dubq 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 Wow. Just. Wow. This movie was simply amazing. I tried not to fall into all the hype that I'd heard over the past year and a half, but man-oh-man, Takeshi Miike outdid himself on this one. From the blood-spraying arteries to the sick-as-fuck gore, it was top-notch all the way through. Anyone else caught this killer yet? I also picked up The Eye, Dark Water and A Tale of Two Sisters on the weekend. All horror/suspense flicks. The Eye is a Chinese movie about this blind girl who gets an eye transplant and ends up seeing things that the person who originally had the eyes saw, plus more. Not too shabby, but could've been a bit more on the scare-level. Dark Water, the Japanese flick, had to be the best out of the three. Lots of eerie occurances and Ringu-like suspense. A Tale of Two Sisters, a Korean movie, and I couldn't really rate it seeing as the subtitles on the disc I got were completely wrong. The actual flim was great, but I'm going to have to exchange this for another copy so that I can understand what's going on. Anyone else seen any of these? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DVD Spree Report post Posted February 9, 2004 Insane Bump Machine and I had a little chat about Miike's work here: http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?showtopic=49576 You probably gathered that I'm generally a pussy when it comes to this sort of thing, so Ichi isn't high on my list of favourites. That said, I think the dude who takes off his trenchcoat and reveals a crazy ripped body was pretty cool. Just tell me - you got the Premier Asia DVD, right? Right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 Insane Bump Machine and I had a little chat about Miike's work here: http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?showtopic=49576 You probably gathered that I'm generally a pussy when it comes to this sort of thing, so Ichi isn't high on my list of favourites. That said, I think the dude who takes off his trenchcoat and reveals a crazy ripped body was pretty cool. Just tell me - you got the Premier Asia DVD, right? Right? I ordered the Uncut [Not Rated] SE from HKflix. What's on the Premier Asia DVD? EDIT: You should definitely see Audition. It's simply awe-inspiring, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DVD Spree Report post Posted February 9, 2004 These actually look incomplete, but anyway, from Play.com: * Audio commentary from Asian cinema expert Bey Logan, leading lady Paulyn Sun and producer Eliot Tong * Interview with director Takashi Miike * Interview with Paulyn Sun * Interview with Tadanobu Asano * Interview with Shinya Tsukamoto * 'Electronic Press Kit' featuring an interview with director Takashi Miike, out-takes and behind the scenes footage * 'Behind The Scenes' vignettes * Photo gallery featuring behind the scenes images and campaign artwork * Text biographies and filmographies for the principle cast members * Original theatrical trailer * UK campaign trailer * Interactive menu * Scene access Basically though, the Bey Logan commentaries on Asian films are just priceless. I gotta plug my homeboy! Yeah, Audition really has me interested. If it weren't for all these WWF DVDs lately I'd already have ordered it by now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 These actually look incomplete, but anyway, from Play.com: * Audio commentary from Asian cinema expert Bey Logan, leading lady Paulyn Sun and producer Eliot Tong * Interview with director Takashi Miike * Interview with Paulyn Sun * Interview with Tadanobu Asano * Interview with Shinya Tsukamoto * 'Electronic Press Kit' featuring an interview with director Takashi Miike, out-takes and behind the scenes footage * 'Behind The Scenes' vignettes * Photo gallery featuring behind the scenes images and campaign artwork * Text biographies and filmographies for the principle cast members * Original theatrical trailer * UK campaign trailer * Interactive menu * Scene access Basically though, the Bey Logan commentaries on Asian films are just priceless. I gotta plug my homeboy! Yeah, Audition really has me interested. If it weren't for all these WWF DVDs lately I'd already have ordered it by now... Innnteresting. Mine has the trailers and photo gallery, and commentary by Miike and Yamamoto [in Japanese of course] but none of the other stuff. Have you seen Miike's Visitor Q? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NoCalMike 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 I've heard things about Ichi the killer.....I almost bought it from www.dvdasian.com when I bought Battle Royale, but at the time I was kind of conserving money. Looks like it is worth adding to the collection Oh and I was interested in seeing the Eye but I want to rent it first. From where, I dunno......!?