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Takashi Miike

post #1 of 66
5/27/07 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
I dont know what kind of film forum can exist without a thread about Takashi Miike, I mean come on.

The first film of his that I saw was either a rented Dead or Alive, or when I saw Audition as a double bill with Battle Royale. Either way I'd read about him before I saw any of his films, and was prepared for the experience. The guy is simply an inspiration to aspiring filmmakers, he churns them out at a quick pace, with a reasonable budget, while having something to say in nearly every film. His focus on outcast characters and the feeling of displacement mirrors my own fascination with the concept.

To date I've just seen: the above mentioned films and The City of Lost Souls, Ichi the Killer, The Happiness of the Katakuris.

Recently I've decided to catch up on his filmography. In the past two weeks in my mission to watch every significant Miike film in order, I've watched Shinjiku Triad Society and Fudoh: The New Generation. Full Metal Yakuza is next.

I already knew Fudoh was going to be bizarre, but I wasnt expecting just how anime-esque it was going to be, I was thinking "man, they should adapt this into an anime" while watching, then when I read up on it I discovered it was actually adapted from a manga, so there you go. This lovely film features a man getting assassinated by a dart through the head, fired via a tube inserted in a talented schoolgirl's vagina. Yes, schoolgirls fire darts from their vaginas in this one.

I bought what I think is currently the only English language book about Miike a couple years ago, called Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike. I now have a chance to read it after every Miike film I watch for some analysis. Essential reading for Miike fans and a nice cover too.
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post #2 of 66
5/27/07 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cognizant
Yes, schoolgirls fire darts from their vaginas in this one.
And with that, it's added to my Netflix queue.
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post #3 of 66
5/27/07 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dross
And with that, it's added to my Netflix queue.
Hope you enjoy it, there's more insane stuff but I dont want to spoil the surprises.

I was checking out Miike's Wiki page and read this:

Quote:
However, the British Board of Film Classification refused to allow the release of the film [Ichi The Killer] uncut in Britain, citing its extreme levels of sexual violence towards women. Many regarded this as inconsistency, as they had recently passed Irréversible (2002), a film featuring a nine-minute rape scene, uncut.
I'd say thats a big inconsistency, even though I havent seen Irreversible, I've read enough about it. Ichi is completely over the top in its violence, but Irreversible I've read is horribly unflinching. Personally I think this is another example of the west's attitude to Asian cinema. Violence in European films is 'arty' whereas when its from Asia its 'extreme'.
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post #4 of 66
5/27/07 at 1:35pm
I've seen both and Irreversible is certainly the more disturbing scene between the two. If we were talking about Visitor Q, then that might be different.
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post #5 of 66
5/27/07 at 2:08pm
Fantastic Thread, cogzinant.

I'd recommend Gozu, The Bird People in China and The Great Yokai War. I'd also suggest giving Izo and MPD Psycho a go, but they are his most subjective works and tend to turn a lot of people off. Izo is just completley and utterly nuts.

My personal favourite Miike film has to be Dead or Alive: Birds which is his certainly one of his funniest and weirdest films. It has a dwarf being shot in the head by three assassins and then a CGI animation shows the angle of the dwarfs bullets, calculates this angle and then brings up the word death with a little midi of the funeral march. It also has Sho Aikawa dressed as a turtle and Riki Takeuchi dressed as a Lion.
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post #6 of 66
5/27/07 at 2:34pm
I love Gozu. Its nuts. For his insane output over the years, he makes a handful of real masterpieces,as well as his fair share of shit. Visitor Q is fun to unleash on unsuspecting friends. Just tell them its a black comedy. About incestual necrophilia and lactation.

