Product Details

• Actors: Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsushi Takahashi, Naoko Kubo, Shigeru Kôyama, Akira Kubo
• Directors: Kihachi Okamoto
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion
• DVD Release Date: October 25, 2005
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000AQKUC2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,425 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Kill! (The Criterion Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A pair of samurai help young rebels fight corrupt clan leaders.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: UN
Release Date: 25-OCT-2005
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A genre-twisting parody of the over-serious Samurai, October 30, 2005

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill! (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

All genres, such as Western, Horror or Science Fiction, eventually become a bit played out, and a parody is needed to poke fun at the cliches and stereotypes, wiping the slate clean and allowing for a re-invention of the genre. It happened with such films as "Scream" and "Blazing Saddles." For the Samurai genre there is "Kill!"

Directed by Okamoto Kihachi ("Sword of Doom," "Zatoichi Vs. Yojimbo," "Samurai Assassin"), "Kill!" (Japanese title "Kiru") is not a blatant comedy, and many fail to see its humor. Like anything that plays with genre, one has to be fairly familiar with the "rules" to understand the jokes that are being made at their expense. There is some visual slapstick, and some very funny scenes (some of the battles are filmed in fast-motion, making the Samurai run around like the Keystone Cops), but most of the humor is far more subtle and black.

The story finds three warriors coming together on a single path. Genta, a roguish wandering Yakuza, seems to know more than he should considering his station. Hanji is a rough-hewn farmer who seeks to increase his lot in life, and tries to pass himself off as a Samurai. Tetsutaro is an idealistic and proper Samurai, who's belief in honor allows him to be manipulated by those less honorable and more crafty. Tetsutaro is being set up to take a fall, as his lord convinces him to assemble a group to assassinate a rival official, and then promptly sells him out once the deed is done. Hanji, a man of immense strength and little talent, is hired as a Samurai by Tetsutaro's lord and then sent to his group, now holed up in a hidden fortress. Into this convoluted politics, Genta feels responsible for the naive Hanji and Tetsutaro, and attempts to play both sides Yojimbo-style in order to bring the fiasco to a close, mocking the Samurai ideals and encouraging happiness instead. Of course, Hanji falls in love with a prostitute who "smells like the Earth" and Tetsutaro's love Chino finds some sparks with Genta.

The cast is top-notch, with Samurai-film champion Nakadai Tatsuya ("Ran," "Yojimbo," "Sword of Doom") playing the good-natured Genta and Takahashi Etsushi ("The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy") as the farmer Hanji. The girls are quite lovely too, with Hoshi Yuriko ("Chushingura," several "Godzilla" flicks) as the stunning Chino. Okamoto Kihachi is a great director, and maximizes his cast and balances the serious nature of some of the scenes with the ridiculous, such as when Hanji lifts the ceiling off a brothel to establish his claim to a girl.

I love Samurai films, and it is nice to see a black parody done so well, while still managing to be an excellent flick in its own right. I would recommend having a few standard films under your belt before you watch "Kill!," or you might not get some of the references. Be even so, it can be appreciated as a straight-forward film with some oddball humor thrown in to boot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun And Pleasing Samurai Parody!, December 31, 2006

By 

Ernest Jagger (Culver City, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill! (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

The film "Kill," is not one of your usual samurai flicks, therefore, it might not be for everyone. However, I thought it was pretty good, and I certainly liked the parody that the film delivers in this samurai flick. This film was directed by Kihachi Okamoto, who also brought the world the epic samurai film, "Sword of Doom," [which also stars Tatsuya Nakadai]. The film is very dark, and humorous at the same time. I remember first seeing this film with my best friend years ago, and it was a pleasure to finally purchase it and watch it again. I liked it when I first saw it, and many years later, I still enjoyed the film. Only, I liked it more now, as the films dark humor and parody which I did not understand at the time no longer allude me. This humor is infused into the characters. This is what makes the film so different.

Quite frankly, I really laughed hard at the parts where the samurai were running around during the battle scenes, only the film was put into fast forward motion, and what you have is an early 1920s type vignette of a film in which the samurai are intentionally moving at a fast pace. Now that's funny. Especially when you have a film starring (Tatsuya Nakadai) in the starring role. [Who can forget his character in "Sword of Doom?"] The film centers on three warriors. The first one, Genta, (Tatsuya Nakadai) is a wandering yakuza. The second one is Hanji, (Takahashi Etsushi) a farmer who wants to better his lot in life, and poses as a samurai. While the third character is named Tetsutaro, and he is a true samurai.

Tetsutaro is basically being set up by his Lord as the patsy. His lord convinces him that it is necessary to kill a rival lord. He wants Tetsutaro to gather up a group of assassins to kill this rival official. However, things do not go well for him, as he is betrayed by this very same lord after the deed has been accomplished. Genta, good natured as he is feels responsible for the other two friends, Tetsutaro and Hanji, and attempts to play two sides in order to help the other two. [reminiscent of Yojimbo starring Toshiro Mifune]. The film is a very good watch, I would recommend it to anyone who likes samurai films. The film is infused with dark humor, and the film is a very enjoyable watch. I own it, and like the film very much. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tatsuya Nakadai shines in this great black comedy, November 3, 2009

By 

Ryan Agadoni (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kill! (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

This is another selection from Criterion's Rebel Samurai collection.

What a fun film! I didn't realize until it was over that it was based on the same story that Kurosawa adapted for Sanjuro. As I was watching, some similarities did occur to me (scruffy-but-skilled protagonist with disdain for traditional samurai life; small group of samurai hiding out from corrupt official), but it is otherwise (and even in those similarities) a completely different story.

The basic plot concerns a group of samurai who assassinate a corrupt official and then go into hiding, awaiting the arrival of the good official from the north who will come set everything right. As they are waiting, another corrupt official is trying to hunt them down. The two main characters come into town looking for work and food, and become involved on opposite sides.

Tatsuya Nakadai plays the experienced and world weary Genta, and it's my favorite role of his yet. He's such an affable decent fellow, and his interactions with Hanjiro (Etsushi Takahashi) make up a large part of the charm of the movie. It's also very different from his role in Sanjuro, which is also very different from that in Yojimbo (that guy is in just about every samurai movie). Hanjiro is an aspiring samurai, a former farmer whose years of toil have made him very strong. He's not the brightest bulb, but he's enthusiastic and determined, despite Genta's constant warnings that samurai aren't all that great. The opening scene where the two of them meet in a desolate town, looking for food, is a perfect introduction that sets up the relationship and tone for the rest of the movie.

It's a very funny movie, but it's black comedy to be sure. One of the earliest gags involves the image of a townsperson who has hanged herself. It's played for a laugh, and it works, but that's pretty dark. Like Sanjuro, Kill! doesn't care for the samurai values and has a good time deconstructing them.

Kill! also has a great soundtrack. Most memorable is the spaghetti western styled guitar from the beginning of the film.

Like the better spaghetti westerns, the movie features some great compositions, cuts, and editing. And a great score featuring a Morricone-esque guitar number at the beginning. And some great action (Genta knows his sword-play).

As far as the disc itself, this Criterion disc sports a very nice transfer, good subtitling (only truly appreciated when you've had to endure bad subtitling), the original trailer and teaser, and an essay in the booklet.

If you're interested in a black and white samurai movie that isn't all stern-faces and yelling, check this one out. This is one I'd show friends who were not up for a "serious" samurai film.