What about Takashi Miike?

Karl Hungus

Seeing as there's a decent enough discussion going on about Kitano, and I know a lot of people here have seen some Miike films, Ichi The Killer being the most obvious one so why not a new thread?

Personally I think he's done some fantastic films altogether, my favorites being Ichi The Killer, Audition, Happiness Of The Katakuri's, and Rainy Dog. But at the same time, he's done some not so great ones, like Dead Or Alive. I didn't quite like that because after Ichi The Killer and Foduh: The New Generation, the OTT violence got more than a little boring. And anyone who's seen the absolutely hilarious Foduh would agree that he probably couldn't top it.

While Ichi The Killer would certainly be one of my favorite films altogether, I'd say generally I prefer his more 'Intersting' work.

Rainy Dog is an absolutely fantastic film, and quite far removed from the more comic-book style of Miike's more famous works. I've not seen the other films in his "Triad Society" Trilogy, but after this, I'd definetly like to see the rest.

Happiness Of The Katakuri's was a film that I really loved. That fantastic clay-mation opening sequence! The musical numbers, especially the one with the zombies! But I think that 'Richard' stole the film altogether... Would anyone agree?

Currently, Miike has been makeing a new film with none other than Takeshi Kitano himself! I'll certainly be looking forward to that.

And he's also done a film called Zebraman that I'm really hoping to see, but it could be a while before it gets around to being released this side. It sounds quite interesting, original, and very off the wall altogether. Should be cool indeed.

Thoughts people?

Makaveli

I've seen a few of his films, the man is twisted.
Seriously though, he must be to come up with what he makes.

I have still to watch Happiness of the Katakuris, and Fudoh. I have both on DVD but never got around to watching them because of my exams.

Ichi the Killer is probably my favourite of his films. I love the really dark humour in his films, and Ichi is abundant with it. It's a bit confusing at the end, but then again most of his films are.

I disagree with you on Dead or Alive. I really like this aswell, and the whackyness of the the ending is just so perfectly Miike. Dead or Alive 2 is a bit of a let down though, it's not half the film that DoA is.

One you didnt mention is Audition. This film is so twisted. The first half is slow moving and comes across as I dunno a drama with a bit of romance. Then it completely flips and oh dear. Needles and piano wire. If you want to know more go and watch it, words wouldn't really do it justice. You have to see it to grasp how messed up it is.

The Yakuza/Triad trilogy is good alright. I haven't seen Ley Line but I've seen Rainy Dog and Shinjuku Triad Society. Of the two I prefer Rainy Dog. STS is another weird film and tbh the homosexual sex is off putting. The film is worth checking out though.

City of Lost Souls is another one I've seen. It's been a while though so I can't remember much of it, but it is another weird film. His films tend to be overly complicated I find sometimes. Half the time you're left wondering wtf just happened.

Oh, and then there is Visitor Q. This is messed up too. It's with a digital camera I think so it looks like a documentary. It's kind of like fly on the wall footage of a family. A fucking weird family. It starts off with the dad having sex with the daughter and then paying for it, and then the son continually kicks the crap out of the mother. It turns out he's being bullied. Then the mother turns to prostitution too and she's a bit of a junky. Man this is just a weird film.

Like I said I dunno where he comes up with the ideas, but they're twisted. Good viewing none the less, well most of the time, sometimes it just makes you feel sick.

I think that's all the ones I've seen, I think that's most of his films anyway. I'll have to watch Happiness of the Katakuris and Fudoh soon though.

BlitzKrieg

I feel that alot of his films got ruined for me.


2 reasons why:


1st the people on my floor in uni get confused by it to easily and end up ruining the film for me by constantly asking questions, Yet they insist that everytime i get one of his movies that they'll watch it with me. (most annoying was Audition...ahh i want to strangle the girl down the hall from me)


2nd I have on my course a real big fan of his who lends me all the dvds, But he tends to overhype them, esp. Ichi and Audition, so when i finally see the films i was kinda expecting it to be more twisted then it was. Dunno I guess i must be twisted, or the fact that every film he lends me he says "You dont enjoy Ichi/Audition YOU EXPERIANCE THEM" and i end up enjoying them without being too whacked out by its wierdness.


Thankfully niether one of these came into account with Happiness of Katikuris i took every precaution to see the film without my floormates or with any hype from my m8. Was worth it enjoyed the film imeansly...

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by Makaveli
I disagree with you on Dead or Alive. I really like this aswell, and the whackyness of the the ending is just so perfectly Miike. Dead or Alive 2 is a bit of a let down though, it's not half the film that DoA is.

I dunno... Bar the quite brilliant operning sequence, and the ending (Yeah, it did indeed make me go WHOA!), I thought it was pretty dull and tired otherwise. I think I'll stay well away from DoA2 at any rate.

Originally posted by Makaveli
One you didnt mention is Audition. This film is so twisted. The first half is slow moving and comes across as I dunno a drama with a bit of romance. Then it completely flips and oh dear. Needles and piano wire. If you want to know more go and watch it, words wouldn't really do it justice. You have to see it to grasp how messed up it is.