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmericanDragon 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 That said, I think the dude who takes off his trenchcoat and reveals a crazy ripped body was pretty cool. That was hilarious. Other funny moments were the one legged girl jumping around and the broken fingers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 I've heard things about Ichi the killer.....I almost bought it from www.dvdasian.com when I bought Battle Royale, but at the time I was kind of conserving money. Looks like it is worth adding to the collection Oh and I was interested in seeing the Eye but I want to rent it first. From where, I dunno......!?! I got mine from Toronto's downtown Chinatown district.. they sell tons of pirated Asian horror flicks there. Chances are you have something like that in NoCal? I know I found a lot of cool shit when I was in LA's Koreatown a couple years back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravenbomb 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 I picked up the rated version from Blockbuster, but I'll probably get the uncut version later. It's a really great movie, although I'm not quite sure I understand the ending. Visitor Q was pretty good, but kinda made me uncomfortable at times Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArkhamGlobe 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 I wasn't particularly fond of Ichi the Killer. While I thought it was at times quite amusing, at other times it just came off as forced and overdone, although it's sheer audacity is somewhat commendable. The Eye I thought was very good for about the first hour, after then it kind of ran out of steam. A Tale of Two Sisters I thought was very good, and I agree that Dark Water is the best of the bunch. That film legitimately creeped me out, which does not happen particularly often. Fun fact: I've seen all the previously mentioned films on a big screen in 35mm prints. Go me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmericanDragon 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 It's a really great movie, although I'm not quite sure I understand the ending. Kakihara is disappointed in Ichi for not being able to give him pain so he does the needle thing and heads to the ledge. Then he imagines Ichi coming up and cutting his forehead and then falls down. That's why when Jiji checked Kakihara, he didn't have a wound on his head. Jiji's my favorite character just for that WTF moment where he takes off his trench coat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2004 It's a really great movie, although I'm not quite sure I understand the ending. Kakihara is disappointed in Ichi for not being able to give him pain so he does the needle thing and heads to the ledge. Then he imagines Ichi coming up and cutting his forehead and then falls down. That's why when Jiji checked Kakihara, he didn't have a wound on his head. Jiji's my favorite character just for that WTF moment where he takes off his trench coat. Also... Did you assume that at the very end, that it's Jiji hanging from the tree and the guy walking away is the little kid years later? That's what I got from it.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AmericanDragon 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2004 Yeah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2004 I thought The Eye was outstanding. The scene where the girl and doctor are on the train, it really got to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Super Leather Report post Posted February 10, 2004 Also... Did you assume that at the very end, that it's Jiji hanging from the tree and the guy walking away is the little kid years later? That's what I got from it.. That's what I eventually got from it too. The first time I saw ICHI THE KILLER, I was pretty baked so the ending didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. After I picked up my own copy and watched it a couple times, I got it. I'm not at home right now, so I couldn't say what company released my DVD. When I get there in an hour or two, I'll take a look. I am pretty sure that it is slightly edited, though. I showed it to a bunch of friends of mine, most of which got really grossed out over the gratuitous bloodshed and violent rape scenes. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of my buddies that watched it with me have a much different view of my character and personality after having to sit through all of that. I got mine from Toronto's downtown Chinatown district.. they sell tons of pirated Asian horror flicks there. Chances are you have something like that in NoCal? My friend tells me of going to San Francisco's Chinatown and picking up mostly VCDs. The problem one may face when trying to find videos and DVDs in Chinatown (Oakland also has Japantown, but there isn't much to it) is that they will likely be in their original Chinese/Japanese packaging, which is gonna suck for someone like me that doesn't speak or read the language. Apparently you can also forget about asking anyone working in the store about these movies in their English titles because they won't know what the fuck you're talking about. There is a book floating around called SEX AND ZEN AND A BULLET IN THE HEAD, which has a bunch of classic HK films written down in Chinese characters, which would certainly be helpful. Someday I will get off my ass and travel across the bay to Chinatown to see what I can dig up...fortunately I can be lazy and just take a fifteen-minute walk to Berkeley and score shitloads of awesome Asian films just about any ol' time. Gah! I need to figure out how to properly quote two things in the same post, damn it! EDIT: My copy was released by a company called Tokyo Shock. I guess there's another version I ought to seek out then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
