Product Details

• Actors: Kengakusha Akiyama, Makoto Ashikawa, Dankan, Eri Fuse, Rakkyo Ide
• Format: Color, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• VHS Release Date: September 5, 2000
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JQVM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,175 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Japanese TV star, comedian, and sophomore director "Beat" Takeshi Kitano added screenwriter to his résumé for his second feature, the offbeat story of meek, passive gas station attendant and benchwarming minor-league baseball player Masaki (Masahiko Ono), who finally rebels against the insults and abuse. His timing couldn't be worse, however, for he lashes out against an ill-mannered yakuza soldier. When the local crime boss embarks on a campaign of harassment and beatings aimed at Masaki's coworkers and baseball teammates, Masaki flies off to Yokohama to buy a gun, and falls in with a charismatic but brutal gangster (Takeshi) who has his own score to settle with the yakuza. Perhaps Kitano's most oblique film, Boiling Point is made up primarily of digressions, notably the rambling middle, where Takeshi's disgraced mobster takes Masaki and his pal on a tour of local nightlife, a sequence of pokerfaced gags and dry, ironic humor twisted around Takeshi's brutal, misogynist antics. The film lacks the drive and compelling narrative of Takeshi's other gangster pictures (notably his masterpiece, Sonatine, which revives many of the cinematic ideas first explored in this film), but rises to life in some astounding sequences: a flashforward delivered as an adrenaline rush of images, the chilling yet comic eruption of a bouquet of flowers, and an underplayed apocalyptic climax, followed by a tender coda. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beat's Whimsy Needs A Sophisticated Viewer, September 1, 2000

By 

William L Cassidy (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boiling Point (DVD)

If you follow Takeshi Kitano closely, you shouldn't be confused by his sorties into whimsy. Instead, you should watch closely for his thematic, keenly felt, celebration of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and madness in the human void. I strongly disagree with other reviewers and find "Boiling Point" to be an intellectually strong work that seeks to wreak change from the viewer. Many criticize the film's "slow beginning." On the contrary, I think the opening sequence produces an emotional tone, allowing the viewer to harmonize with the film's principal character, Masaki. All that follows happens to the viewer as it happens to him, bringing one to an understanding of Masaki's final actions. Good film involves the viewer, and you will find yourself thoroughly involved in Kitano's "Boiling Point." It is a must have.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Off-Beat-Street: Kitano Hits a Homer, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Boiling Point (DVD)

If Godard had been Japanese... The first part of this film takes a comedic look at an amateur baseball team; the middle deals with local Yakuza gansters; and the final section goes into deep left field, a journey to Okinawa in search of a hand-gun with the help of a psychopath played by director "Beat"Takeshi Kitano. As irrevent as it sounds, everything ties together by the film's end. A great film to look at if you dug "Sonatine"('93) or any of the early Godard films. Also peep Kitano's "Violent Cop"('90) and his latest "Kikijuro"(sic)('99).

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Underrated Masterpiece in the Kitano Catalogue, March 14, 2009

By 

T. O'Keefe (VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boiling Point (DVD)

Unfortunately "Boiling Point" seems to have been cast aside not only by the Asian Action fans to whom it has been incorrectly marketed, but also by some fans of Kitano's other films. The first of these is sad but expected, but as a huge fan of Kitano's work I fail to understand the disinterest in this film by people who already like Kitano.

The reason being; "Boiling Point" is really fantastic. Some have criticized its slow pace, but to me that is one of Kitano's strengths. It could be said to be a matter of taste, but I love the meditative quality of most of Kitano's films, and this one has a certain serenity that really hits home. It has a lonely feel, a feeling that mimics the main and reinforces the perspective of the main character. The pace of the film overall is that of a slow start building momentum to a sudden climax. It is almost a Heart of Darkness kind of story, a journey to the dark side, from apathy and social weakness to senseless violence.

To me this film also showcases Kitano's signature bizarre comedic moments, mainly manifested in his character. The comedy mingles very closely with moments of drama and violence. Ultimately the film is a satire, a critical look at characters who see violence and aggression as a means of control and self-empowerment, and the bitter and ironic results.

Anyway, please see this film! It is amongst Kitano's very best.