First time I heard of Miike was when I was intro'd through a double bill of Audition and Dead or Alive. I've been a fan since. One Missed Call is sufficiently creepy, despite being a fairly mainstream japanese ghost story type of film. His segment of Three Extremes is pretty cool, too. There is definitely no shortage of Miike to gorge on, that's for sure. Just depends on how strong your stomach is.
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post #7 of 66
5/27/07 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
I've seen both and Irreversible is certainly the more disturbing scene between the two. If we were talking about Visitor Q, then that might be different.
I guess I'm a weakling as I've avoided Irreversible just for that scene alone really (how dare they treat Monica that way!?) but I'll watch whatever Miike throws at me, he's got me hooked.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall
It also has Sho Aikawa dressed as a turtle and Riki Takeuchi dressed as a Lion.
Its going to take me a while before I catch up to Miike's recent output as I'm going through his filmography in order of release date, but I must mention how much I love Riki Takeuchi. His one note facial expression, that is basically a grimace, is fantastic. He also has one of the greatest mullets I've ever seen, in Fudoh. Cant wait to see him in a lion outfit, heh.
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post #8 of 66
5/27/07 at 2:37pm
I also moved Fudoh to the top of my queue after reading that description. I tend to prefer the crazier Miike work to the more serious stuff, though really the only time he's let me down was with his segment in Three...Extremes.
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post #9 of 66
5/27/07 at 3:17pm
Sho Aikawa was dressed as a Kappa, Spike (get it right!).

Another recommendation on Gozu, must see. Great Yokai War is pretty good (some of the cgi is terrible though). No mention of Zebraman ,for shame, easily one of Sho Aikawa's funniest and most touching roles.

EDIT: Can't wait for his remake of Daimajin, that will be something to see!
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post #10 of 66
5/27/07 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Electrichead
I've seen both and Irreversible is certainly the more disturbing scene between the two. If we were talking about Visitor Q, then that might be different.
I would disagree. The violence in "Irreversible" is disturbing, but "Ichi" implies a level of voyeristic enjoyment on the past of the audience. Both moments implicate the audience, but it's the sinister streak of humor that makes "Ichi" more twisted.
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post #11 of 66
5/27/07 at 7:56pm
Fudoh is a fantastic film, but it does look absolutely wretched. It makes Dead or Alive look like a lavish big budgeted production at times. Still doesn't stop the film being fun as all fuck, (my personal favourite kill is the schoolboy shooting the Yazuka in his car and the subsequent Kubrickian river of blood which pours out of him).

Apparently Miike is making a film out of the sega game Yakuza.

http://letsbrog.blogspot.com/2006/09...es-yakuza.html

In regards to Zebraman, aside from the Ringu pisstake at the beginning (Sadako in a motorised well vs Ultraman) I found the whole film kinda dull.

The Great Yokai War is just fantastic because it's like the Neverending Story directed by a total fucking psychopath (seriously the film starts with a demon being born from a cow, heralding the apocalypse before he dies and his eyeballs melt). The fact it's written by the guy responsible for the Doomed Megalopolis anime should tell you a lot about the tone of the film.

I'm also in the minority who just adore Izo. It's overblown as all fuck and it gets really repetitive. But where else are you going to see Riot Police tearing through a Samurai village, a demonic samurai fighting baseball wielding gangsters from the 30s, and a celestial guardian played by Bob Sapp.
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post #12 of 66
5/27/07 at 7:58pm
and Ichi is a love story at heart. "When S Met &M" so to speak.
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post #13 of 66
5/27/07 at 8:04pm
Also, if you can stand how shoddy Fudoh looks then you should try and watch Full Metal Yakuza, which is without a doubt the silliest and messiest Miike film around.

And for more sombre Miike, Agitator is just fantastic.
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post #14 of 66
5/27/07 at 9:01pm
Never seen a Miike film before, just finished watching Dead or Alive 10 minutes ago. Wow.... Not sure what else to say except that I absolutely loved the last 2 minutes.
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post #15 of 66
5/27/07 at 9:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall
Also, if you can stand how shoddy Fudoh looks then you should try and watch Full Metal Yakuza, which is without a doubt the silliest and messiest Miike film around.
Yeah Fudoh looks very cheap, but even with a low-seeming budget he directs compelling and/or insane films. Its like Miike's early stuff, such as Fudoh, can give hope for director wannabes out there. It is possible to make a film featuring a gang war initiated by kids who kill middle aged yakuza dudes on a low budget, you can do it too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuddL
Never seen a Miike film before, just finished watching Dead or Alive 10 minutes ago. Wow.... Not sure what else to say except that I absolutely loved the last 2 minutes.
Great way to end a film, so fucking random I loved it. Seeing a woman drown to death in her own shit in a kiddy pool is an image I could of done without though, hah.
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post #16 of 66
5/28/07 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cognizant
Great way to end a film, so fucking random I loved it.
City of Lost Souls has one of those what the fuck endings. The last 10 seconds just makes you go "hunh?" Its like the first movie Miike ever saw was Holy Mountain, and he watched it over and over and over and over and over...


