Ichi the Killer [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Maverick auteur Takashi Miike spins this unsettling, blood-soaked yakuza yarn adapted from Hideo Yamamoto's cult manga Koroshiya 1. When mob don Anjo mysteriously disappears, his protege Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano) vows to find the people responsible. Sporting a blond head of hair and a yawning, pierced slash for a mouth, Kakihara is no ordinary gangster and his methods are equally unorthodox; he impales one poor suspect's naked body on a series of meat hooks and then dumps hot oil on him. Meanwhile, a shadowy character known as Jijii (played by director Shinya Tsukamoto) deftly manipulates, for his own nefarious ends, Ichi (Nao Omori), an unbalanced but ruthless killing machine clad in a superhero suit. Pining for the sadistic abuse of his boss, Kakihara learns of Ichi from a Hong Kong hostess (Alien Sun) and sets out to find this fabled butcher, hoping he can inflict the pain that Kakihara craves. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival as a part of the Midnight Madness program. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby TrueHD
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Features:
  • Featurette with horror film director Eli Roth (hostel, cabin fever)
  • Photo gallery
  • Original Ichi the Killer trailer commentary with director Takashi Miike & manga artist/writer Hideo Yamamoto
  • Tokyo shock trailer gallery
  • "Memories of Ichi" the making of Ichi the Killer
  • Takashi Miike film trailer reel
  • Extensive cast & crew interviews featurette "the cult of Ichi" featuring horror writer Jack Ketchum, fangoria's Tony Tampone and more

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Tadanobu Asano - Kakihara
       Nao Omori - Ichi
       Shinya Tsukamoto
       Alien Sun
       Sabu

• Director:

  Takashi Miike

• Producer:

  Akiko Funatsu, Dai Miyazaki

• Screenwriter:

  Sakichi Sato

• Composer (Music Score):

  Karera Musication

• Executive Producer:

  Toyoyuki Yokohama, Albert Yeung, Sumiji Miyake

REVIEW:

• In Takashi Miike's freakishly intense world, the tormentor and the tormented are locked in a cycle of retribution and outlandish violence where torture, dismemberment, and evisceration are the norm. Crisply edited and employing some mind-boggling camera techniques, the film -- as in Miike's other works -- creates mordantly funny moments that are as pungent as they are memorable. At one point, Kakihara, as an act of atonement, cuts off his pierced tongue only to take a cell phone call immediately afterwards. At another, a cascade of blood, bowels, and body parts spills into a hallway immediately after Ichi enters a room. Yet for all of Miike's visual invention and wit, the film's dubious treatment of women might leave a bad taste in the mouth of the most hardened Asian cult film buff. Every woman in the flick is brutalized in a manner that borders on the pornographic (including rape and genital mutilation) and then killed. While some might be exhilarated by Miike's brilliant camera work and imagery, others might be inclined to take a bath. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi