Takashi Miike

[Scharphedin2]

Takashi Miike (1960 - )



So my attitude is that I don't refuse any offers,
but I really consider the way to do it very carefully.
I think there are two types of directors. One is the
type that is very careful of himself and chooses the
subjects that fit him and that he really wants to do
and he does them carefully. The other type does one
thing after another and is not afraid of changing himself.
He changes naturally while making these films one after
another. I am the second type, but for me working so
much is not intentional. I worked very hard as an assistant
director so that became my routine.

~ Takashi Miike
(from interview with Tom Mes, Midnight Eye, 1 May, 2001)


Filmography

Rasuto ran: Ai to uragiri no hyaku-oku en shissô Feraari 250 GTO / Last Run: 100 Million Ten's Worth of Love & Betrayal (TV, 1991)

Toppuu! Minipato tai Aikyacchi Jankushon (video, 1991)

Redi hanta: Koroshi no pureyuudo / Red Hunter: Prelude to Murder (video, 1991)

Ningen kyôki: Ai to ikari no ringu / A Human Murder Weapon (video, 1992)

Bodigaado Kiba / Bodyguard Kiba (video, 1993)

Oretachi wa tenshi ja nai (video, 1993)

Oretachi wa tenshi ja nai 2 (video, 1993)

Shinjuki autoroo / Shinjuku Outlaw (video, 1994)

Bodigaado Kiba: Shura no mokushiroku / Bodyguard Kiba: Combat Apocalypse (video, 1994) Media Blasters (R1) / Film 2000 (R2 UK)

Daisan no gokudô / The Third Gangster (video, 1995)

Bodigaado Kiba: Shura no mokushiroku 2 / Bodyguard Kiba: Combat Apocalypse 2 (video, 1995) Media Blasters (R1) / Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Naniwa yuukyôden / Osaka Tough Guys (video, 1995) Artsmagic (R1) included in Miike Madness 2

Shinjuku kuroshakai: Chaina mafia sensô / Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Artsmagic (R1) included in Black Society Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / Fox Pathé (R2 FR) included in Coffret Takashi Miike / Kadokawa (R2 JP)

Shin daisan no gokudô- boppatsu Kansai gokudô sensô / New Third Gangster: Outbreak Kansai Yakuza Wars (video, 1996)

Shin daisan no gokudô II / New Third Gangster 2 (video, 1996)

Jingi naki yabô (video, 1996)

Rakkasei: Piinattsu (video, 1996)

Kenka no hanamichi: Oosaka saikyô densetsu / The Way to Fight (video, 1996) Media Blasters (R1) / KSS Films (R2 JP)

Gokudô sengokushi: Fudô / Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Media Blasters (R1) / Eastern Cult Cinema (R2 UK) / SPO Entertainment (R2 JP) included in Gokudô sengokushi: Fudô Box Set

Kishiwada shônen gurentai: Chikemuri junjô-hen / Young Thugs: Innocent Blood (1997) Artsmagic (R1) double feature with Young Thugs: Nostalgia / Artsmagic (R2 UK) / Shochiku (R2 JP)

Jingi naki yabô 2 (video, 1997)

Gokudô kuroshakai / Rainy Dog (1997) Artsmagic (R1)included in Black Society Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / I-On Media (R2 DE) / Fox Pathé (R2 FR) included in Coffret Takashi Miike / Toshiba (R2 JP)

Full Metal gokudô / Full Metal Yakuza (video, 1997) Artsmagic (R1) included in The Films of Takashi Miike / Eastern Cult Cinema (R2 UK) / Asian Film Network (R2 DE) / Tokuma (R2 JP)

Chûgoku no chôjin / The Bird People in China (1998) Artsmagic (R1) included in Miike Madness 2 / Beam Entertainment (R2 JP) / Universe (R3 HK)

Andoromedia / Andromedia (1998) Pathfinder (R1) / Toy's Factory (R2 JP)

Blues Harp (1998) Asian Film Network (R2 DE) / Starmedia (R2 DE) / Beam Entertainment (R2 JP)

Kishiwada shônen gurentai: Bôkyô / Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) Artsmagic (R1) double feature with Young Thugs: Innocent Blood / Shochiku (R2 JP)

Tennen shôjo Man / Man, a Natural Girl (TV series, 1999) Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Nihon kuroshakai / Ley Lines (1999) Artsmagic (R1) included in Black Society Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / Fox Pathé (R2 FR) included in Coffret Takashi Miike / Tokuma (R2 JP)

Silver shirubaa (video, 1999) Media Blasters (R1) / Film 2000 (R2 UK) / Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Ôdishon / Audition (1999) Lionsgate (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / Studio Canal (R2 FR) / One World (R2 DE) / Pioneer (R2 JP) /Universe (R3 HK) / Siren (R4 AU)

Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha / Dead or Alive (1999) Kino (R1) included in Dead or Alive: Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / Wild Side (R2 FR) “ also included in Dead or Alive 1, 2 & 3 / One World (R2 DE) / Toei (R2 JP)

Sarariiman Kintarô / White Collar Worker Kintaro (1999) Pathfinder (R1) / Asian Film Network (R2 DE)

Tennen shôjo Man next: Yokohama hyaku-ya hen / Man, Next Natural Girl: 100 Nights in Yokohama (TV, 1999)

Tsukamoto Shin'ya ga Ranpo suru / The Making of Gemini' (video, 2000) Image Entertainment (R1) included on the release of Tsukamoto's Gemini / Starmax (R3 KR) included on the release of Tsukamoto's Gemini

Tajuu jinkaku tantei saiko “ Amamiya Kazuhiko no kikan / MPD Psycho (Multiple Personality Detective) (TV series, 2000) Brentwood (R1) complete series / Ventura (R1) released in three separate volumes / Film 2000 (R2 UK) released in three separate volumes or as box set / Kadokawa (R2 JP) released in three separate volumes / Universe (R3 HK) released in six separate volumes

Hyôryû-gai / The City of Lost Souls (2000) Ventura (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / I-On Media (R2 DE) / Kadokawa (R2 JP) / Mei Ah (R3 HK)

Tengoku kara kita otoko-tachi / The Guys from Paradise (2000) Shochiku (R2 JP)

Dead or Alive 2: Tôbôsha / Dead or Alive 2: Runaway (2000) Kino (R1) included in Dead or Alive: Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / Wild Side (R2 FR) included in Dead or Alive 1, 2 & 3 / Toei (R2 JP) / City Connection (R3 HK)

Zuiketsu genshô - Tonkararin yume densetsu (2001) VAP (R2 JP) included in Kumamoto Monogatari

Kikuchi-jô monogatari - sakimori-tachi no uta (2001) VAP (R2 JP) included in Kumamoto Monogatari

Family (2001) Media Blasters (R1) in two parts / Film 2000 (R2 UK)

Bijitâ Q / Visitor Q (video, 2001) Media Blasters (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / Studio Canal (R2 FR) / Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Koroshiya 1 / Ichi the Killer (2001) Media Blasters (R1) / Premier Asia (R2 UK) / Pioneer (R2 JP) / Universe (R3 HK) / Siren (R4 AU)

Araburu tamashii-tachi / Agitator (2001) Tartan (R2 UK) / I-On Media (R2 DE)

Katakuri-ke no kôfuku / The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Ventura (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / I-On Media (R2 DE) / Fortex (R3 HK)

Dead or Alive: Final (2002) Kino (R1) included in Dead or Alive: Trilogy / Tartan (R2 UK) / Wild Side (R2 FR) included in Dead or Alive 1, 2 & 3 / Toei (R2 JP) / City Connection (R3 HK)

Onna kunishuu ikki (2002) VAP (R2 JP) included in Kumamoto Monogatari

Sabu (TV, 2002) Artsmagic (R1) included in The Films of Takashi Miike / Artsmagic (R2 UK) / Shochiku (R2 JP)

Shin jingi no hakaba / New Graveyard of Honor (2002) AnimEigo (R1) REM (R2 DE) available as double feature with Fukasaku's film of the same title from 1975 / Toei (R2 JP)

Kin'yû hametsu Nippon: Tôgenkyô no hito-bito / Shangri-La (2002)

Pandoora (video, 2002)

Jitsuroku Andô Noboru kyôdô-den: Rekka / Violent Fire (2002) Media Blasters (R1)

Paato-taimu tantei / Part-time Detective (TV, 2002)

Gokudô seisen: Jihaado (2002) Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Gokudô seisen: Jihaado 2 (2002) Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Gokudô seisen: Jihaado 3 (2002) Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Yurusarezaru mono / The Man in White (2003) Pony Canyon (R2 JP) released in two separate volumes

Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu / Gozu (2003) Pathfinder (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / Wild Side (R2 FR) / Pioneer (R2 JP)

Kikoku / Yakuza Demon (video, 2003) Art Port (R2 JP) Pathfinder (R1)

Kôshônin / The Negotiator (TV, 2003) Media Blasters (R1) / Pony Canyon (R2 JP)

Chakushin ari / One Missed Call (2003) Media Blasters (R1) / E.M.S. (R2 DE) / Kadokawa (R2 JP) / Spectrum (R3 KR)

Zebraman (2004) Studio Canal (R2 FR) / Toei (R2 JP)

Paato-taimu tantei 2 / Part-time Detective 2 (TV, 2004)

Saam gaang yi / Three¦ Extremes (segment, 2004) Lionsgate (R1) / Tartan (R2 UK) / Kadokawa (R2 JP) / Mega Star (R3 HK) / CJ Entertainment (R3 KR)

Izo (2004) Media Blasters (R1) / Rapid Eye (R2 DE) / KSS Films (R2 JP)

Urutoraman Makkusu / Ultraman Max (TV series, 2005) Bandai Visual (R2 JP) released in five separate volumes

Yokai daisenso / The Great Yokai War (2005) Media Blasters (R1) / Shochiku (R2 JP) / Universe (R3 HK)

46-okunen no koi / A Big Bang Love: Juvenile (2006) Shochiku (R2 JP)

Waru (2006)

Masters of Horror (TV episode, 2006) Anchor Bay (R1) / Anchor Bay (R2 UK) - included in Masters of Horror, Series 1, Vol. 2 / Shochiku (R2 JP) included in Masters of Horror, Series 1, Vol. 1

Waru: kanketsu-hen (video, 2006) GP Museum (R2 JP)

Taiyo no kizu / Sun Scarred (2006) Toei (R2 JP)

Like a Dragon / Ryu ga gotoku: gekijo-ban (2007)

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

Crows Zero (2007)

Kamisama no pazuru / God's Puzzle (2008)

Yattaman / Yatterman (2009)

Zeburâman: Zebura Shiti no gyakushu / Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010)

Jusan-nin no shikaku / 13 Assassins (2010)

Ichimei / Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)


General Discussion

Artsmagic

Japanese Horror

Takashi Miike on DVD

[url=http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/vie ... php?t=6519]Takashi Miike and

[Lino]

So, has anyone bought the new Japanese DVD for Miike's Western Django? Does it carry burnt in English subs like (I think) the original theatrical prints did?

As far as I've been reading, the English that is spoken throughout is a bit of a mess (they spoke it phonetically and you can imagine the results), so I was just wondering.

[broadwayrock]

So, has anyone bought the new Japanese DVD for Miike's Western Django? Does it carry burnt in English subs like (I think) the original theatrical prints did?

No English subtitles whatsoever. Only Japanese subtitles are included on the dvd. It can be very difficult to understand the Engrish, so subtitles is a must.

It would have been nice if Miike had an English dub for the film as it would still keep in line with the Spaghetti Western genre. I'm sure the Weinsteins will get one recorded if they get the American rights to the film.

[Lino]

So, has anyone bought the new Japanese DVD for Miike's Western Django? Does it carry burnt in English subs like (I think) the original theatrical prints did?

No English subtitles whatsoever. Only Japanese subtitles are included on the dvd. It can be very difficult to understand the Engrish, so subtitles is a must.

That's too bad. I think I'll pass on this release for now and wait for an eventual US or UK one.

[Antoine Doinel]

North American trailer for Sukiyaki Western Django.

[zombeaner]

Unfortunately it is missing nearly a half hour from the longer Japanese cut. On the good side, apparently it will be shown with English subtitles theatrically in NYC and LA.

[HerrSchreck]

So did this guy ever remake the Daimajin films or no? If not does anyone know what happened?

[Sanjuro]

Is it really that hard to understand Django's English? Personally I find it much funnier when you realise the outrageous cowboy cliches the Japanese actors have just come up with a moment or two later than reading it in perfect English while they're saying it.

Maybe thats just me though, I hear some people like watching Ken Loach movies with subtitles too...

[Antoine Doinel]

Unfortunately it is missing nearly a half hour from the longer Japanese cut. On the good side, apparently it will be shown with English subtitles theatrically in NYC and LA.

It seems like Quebec is the only place you will be able to see the film uncut in North America. Seville Pictures is handling the film and according to their site, they've kept the runtime intact.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I doubt the Seville release is actually uncut -- the Quebec, Ontario and British Columbian ratings boards give running times from 98 to 100 minutes. I'm pretty sure someone at Seville just slipped up; the shorter cut seems to be "official" outside Japan (even the Berlin festival screened the cut version).

[Antoine Doinel]

Boo-urns I was going to see this over the weekend, but I think I'll just wait for the DVD.

[Barmy]

This is one film where shorter is definitely better. At 98 minutes it seemed endless, but it was somewhat enjoyable.

Also, I'm not sure if it was re-dubbed, but there was no need for subtitles--and I generally have trouble with strong accents.

[kinjitsu]

Mark Shilling on Miike's remake of Kobayashi's Harakiri.

[manicsounds]

As good as the story is, (and a little surprise that the ending is a little different from the Kobayashi movie), it is nowhere near the original. First off the problems:

3D was dull and useless. Nothing in the movie called for 3D, and most of the effects were subtle and barely noticeable. A wasted opportunity.

Flashbacks, which were done well in the original, I thought were spliced in a little inconsistently. Sometimes the flashbacks were a few minutes. Sometimes a long 20 minutes. The pacing could've been better.

