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I really had no idea what I was in for with this film (frankly I was deathly scared to watch it but a friend kept daring me to and calling me "chicken" (I was bullied, you might say, just like our poor film's protagonist antisuperhero - God love him, you really CAN'T help but feel sorry for this kid, even as TOTALLY messed up as he is), so that I finally capitulated to the experience), and I am a little squeamish (well honestly, MORE than a little) by nature so that cinematic violence, or any kind of violence for that matter, typically repulses me with the greatest intensity and I shy away from violence in art imitating life or life imitating art at every turn. Yet "Ichi" cannot be judged because of its violence. This film is PURE ART because of the way it ABSOLUTELY HAUNTS you, with its deep psychological questions (where DO we draw the line between pleasure (happiness!) and pain (misery, despair, depression)? Answer - everybody draws the line a little bit (or a LOT, in the case of THIS movie) differently; spiritual quandaries (for example, Ichi's existential conundrum cum (no pun, or Ichicum, intended) epiphany: "she wants to die because she DOESN'T want to die!" My God! This film is what superior modern moviemaking at its highest fever pitch is ALL ABOUT! Way to go Miike!!!
Despite "Ichi's" WAY-over-the-top breakneck (and often "spray neck!") graphic psychodramas, there is every range of human and even humane emotion and sentiment to be found in this amazing masterwork. Unlike the PURELY exploitational horror flicks of Andy Warhol, for example ("Dracula," "Frankenstein"), director Takashi clearly shows love and compassion, albeit in very modest quantities, towards almost ALL of his characters. I cried almost every scene in which the poor beleaguered excop Kaneko struggles heroically to retain his integrity and honor in the face of near TOTAL "loss of face" (orientally speaking). When Kaneko dies near the film's climactic denoument, I wept bitterly because HERE is a GOOD MAN - SO GOOD, he does not want to kill Ichi, but only shoots him in the foot to try and stop him from rampaging further. Because Ichi is mentally insane he kills his "brother," but not without concomitant and extreme followup torment afterwards. When Ichi says "I'm sorry" endlessly, HE MEANS IT!!! He's just so messed up inside, and nobody (except Kaneko) gives a care about him, but instead Ichi really IS constantly bullied, harassed and hideously manipulated (by the diabolical excop "Jijii"). Did Ichi REALLY kill his parents, or can we trust anything Jijii says at all?
Yet! Even Jijii is a figure for compassion in the end, because he regrets the carnage he's unleashed and the damage he's wreaked upon the innocent and the not-so-innocent alike, that - Judas-like - he hangs himself in the closing scene - because he realizes finally he's BETRAYED the goodness within his own soul, caused the deaths of COUNTLESS people, and violating his own ethics as a police officer to "protect and to serve." We see him pitying the death of Kakiharo, stroking the young man's bleached-blonde hair, almost lovingly. Yes, there IS a homoerotic element in this moment, but much more importantly, the failed yearning for a compassionate resolution to the incendiary Japanese gang crisis. All Dead! All Dead! That's how the final caption reads psychologically here, and what is left for Jijii? It's clear he actually LOVES Kakiharo, and thus commits suicide when his beloved is gone. Amazing!
This movie has more twists and turns than a python roller coaster, and if you can get past (or close your eyes) during the really HEAVY (gruesome) scenes, you will see some top-flight acting and some even GREATER attempts at exploring the inner workings of the human mind, heart and soul.
Now I never thought I would be so HIGH on a whacked-out horror film like this, but like I said, it's HAUNTING. It's addicitng and it brings you back to watch it again, and again, to find out the subtleties you missed in viewings n-1, n-2, and so on.
Do see "Ichi" if you can. It satisfies a kind of "itch" in all of us, more or less. It certainly satisfied me, and I am the biggest coward of them all when it comes to stomaching horror lore. But I fell in love with "Ichi," for reasons not altogether clear to me even now, except that in every character I encountered, I felt deep compassion towards him or her. I tried to understand exactly WHERE he or she was coming from (psychologically/spiritually/emotionally/mentally), and just tried to suspend all judgment as best as possible.
You will too, if you give "Ichi" a scratch, and a fighting chance to capture your heart, without tearing it completely out of your chest. If you treat the film as cathartic psychodrama rather than "cinema verite," you will go a LONG LONG WAY towards understand what Miike is trying to get across to all of us.
He's definitely NOT advocating violence for violence's sake. But instead, love. It's just that, a lot of these poor souls in the story don't know HOW to love properly, because they themselves have never BEEN loved properly. Miike is offering us a "morality play" and a hope for more humane treatment of our fellow passengers and soulmates on the one ship we all share, Spaceship Earth. Again, WAY TO GO MIIKE!!!
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
November 18, 2003 "Please retry" | R-Rated Edition | 1 | $19.99 | $4.95 |
|
DVD
July 28, 2009 "Please retry" | Special Edition | 3 | $25.98 | $30.00 |
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Customer reviews
This is probably the best we can get
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018
Not a review of the movie itself, but of the new "Remastered" blu-ray. This blu-ray played on my PC blu-ray player without an issue (hooray!). The quality of this transfer compared to the previous release is significantly improved -- just don't expect modern blu-ray quality. After all, it is a movie from 2001. This is probably the best we can get. The audio sounds quite good, comes in options of 5.1 or stereo, and the blu-ray includes commentary from Miike (director) and Yamamoto (manga writer/artist). I haven't listened to the commentary yet, but I really look forward to it and I'm sure any big fans of the movie will really enjoy this feature. If you like this movie and don't own it yet -- or hell, if you own an older copy and aren't happy with the quality -- definitely pick this up. This is the definitive edition of Ichi the Killer!
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018
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Top reviews from other countries
Simon Booth
Rarewaves BR is uncut, but a downgrade from the old Dutch DVD
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 7, 2020
Rarewaves BR is uncut, but a downgrade from the old Dutch DVD
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 7, 2020
This is a review of the Rarewaves import Bluray.Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 7, 2020
First the good:
The film is uncut, unlike its UK DVD release which was very heavily cut. If you only own the UK DVD (or are considering buying that) then get this instead.
Now the bad:
Picture quality is disappointing. Despite claims of being sourced from a 4K remaster there is no more detail than there was in the Dutch DVD, just a lot more noise/grain. Contrast has been boosted and colours have been "corrected" so that they look more "natural", but lose some of the aesthetic style.
Subtitles are also a downgrade over the English subtitles on the Dutch Premier Asia release, being somewhat simplified and also subtitling the English dialogue in the film... not very accurately.
In short, if you already own the uncut Dutch DVD there's really no reason to get the Rarewaves BR. It looks worse, subtitles are worse and there are less special features.
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Jordan K.
Masterpiece of dark, disturbing live action anime. (But the UK version is edited.)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 12, 2017Adele
Strange But Brilliant film.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2014
