Product Details

• Actors: Kengakusha Akiyama, Ritsuko Amano, Makoto Ashikawa, Kenichi Endo, Zhao Fanghao
• Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• DVD Release Date: December 14, 1999
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JS6H
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,249 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Violent Cop" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese superstar "Beat" Takeshi Kitano was best known as a comedian and talk-show host when he was cast as brutal police detective Azuma in "Violent Cop", but the career-changing twist occurred when the original director dropped out and Kitano took the helm. Half a dozen pictures later, Kitano has carved out one of the most idiosyncratic careers in Japanese cinema, and it all springs from this edgy, explosive crime classic. Azuma is a cop who plays by his own rules: He batters suspects, beats confessions from criminals, and plants evidence. He's a vigilante force the department quietly supports as long as he gets results, but when a volatile drug case results in the death of a colleague, the hair-trigger cop goes rogue as he matches wits with an equally impulsive assassin. Kitano's big teddy bear eyes and soft features maintain a calm, almost bemused expression even in his most violent moments: a Zen "Dirty" Harry with a deadpan sense of humor. For a first-time director, Kitano displays astonishing cinematic control, creating a style of long takes and serene tranquility shattered by startling explosions of gunfire and abrupt blows. It's a violent world in which adolescents attack beggars and grade-school kids pelt bystanders with garbage and insults, but Kitano also shows a tender, caring side ultimately swallowed by the unleashed anger. Ironic, grim, and focused to a mesmerizing intensity, "Violent Cop" is one of the great Japanese crime films and a brilliant debut. "--Sean Axmaker"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the 10 best of Modern Japanese Film, June 24, 2000

By 

matthew eric henkel (pittsburgh, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Cop (DVD)

Darkly humourous, Violent Cop (Sono Otoko Kyobo Ni Tsuki) is the story of an abusive detective named Azuma, as he goes head to head with a rogue member of a tokyo organized crime family. Not for the faint hearted, Violent Cop, is not a hollywood type story, it is depressing and deeply symbolic - very japanese/eurpoean in the flavour of its pathos. Highly recommended for those who appreciate good film.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word? Fantastic., January 8, 2000

By 

Steve (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Cop (DVD)

Few have sampled the delights of Kitano's films, but for those of you who have, there is no need to continue reading this review. However, if your new to Kitano's films, or Japanese films in general then all I can say is, buy this without hesitation. Often gruelling, but most definitely engrossing, Violent Cop follows the story of a cop, played by Kitano, who is prone to bouts of severe violence against those who he despises in society. The fact that he works as a cop allows him to meet many of these sorts of people and he never hesitates to start kicking, and perhaps, ask a few questions later. His violent temper does not remain in hiding for the criminals of Japan, but is also unleashed against a man that has a one night stand with his sister. As the film progresses, Kitano'character, Azuma, discovers some shady goings on within the police force which cause grief extremely close to home. Now, if you are not a fan of violent films then I suggest you do not purchase this title as it contains shocking scenes that remain with you well after the film has finished. If you are willing to take the plunge then you will be rewarded with film making at its very best. Kitano's films are subdued to a point that may annoy the more impatient among us, infact alot of people have labeled Kitano's films Art House, which I would disagree with. This film, and all his others, deserve much greater recognition and respect. Do yourself a favour and buy this now. End of Days fans need not apply.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Violent indeed, and very funny., January 30, 2000

By 

D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: "Violent Cop (""Tame"" Version) " [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Beat" Takeshi Kitano's movies aren't so much about story as comic situations, a mix of horror, humour and pathos (a tone later appropriated by Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction), and characters whose unmoving consistency tends to lead them to tragedy.

Violent Cop is the most accessible of his films I've seen so far, with strangely staged but compelling action sequences (witness the white-knuckle knife-in-hand scene), some perfectly timed physical comedy, and more of Kitano onscreen than, say, Boiling Point. Though seemingly stiff, Kitano's persona is actually perfect for his movies and the more he writes himself into the story the stronger the movie tends to be.

Violent Cop, like many of his other films, has an extremely languid pace that you'll simply have to accept if you're going to accept this movie on its own terms. But the rewards are many: The final plot twist (including a hilarious familiar low-angle frame of his partner walking down the street); kicking at the man who slept with his mentally disturbed sister; playing video games; a strange car chase.