I certainly loved Audition, I think it's an absolute masterpeice, but I didn't want to go into too much detail about all the Miike films I've seen.

Originally posted by Makaveli
Oh, and then there is Visitor Q. This is messed up too. It's with a digital camera I think so it looks like a documentary. It's kind of like fly on the wall footage of a family. A fucking weird family. It starts off with the dad having sex with the daughter and then paying for it, and then the son continually kicks the crap out of the mother. It turns out he's being bullied. Then the mother turns to prostitution too and she's a bit of a junky. Man this is just a weird film.

Was considering getting it but I dunno would that really be something that I'd like. You see, I don't like Miike because he's 'Weird' or '****ed Up' but rather because I think he's a fantastic director. So just getting another one of his films because it's ****ed up is not something I'd do.


BlitzKreig... that sounds incredibly annoying altogether.
I watched Fight Club with a girl not so long ago there, and she just wouldn't stop with the questions! Ironically, she missed half the film with asking questions.

Makaveli

I like his work becaue he's a great director aswell and because he always pushes the envelope, but I do find that he makes fucked up stuff when there is no real need for it. Sometimes, imo, it comes across as extreme for the sake of being extreme. And his work is often overhyped.

Visitor Q is not an easy film to watch. I felt like switching it off a few times, the same can be said for Shinjuku Triad Society. His films are not easy to watch, I find you really have to be in the mood to watch them. Which is in contrast to Kitano films, which most of the time you can throw on and just watch. With exception to Boiling Point, that's a weird film too and a bit non-sensical.

I don't watch his films because they're twisted or weird, it just happens that they all turn out weird in the end. Full Metal Yakuza is on my list and Ley Lines, so I can complete the trilogy. I'd like to see him try a film that is at least somewhat normal in the conventional film meaning of the word normal.

Scratch Acid

Anyone seen Agitator? I didn't realise it was out on R2...

Karl Hungus

Scratch,
Noticed that the other when I was in town, but no, I've not seen it.

Originally posted by Makaveli
I like his work becaue he's a great director aswell and because he always pushes the envelope, but I do find that he makes fucked up stuff when there is no real need for it. Sometimes, imo, it comes across as extreme for the sake of being extreme. And his work is often overhyped.

Visitor Q is not an easy film to watch. I felt like switching it off a few times, the same can be said for Shinjuku Triad Society. His films are not easy to watch, I find you really have to be in the mood to watch them. Which is in contrast to Kitano films, which most of the time you can throw on and just watch. With exception to Boiling Point, that's a weird film too and a bit non-sensical.

I don't watch his films because they're twisted or weird, it just happens that they all turn out weird in the end. Full Metal Yakuza is on my list and Ley Lines, so I can complete the trilogy. I'd like to see him try a film that is at least somewhat normal in the conventional film meaning of the word normal.

I'd concur on the extremety for the sake of extremety point, but I'm certainly not against extreme violence when it's an intergral part of the plot, like in Audition and Ichi, but a lot of his work wouldn't really interest me as such. Visitor Q doesn't really strike me as something I'd like to see.

An example I could make is A Clockwork Orange... Lovely ultraviolent film, but you simply couldn't part the violence from it, or you'd lose the entire film, despite the magnificent direction, the fantastic preformance of McDowell and the whole plot and character arc of Alex.

Then again, Fudoh: The New Generation is pretty much a film with a paper-thin plot that's only there to support the OTT Violence, but it's also a film I really liked because of the hilarious violence.

Though speaking of Miike doing a somewhat 'Normal' film, when browsing play.com the other day, I came across the film Sabu, the fact that it's a 'Period Drama' and only a 12s cert makes it worth looking into in my books. Could be very interesting, but seeing as Miike had does films as wildly different as Audition, Rainy Dog and Happiness Of The Katakuri's, I'd certainly like to see how he'd handle a period drama. Especially when the cert suggests there'd be none of the usual violence.

Scratch Acid

While we're on the subject, does anyone know anywhere in town that sells japanese and other foreign movies for less than 33 fu'cking euro? :mad:

Karl Hungus

No, unfortunatly not, it's pretty standard pricing tbh.

Your best bet is to order from the internet, I always order from play.com as they've got a brilliant selection, and the delivery is free. But if you don't have a credit card, or access to one, then that's not of much use to you.

echomadman

City of Lost Souls is another one I've seen. It's been a while though so I can't remember much of it, but it is another weird film.

City of lost souls is rubbish tbh, Its hard to pick the gems from the turkeys a lot of the time, as there are so many fanboys who like the films just because they're japanese and made by a guy called takeshi (insert name here).

luckily my local xtra-vision seems to have gotten in a lot of the Tartan Asia Extreme range so i can rent and *cough* evaluate them using my DVDR drive, without having to lay down 30 eurons a pop.

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by echomadman
City of lost souls is rubbish tbh, Its hard to pick the gems from the turkeys a lot of the time, as there are so many fanboys who like the films just because they're japanese and made by a guy called takeshi (insert name here).

That's a little harsh, no?

echomadman

That's a little harsh, no?

Sadly no, It wasn't a dig at anyone personally though
I know lots of people who like stuff just because its japanese. whereas I dont distinguish between nationality when deciding what movies i like, for me, good cinema is good cinema, and crap is crap.

