Customer Reviews

Philosophy of a Knife Limited Edition

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First, I'm sick of some reviewers going on and on about the GORE in this movie. This is NOT a HORROR movie. This is not a gore-drenched rip-off of "Saw" or "Hostel." In fact, most conventional horror movie loving folk will probably not sit all the way through this film, for the simple reason that there is not wall-to-wall gore or funny dialogue or gratuitous T&A.

For the most part this is a very detailed and very long history lesson, that like "Men Behind the Sun" is not afraid to show a shameful and horrendous part of the past in horrific detail. While "Men Behind the Sun" (a film that I also have a lot of respect for) is colorful, "Philosophy of a Knife" is presented in mostly black and white with a genuine 16mm educational documentary feel. While this effect has been overused and ineffective in the past, it works very well here.

Make no mistake "Philosophy of a Knife" is very graphic, and the grotesque and horrifying medical experiments are presented in nightmare-inducing detail. But it doesn't come off like gore for gore sake. It seems and 'feels' very real; as if we're actually there witnessing these unspeakable horrors in the name of medical science.

The actual run time with the introduction is nearly four and a half hours. It actually seems longer considering the exhausting amount of interview and recreated footage to be found here. However I was never bored. And, when it was finally over, I could do nothing but sit and stare at the screen. I was experiencing feelings that I rarely feel after watching a movie. Putting it simply, I was numb from the complexity, power and the shocking historical nature of the movie that had just consumed an entire summer evening.

Philosophy of a Knife (Andrey Iskanov, 2008)

For twenty years, a debate has raged over the title of most extreme gore film. While you'll have your classicists arguing for Cannibal Ferox and the like, the real discussion boils down to two films: Hideshi Hino's sixty-minute masterpiece Flower of Flesh and Blood and T. F. Mous' infamous started-as-a-documentary-and-turned-into-a-gore-film Men Behind the Sun. Now, MbtS is twenty years old, FoFaB twenty-three; you'd think by now someone would have pushed the envelope a bit. But those two movies are like the Whitehouse and Sutcliffe Jugend of filmdom; sometimes people get close, but no one ever seems to spill over into unknown territory. There are some envelopes that are, seemingly, made of titanium. The latest chap to try is Andrey Iskanov, whose Nails made me think we might be seeing the first truly boundary-battering Russian director since Tarkovsky; with Philosophy of a Knife, he decided to take what Mous was originally going to do and integrate it with what Mous finally did, creating what the horror underground have been calling a "goreumentary" ever since buzz started flying about this movie a year or so ago. And with a projected running time of over four hours (the released version does, in fact, clock in at four hours and nine minutes, excluding the intermission), a bunch of us believed it was time for Mous and Hino to step aside and acknowledge the new master. Well, now I've seen it. Mous and Hino are resting safely on their laurels.

It's tough to talk about directorial style when you're reviewing a documentary, so I'm not even going to try, except to mention that in the gore-film bits, all the wonderful stylistic quirks that made Nails (and, to a lesser extent, Visions of Suffering) such a treat are absent; I assume that's to keep the film's documentary look-and-feel. I missed them greatly, especially as it seemed to me that some more personal touches from Iskanov might have invested us a great deal more in what was going on; Mous achieves the shock and nausea he does in Men Behind the Sun specifically because he's got himself a storyline and some pretty solid characters, while Iskanov is more interested in depicting the horrors of Unit 731 in a more impressionist style. (There is one undercurrent of a storyline, actually; it involves what seems to be the growing feelings of a male nurse for one of the maruta. And it should come as no surprise that the resolution of that storyline, despite being one of the quietest scenes in the film, is also the strongest.) As a result, while there can be no doubt whatsoever that when you use a metric of gallons of fake blood and innards per hour, Iskanov probably has, in fact, created one of the most violent films I've ever seen, but the gore sequences never get under that barrier of detachment. There's no real effect to them, other than saying "hmm, interesting use of special effects." Also, a number of scenes seem designed more for shock value than anything else (though the documentary half of the film assures us that yes, these things really did happen), which took away from the movie somewhat. It should be noted, again, that the scenes obviously designed for shock value in Men Behind the Sun did not have this effect; i.e., they actually did shock, despite being far less explicit in most cases. I should also point out the soundtrack, which worked very well for a film like Nails, but constantly feels out of place here.

Still, I don't want to give the impression that this is a bad film. It's certainly the most comprehensive treatment of Unit 731 we've seen on screen, thanks in no small part to its epic run time, and that alone makes it a valuable document. And while I know Iskanov and crew spent four years on the project, it does seem as if one more rewrite of the script, to further integrate the gore-film aspects and give us some characters with whom we could empathize, would have done a great service to the finished product. ***

PHILOSOPHY OF A KNIFE is not simply a horror / splatter / gore movie. It's not meant to be enjoyed as entertainment, or viewed as exploitation. This is a documentary by Andrey Iskanov about the infamous UNIT 731, and the inhuman experiments conducted there during WW2. The horrific, insanely-extreme sequences in PHILOSOPHY are re-enactments, much like in any other documentary presentation. The major difference of course, is that Iskanov recreates the actual atrocities in as realistic, vicious, and detailed a fashion as possible. We are meant to go along w/ these prisoners / test subjects as they encounter their long, hideous deaths. We are supposed to experience the terror, the anguish, the torturous, mindless experimentation. We are there for the monotony of murder. We are witnesses to one of the world's darkest criminal endeavors. After seeing POAK, I am convinced, as never before, that human beings are capable of anything. Anything. One of the most chilling aspects of this film is the voice-over by Manoush, portraying a nurse at UNIT 731. She absolutely gets the idea across that in order to be a part of acts such as these, she had to forfeit her very soul. This movie contains scenes of human vivisection that only a psychopathic sadist could "enjoy". The point is, not all stories have happy endings (or beginnings or middles), and exist simply because they must be told...

So few films really leave a lasting impression. Even rarer is the film that will snatch the breath from your lungs and leave you paralyzed in your seat. If Philosophy of a Knife doesn't leave you shellshocked and numb, nothing will. This is one of the boldest and most impressive achievements in the history of film.

Part documentary, part horror film, this nightmare inducing visual onslaught combines some gripping archival footage, candid interviews, and disturbing reenactments of chemical/radiation experiments performed by the Japanese Army Unit 731 in the 30's and 40's.

This is not a fun film to watch by any means. Shot mainly in black and white, POTK is a grueling, 4&1/2 hour history lesson. The vivid, deranged terror will strike you deeper than any fictional horror film ever could. Besides the melting of flesh and ripping bodies in half, it also flashes dead fetuses and some torturous surgical procedures including some STD experiments. Not for the faint of heart.

Much of this is backed by an industrial soundtrack. Perhaps it feels like an extremely warped and lengthy Nine Inch Nails video. Such a surreal experience. Your eyes will be fixated on the set and you will not even notice the time go by.

One horrible realization to try to come to grips with is the fact that these inhumane experiments performed on the victims actually helped advance Japan's medical knowledge way beyond the rest of the world. The end definitely doesn't justify the means, of course. But it makes me wonder if instead of capital punishment, maybe forcing hardened criminals to become instruments of science would be a viable option.

Masterfully shot and crafted in 2008 by Russian director Andrey Iskanov, Philosophy of a Knife has to be the most overwhelming, bizarre, wicked, creative, horrific, educational, aesthetically beautiful and heartbreaking experimental projects ever committed to film.


It's mind-boggling to realize the evil that man is capable of.

I bought this DVD knowing full well that it would not be easy to watch, but little did I know the real reason why. The film is several hours long, four hours to be exact. On the good side of things, the angles and lenses used are artistic and unsettling. I know that sounds like a pretty bland explanation, but the camera work is quite good. That is about the only good thing about the movie really. While watching it, I got that feeling that a lot of other movies had borrowed some of its better elements since its release in 08...or maybe it's the other way around. Who knows? Who cares? Gore porn gets boring to this desensitized soul after an hour or two so the film lost much of its appeal. Even the stark reality of the Unit 731 experiments on which the film is based cannot save it after the third hour of seeing a man "microwaved" on a micro film budget. The actors and effects are not good enough to convey such an atrocity but I commend the effort. My advice to those out there looking for something REALLY messed up, go watch "Flower of Flesh and Blood." It is equally (maybe more) graphic and gory for gore's sake but without all the filler.