Ryuchi Sakamoto's score was great, but too little! Mostly a music-less movie.

Besides all that, very enjoyable, never too exploitave (considering the director), excellent performance by Ebizo Ichikawa (who is rarely in movies).

[duck duck]

What happened to Miike on region 1? There were two or three companies that were putting out anything Miike they could get for a few years but now it's stopped... Was Miike a fad in the US and sales dropped or is there just no one willing to put out the missing films?

[manicsounds]

Well, "13 Assassins" came out, so has "Zebraman 2", "Crows" 1&2, what movie are you waiting for?

[zombeaner]

Well, "13 Assassins" came out, so has "Zebraman 2", "Crows" 1&2, what movie are you waiting for?

The second Crows film hasn't made it out here.

[duck duck]

Nothing in particular, but there were about 3 R1 companies that had special Miike collections and now only some of his new films come out.

[Titus]

Artsmagic had been doing an admirable job of releasing his back catalogue, but I think the company may have folded. His more commercial/high profile work still trickles out, but there are definitely some notable gaps among the more esoteric films he's made lately. For example, God's Puzzle -- which Tony Rayns raved about -- is nowhere to be found over here. And Sun Scarred doesn't appear to be available anywhere outside of Japan (unsubbed), despite the presence of Sho Aikawa.

[duck duck]

I like Miike's randomness.. like Sliver, Birdman, Happiness... , Ichi the Killer...
it seems that is now lacking in what is being released in the US...
I have the ArtsMagic they were one of the companies I was referring to.

[Eli]

Though I would throw this question out.

Miike has been putting out an average 4 movies a year since he first started working back in the 1980s. Anyone have a personal favorite or think one film of his ranks above all of his others. For me it is a toss-up between two.

Audition – the movie that I am sure was the introductory Miike film for many in the west. I am no different. The film is pretty much a perfect horror movie. Much like Fargo, there is not one wasted scene. And is almost malicious in how it establishes a perfect image of domesticity only to rip it away in bloody horror.

Dead or Alive 2 – A sequel to a movie where the world blows up. This is quite possibly one of the most original films I have ever seen. With exception to the gangster movie plot there is not one cliche. The film is stylistically frenetic while being calm and nostalgic.

[manicsounds]

Miike's next film is a 'school' film in the tradition of "Battle Royale" or "Confessions"?

[zedz]

Lesson of the Evil (is that really the English title?) is a lot of fun, and it seems dead set on making Battle Royale look tame. Teacher is a homicidal maniac who has a big thing for 'Mack the Knife' (which plays throughout the film in umpteen versions) and whose killing spree not-so-gradually escalates into slaughtering his entire class. Miike is in efficient, controlled-mayhem mode, but there are several moments when his balls-out crazy side take over, so this is actually a good exercise for his peculiar talents.

The concluding set piece in the locked-down school at night is the make-or-break sequence (and it gleefully runs and runs and runs - we're not allowed to miss a single death), and Miike stages the mayhem very well indeed, but it's somewhat dramatically unsatisfying that the victims are so damn passive. Their teacher is picking them off with a shotgun that he has to constantly reload, but nobody ever thinks to use that downtime to escape or counter-attack. There might be a comment in there about the passivity of Japanese kids, but it looks a lot more like dramatic convenience to me. There's also the somewhat ludicrous gimmick that the identity of the killer is confirmed

Spoiler

not by the two surviving eye-witnesses but by a convenient audio recording, which was very obviously set up.

The final moments of the film promise a sequel that's sort of unimaginable, given how this ends up, so I'm very intrigued to see where Miike goes from here.

[knives]

Decided to watch some Miike for the first time in a decade. I was really impressed with Yakuza Apocalypse . It was very frustrating to me to see so many complaining this is not weird enough as if that is all Miike can offer or even a driving force behind why he’s broken through to international audiences. This is a densely made political metaphor about a Juan Carlos figure freeing the citizens of Japan from the institutions that provided comfort at too high a price. Abe was already PM for three years at this point and he seems to be relevant in reading the role of the Yakuza here who seem synonymous with the government. The result made my see this as a thematic relative to Kore-Eda’s Shoplifters.

A little more basic was Red Hunter which is Miike’s first film as a director. It’s largely an anonymous work though a couple of his themes such as Japanese culture in a globalist setting does pop up. The film is very memorable for its last three seconds. They announce him as a daring artist in a way the preceding 80 minutes can’t dream to.

[cantinflas]

Midnight

The Making of Midnight

Director Takashi Miike brings to life “Midnight,” a manga by Osamu Tezuka. All shot on iPhone 15 Pro. A mysterious taxi driver lends a hand to Kaede, a young girl chased by assassins.