I love good Japanese Cinema, I also love good Chinese/Korean/Spanish/German/French/American cinema.

DrunkLeprachaun

Originally posted by Karl Hungus
Happiness Of The Katakuri's was a film that I really loved. That fantastic clay-mation opening sequence! The musical numbers, especially the one with the zombies! But I think that 'Richard' stole the film altogether... Would anyone agree?

YEAH! (go engrish)
Just watched that film today, and even though the back of the DVD was just plain wrong and made me think that the person who wrote that crap hadn't even seen the film(when exactly were zombies attacking?), I still enjoyed it immensely, and laughed my ass off a lot. That said, I haven't slept in about 30 hours, so that could contribute to the humour, but still. Such outstandingly funny randomness.

The only other Miike film I've seen is Audition, which I thought was very good. Although the first half is kind of slow, the end more than makes up for it. I won't say any more in case I spoil it.

Originally posted by echomadman
City of lost souls is rubbish tbh, Its hard to pick the gems from the turkeys a lot of the time, as there are so many fanboys who like the films just because they're japanese and made by a guy called takeshi (insert name here).

I think you'll find that's "Takashi".

fizzynicenice

I loved Audition, Its like an hour of the japanese dating game, and then ::rwar:: we all cryed in pain. Ichi was good but the ending confused the bo**ox off me, but If you watch it with the commentary on it explains the whole thing, and is seriously interfusing (interesting & confusing 'look ma i made me a word')
Katakuri's was simply brilliant, and Richard stole the show, especially his phone call where he pretended to be in a battle. hilarious.
Visitor Q is worth wathcing, has a strong family values message but as has been pointed out, you get the feeling its more to shock you than anything else, and that kinda takes away from it. I picked up Rainy Dog for €35 in golden discs, a rip-off but worth it, great film, must get the rest of the triad trilogy
I have ordered Tom Mes' book 'agitator:the cinema of takashi miike' ,should be a good read.

oh, and if anyone wants a really comprehensive and very up-to-date view on modern Japanese cinema, you should see www.midnighteye.com , its very good.

BTW, I'd like to thank Karl Hungus for starting a truly interesting thread

Makaveli

I was checking out his videography on the City of Lost Souls dvd, and he does about 6 films a year. There's about 50 films listed on it, including tv movies. Of those about 15 are available on dvd over here.
There has to be some real turkeys in there.

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by echomadman
Sadly no, It wasn't a dig at anyone personally though
I know lots of people who like stuff just because its japanese. whereas I dont distinguish between nationality when deciding what movies i like, for me, good cinema is good cinema, and crap is crap.

I love good Japanese Cinema, I also love good Chinese/Korean/Spanish/German/French/American cinema.

Ah, I did kinda took that as a little bit of a stab there, and I was rather ready to jump in. However, I do concur with you on the fanboy issue, though it does go for fanboys of just about anything.

Originally posted by fizzynicenice
Katakuri's was simply brilliant, and Richard stole the show, especially his phone call where he pretended to be in a battle. hilarious.

Oh yes! Fantastic!

He's supposed to be in the navy, but he gets shot down over Iraq!?! [/url]

Originally posted by fizzynicenice
BTW, I'd like to thank Karl Hungus for starting a truly interesting thread

You're very welcome indeed.
Thanks for showing an intrest.

back of the DVD was just plain wrong and made me think that the person who wrote that crap hadn't even seen the film(when exactly were zombies attacking?),

I noticed that too, was completely and utterly off altogether!

monkeyfudge

Did anyone see the anime prequel to Ichi the Killer?

It's actually quite good and Miike does one of the voices. It really shows the mystic superhero origins of Ichi...

It is a bit on the short side though.

I think every other Miike film I've seen has already been mentioned.

Just to add that I really enjoyed Dead or Alive 2... the scene with the childrens play is very funny, and also the Yakuza hit men who communicate through text messages.

Did I hear that there is a Dead or Alive 3 that is set in the distant future with robots or something along those lines?

Oh yes.. and the matrix style cock fight in City of Lost Souls was pretty funny too...

MarcusGarvey

Originally posted by echomadman
Its hard to pick the gems from the turkeys a lot of the time, as there are so many fanboys who like the films just because they're japanese and made by a guy called takeshi (insert name here).

Hear hear. As you said a good movie is a good movie. It doesn't matter the nationality of the director.

Makaveli

Originally posted by monkeyfudge
Did I hear that there is a Dead or Alive 3 that is set in the distant future with robots or something along those lines?

Yeah, it's called Dead or Alive: Final I think.
Don't know anything about it though.

Clinical Waste

Originally posted by echomadman
City of lost souls is rubbish tbh, Its hard to pick the gems from the turkeys a lot of the time, as there are so many fanboys who like the films just because they're japanese and made by a guy called takeshi (insert name here).

luckily my local xtra-vision seems to have gotten in a lot of the Tartan Asia Extreme range so i can rent and *cough* evaluate them using my DVDR drive, without having to lay down 30 eurons a pop.

Which is your local xtravision? I want to evaluate also