If you like horror and especially real horror this is the movie for you. All based on real happenings---it's surprising

If this depiction of the horrors placed upon civilians by the infamous unit 731 does not shock you, then nothing will. The filmakers provide one of the most bizarre and brutal films showing the true horrors of a very upsetting event in history. There were times in this film where I had a hard time watching the action(particularly the cockaroaches in the crotch scene)but I just could not turn off the film which is over 4 hours in legnth. The non-stop torture and brutality shown seems to be what was not shown in the film ---men behind the sun. This is very extreme and not for the squemish but should be watched by those who want to see something different, gory and based on fact.

Just my opinions: First let me say I rate this film an 8.5 out of 10. Philosophy of a Knife is a film like no other. It has been said by other reviewers that it is like a giant music video. In some ways it is. That isn't a bad thing at all. Somebody really needs to contact Nine Inch Nails to get Andrey to do a video for them. The closest film I could even compare this to was the film "Goodbye Uncle Tom" (from the makers of Mondo Cane) only because it was part documentary, part reenactment, and part exploitation. Although Andrey probably didn't intend for this to be an modern day exploitation flick, it pretty much is. Although many people who made exploitation films probably weren't going for that at the time that they made their films. I found that the best way to watch this film is in 30 to 45 minute increments. I will admit at times it does drag on, but when you go away and come back it seems new, exciting, and fresh all over again. When I first heard rumors that the film might be cut down from 4 hours, I was passionate about letting the film remain in it's 4 hour entirety. Now after watching, I think it could have been knocked down to 3 and maybe even 2 hours. It would make it easier to recommend to people, because it takes quite a bit of dedication to get through the film. I don't have a short attention span, but let's just say Andrey has a exceptionally long attention span. Every scene should remain in the film, but many of the scenes contain many redundant shots. In some cases, the length of certain gore scenes make it lose it some of it's potency. However, I must say, the EFFECTS in this film are pretty much outstanding. Although, I wasn't a fan of the "old vintage film" effect used throughout the entire film (with the little lines and stuff). It wouldn't have been that big of deal if the effect wasn't still used on still-shots of photos or in the scenes with modern footage. It even used the effect on top of already "old vintage footage", making it "double vintage footage". I wish they had interviewed more people to give their opinions and views on Unit 731. For a documentary it's always nice to get many perspectives. Despite, the flaws I listed, this film is one of the best independent films to come out in years. The music done by Alexander Shevchenko in the film is top notch and can stand on it's own. It's good to buy the 2 Disc Special Edition so you can have all the music. Some of the most powerful scenes in my opinion were the "frost bite testing" when the guy is made to walk, and the scene towards the end with the Japanese solider letting the girl go. (very beautiful scene). It's a visual masterpiece. If you took all the best parts of this film, it would still be longer and better than all the "extreme" movies nowadays. If "extreme" was a genre, this would be one of it's crown jewels.

This movie is an hour of documentary, an hour of bad horror, and 2 hours of pointless cut scenes of snow and none of it particularly good. The monotone delivery punctuated by dubbed screams, fake blood, and bad acting, is only surpassed by the amateur camera angles and ridiculous sound track. I bought this movie on the suggestion of a friend and regret doing so. It takes itself to seriously to even be watched as a good bad movie. Save your self the 4 hours and 20$, read the Wikipedia page on Unit 731 while watching meatball machine with the volume off.

Very few movies entertain in a highly original format. The director isnt scared to show true human nature. The modern world is often called desinsitized, if thats so why does war affect our soldiers. This movie portrays the pain and sufferring in a realistic fashion. Although, the effects could have been better most of them are 100 % believable. I often forgot I was watrching a reenactment. These types of experiments and tourture go on everyday in this world. We choose to watch our pretend horror movies with a happy ending. Happy Endings do not exsist, they are temporary moments of pleasure often followed by extreme pain.

This movie show the reality of man. man will do anything to climb the ladder of power and respect. If a bum tells you to hold the door for a lady you say "no", even though its in your value set.If you boss orders you to kill someone to become CEO of a fortune 500 company, you do so withput hisitation.

This films bears the two sides of the human soul, the predator and the prey prey, the weak versus the strong, the rich versus the poor, the powerful versus the powerless.

These types of acts happen everyday in the world on a mass scale and we do nothing to stop it, arent we just as guilty as those whose hands commit the crime?