Directors Even More Directors Series - Volume Twenty - Takashi Miike (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

Updated:
Three Extremes...Segment "Box" - B
Maybe by the end of the month I'll be able to pick up my Miike viewing again.

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Gozu - A-
Dead Or Alive: Final - B

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Deadly Outlaw Rekka - B+
Izo - C
Next Up: Black Society Trilogy

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Shinjuku Triad Society - B-

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Rainy Dog - B-
Ley Lines - B+
Still have quite a few to go. On deck is MPD Psycho, a TV miniseries that comes on 3 discs. I have disc 1 now.

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
MPD Psycho - B+
The Way to Fight - B+
6 more to go...

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
The Bird People in China - A-
Negotiator - B+
Sabu - B+
Full Metal Yakuza - B

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Yakuza Demon - B+
Andromedia - B
Netflix has 1 more of his early films but I'm done with Miike for awhile. Hope to get a chance to see more of his work in the future as this experience has shown me there's MUCH more to Miike than crazy cult films and Yakuza bloodbaths. Hard to believe that as many of his movies as I've watched now, I haven't even seen half of his filmography.

 

[Brook K]

Updated:
Young Thugs: Nostalgia - B+
Young Thugs: Innocent Blood - B

 

[Rich Malloy]

Wow, Brook, you're really working thru the Miike catalog!! You've seen way more than I have by now, but I'm glad you liked my (so far) favorite early Miike's... "Ley Lines" and "Nostalgia".

Although I also really love the psychological horror of films like "Audition", "Gozu", and "Box", the early stuff dealing with childhood and coming-of-age issues are really among my favorites.

Speaking of "Box"... am I missing something with respect to the ending? Does anyone care to hazard a brief synopses on this one, particularly with respect to the recurring dream with the burial alive?

 

[Brook K]

Yes, while I definitely have some of the over-the-top violent/wacky comedy films like Dead or Alive and Deadly Outlaw Rekka near the top of my list, he's just as good at "youth" and mining some of the same brotherhood/friendship themes as Kitano.

The first 20m or so of "Nostalgia" are some of the best work he's done.

I wasn't sure on the ending of "Box" either; some incredible imagery, I'm just not sure I got where he was going with the film. Hence it's pretty low on my list of a director who has come to be one of my favorites.

So out of the 4,000,000 DVD versions of Audition, which is the best one to get?

I just noticed Netflix has yet another, new Miike DVD, Bodyguard Kiba, so along with Osaka Tough Guys, they still have 2 of his films I haven't seen. There's also one of his more recent films Silver, listed as coming soon.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Quote:

I may not be fully up-to-date, but it's my understanding that the latest (finally anamorphic) R1 release is a PAL>NTSC job with the ghosting problem. Thus, it appears that the latest UK Tartan R2/PAL release with the DTS track is still the best (and the German disc is probably its equal, if you can find it). I seem to recall some reviewer or poster grousing over the DTS track on the UK release, but to my ears its better than the original R1 release.

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:
Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) :star: :star: :star: :star: (Own the DVD)
Young Thugs: Innocent Blood (1997) :star: :star: :star:
Seen 23
Own 30

 

[Sandro]

Out of :star::star::star::star:


13 Assassins (2010)

1/2
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

1/2
Imprint

The Great Yokai War (2005)

1/2

Zebraman (2004)

1/2
Izo (2004) :star:
Three... Extremes (2004) (segment "Box") :star::star::star::star:
One Missed Call (2003) :star::star: 1/2
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002) :star::star: 1/2
Dead or Alive: Final (2002) :star::star: 1/2
The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) :star::star::star:
Ichi the Killer (2001) :star::star::star:
The City of Lost Souls (2000) :star::star::star:
Dead or Alive (1999) :star::star: 1/2
Audition (1999) :star::star::star::star:

 

[Sandro]

I think Box is one of Miike's greatest achievements. I don't pretend to understand all of it but.......
The way I interpreted the film was that the last shot of the movie was the reality and that most of what preceded it was in the imagination or dreams of the protagonist. The film was a representation of the relationship between the two parts/brains of the protagonists. It is certainly a unique movie
This interpretation seems to be confirmed by Miike on the disk commentary.

 

[Kristian]

I've seen only one so far:
The Happiness of the Katakuris :star::star::star:

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:
Big Bang Love: Juvenile A (2006) :star: :star: :star:
Seen 24
Own 30

 

[SteveGon]

Imprint (Masters of Horror episode) *** out of ****
The Basket Case finale is kind of a letdown, but overall one of the better MOH eps.

 

[Justin_S]

Updated with Imprint (2006).

 

[Bill McA]

UPDATED:
Osaka Tough Guys (1995) (V) :star: :star: :star:
Seen 25
Own 30