wild man with an extremely high treshold for pain and an insanely impressive appetite for sex.
Takashi Miike can surely do anything, from films like Ichi the killer and Visitor Q he pulls out 13 assassins - an oldschool, traditionally shot samurai flick with mass-audience appeal and great production value. It is quite hard to comprehend how he pulled it off. Imagine a 50 minute battle scene that is never boring, never repetitive, never confusing and never superfluous in any way shape or form. A key element for the films success is the fact that you actually care for the characters and you care for the story, which is being beautifully told (the pacing is fantastic, making the battle feel no longer then 10 minutes long).
After making 13 assassins, Miike directed another samurai remake, and this time he took Masaki Kobayahi's undying masterpiece "Harakiri" and remade it into "Ichimei", the first 3D film ever to screen in the prestigious French filmfestival Cannes.
The script is written by Shohei Imamura's (Takashi Miike's own sensei's) first son Daisuke Tengan who also wrote Miike's masterpiece Audition. They should collaborate more often. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaRiisa NakaTsuyoshi AbeZebraman awakens fifteen years in the future, unclear on what has happened to him, and quickly discovers that the evil Zebra Queen has a hold on Tokyo.A satirical Takashi Miike superhero film starring Shô Aikawa in the leadrole and features Riisa Naka performing in energetic J-pop videos. Yes, it's precisely as awesome as it sounds.
In the first film Shin'ichi Ichikawa ( Shô Aikawa) is a teacher (bullied by his students) and a familyman (hated by his kids). He escapes life when he puts on his homemade Zebraman outfit (Zebraman was a shortlived tv-show from the 70ies). Before you know it, flubber looking aliens invade and Ichikawa turns (with no real explaination) into Zebraman for real.
In the sequel, Zebraman has been asleep for fifteen years and Tokyo is now being run by an evil, sexy, J-pop singing dictator who goes by the name of Yui Aihara aka Zebraqueen (played by one fantastic Riisa Naka from The girl who leapt through time). Zebraman survives an attack by the Zebra police, finds himself in the headquarters of an underfunded rebell group, fighting to overthrow the government of Zebraqueen and her dad, the mayor: Koza Aihara (played by Guadalcanal Taka).
The film has its strenghts (the satire, the action, the playfulness, Riisa Naka amazing look and acting abilities, the overall design of Zebra city) and it has its flaws (some portions of the story-telling, the length in particular - having too many climaxes) but whether you like it or dislike it, the film has got plenty of charm and it's quite (in lack of a better word) edgy for being so (contemporary Miike) mainstream.
Being a Miike film you know to expect a fantastic ending (see Dead or alive: Hanzaisa). Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra city has got one of Miike's best endings. It is in fact so breathtakingly funny, original, inventive, melancholic and rad that it could arguably make one love the film, despite hating everything prior.
"The Miike spirit is alive and kicking, and there is no better proof of this than the frankly brilliant Zebraman 2" - Author of Agitator: The cinema of Takashi Miike, Tom Mes. - DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoMunetaka AokiNaoto TakenakaA tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsFumi NikaidôTakehiro HiraHideaki ItôA popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsSatoshi TsumabukiEmi TakeiTakumi SaitôTroubled high school student Makoto arrives in Tokyo to exact revenge from a past incident. He then falls in love at first sight with Ai, a daughter raised in a wholesome family. Around Makoto and Ai are Iwashimizu , who has feelings for Ai and Gamuko , a gang member who eyes Makoto. Also Gamuko's leader, Yuki have eyes for Makoto too. Who will get Makoto?
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTakao OsawaNanako MatsushimaGorô KishitaniA team of cops must protect an accused killer with a billion-yen bounty on his head.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTôma IkutaRyôhei AbeYoshiki ArizonoReiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang. The group is the largest crime group in the Kanto area. Masaya Hiura, who works as a young boss of a Sukiyakai affiliated gang likes Reiji. While going through various hardships, Reiji works his way towards Shuho Todoroki.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShôta SometaniNijirô MurakamiRyunosuke KamikiA group of high school students are forced to play a game of death without knowing who, why or how.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiHideaki ItôEbizô IchikawaFiction begins to bleed into reality for actors (Ebizo Ichikawa, Ko Shibasaki, Hideaki Ito) as they rehearse a stage production of a classic Japanese ghost story.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHayato IchiharaRiko NarumiShô AoyagiIn the ruthless underground world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Kamiura. Rumored to be invincible, the truth is he is a vampire-a bloodsucking yakuza vampire boss! Among Kamiura's gang is Kageyama, his most loyal underling. However, the others in the gang view Kageyama with disdain and ridicule him for his inability to get tattooed due to sensitive skin. One day, assassins aware of boss Kamiura's secret arrive from abroad and deliver him an ultimatum: Return to the international syndicate he left years ago, or die. Kamiura refuses and, during a fierce battle with anime-otaku martial-arts expert Kyoken, is torn limb from limb. With his dying breath, Kamiura bites Kageyama, passing on his vampire powers to the unsuspecting yakuza. As he begins to awaken to his newfound abilities, Kageyama's desire to avenge the murder of boss Kamiura sets him on a course for a violent confrontation with Kaeru-kun, the foreign syndicate's mysterious and seemingly unstoppable leader!
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRinko KikuchiRila FukushimaTomohisa YamashitaTo colonize Mars, 21st century scientists seed the planet with algae and cockroaches. 500 years later, the first manned mission to Mars loses contact with Earth, and a second spacecraft is sent to investigate.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTakuya KimuraHana SugisakiSôta FukushiCursed with a life of immortality, a samurai is tasked by a young girl to help avenge the death of her father. Based on the manga series by Hiroaki Samura.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKento YamazakiRyunosuke KamikiNana KomatsuA teen gifted with supernatural power discovers the truth behind his cursed and bizarre bloodline, and the evil that lurks within his town.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsBeckyBengalMasayuki DeaiA young boxer and a call girl get caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.