Quote:
Originally Posted by cognizant
Seeing a woman drown to death in her own shit in a kiddy pool is an image I could of done without though, hah.
thanks to miike, my brain is scarred with numerous terrible images i never thought i would see. yet...i keep going back for more...
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post #17 of 66
5/28/07 at 12:19pm
I still think the opening six minutes of Dead or Alive are astounding. It does kinda make the rest of the film falter a little as it just can't keep up with the utter manic pace that montage creates.
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post #18 of 66
5/28/07 at 12:29pm
I wanna further the love Miike's getting. I mean seriously, who else would have thought up of a Matrix style kung fu cockfight?
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post #19 of 66
5/28/07 at 12:31pm
Or a game of Ping Pong which ends with a huge circular saw of death...

I still think the most outlandishly bizarre thing I've seen in a Miike film is Renji's death in Gozu. Killing a Yakuza Ganglord by impaling his anus on a ladel and then electrocuting said ladel is certainly inventive. The you see Sho Aikawa be birthed....
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post #20 of 66
5/28/07 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
Watched Full Metal Gokudo, Miike's version of Robocop with a loser yakuza dude getting mechanized to cheesily hilarious effect. (he even gets a bigger penis!)

Quote:
Originally Posted by 555
City of Lost Souls has one of those what the fuck endings.
Yeah, that was pretty silly, and that film has a few critics but I really like the international vibe going through it. I like seeing a different side to life in Japan, Miike likes to represent Japan's minorities in his films. Doesnt he feature a minority race from the northern islands of Japan in Dead or Alive, or something like that? Or maybe I've confused myself. Eitherway he does focus on characters not just from Japan which is refreshing.

Must admit, Miike makes the best end 30 seconds of films ever. Dead or Alive is an obvious pick, but Fudoh and Full Metal Gokudo both ended in great "WTF!?" ways.

Rainy Dog next up.
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post #21 of 66
5/28/07 at 4:02pm
The thing about Great Yokai War is that it's obviously a family film but he still has Chiaki Kuriyama all sexy dom-looking and slapping the shit out of the film's cuddly, furry mascot character.
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post #22 of 66
5/28/07 at 8:01pm
Her uppercutting that weird ferret always cracks me up, as does the

"Oh....it's just Gamera" line and the Azuki Bean ending.
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post #23 of 66
5/30/07 at 12:09am
Say what you will, but Deadly Outlaw Rekka...is strange. And it sucks.
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post #24 of 66
6/2/07 at 9:38pm
Thread Starter 
Saw Rainy Dog, Miike's version of Leon. Pretty restrained for Miike, but as a result its easier to emotionally invest in too. The story is about a failed Yakuza making a living assassinating people in Taipei, when a lady he once shagged years ago suddenly appears at his door and drops off his son. Sho Aikawa gives another good stoic performance, Miike's themes of rootlessness and outcast characters are in check, and although Luc Besson's tale is more visceral and easier to digest, Miike's take on the assassin/kid template is probably more realistic (Aikawa's character doesnt blow up spectacularly, but his character's resolution did make a fly get in my eye. A first for me watching a Miike film!?).

I was wondering why an exchange at the end of the film felt so familiar to me, when I discovered via Wiki and IMDB afterwards that people have compared it to an exchange in Tarantino's Kill Bill. (SPOILER HINTING END OF RAINY DOG: the exchange I'm talking about is Uma's short dialogue with Vivica's daughter)

The Bird People in China next up.
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post #25 of 66
6/2/07 at 9:51pm
I really need to catch Rainy Dog, I know it's part of the Shinjuku Triad Society trilogy but I never got around to watching it.

I think you'll love Bird People, it's Miike at his most spiritual and rewarding. Plus it has some of the most amazing shots I've ever seen in a Miike film.
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post #26 of 66
7/7/07 at 8:40am
Thread Starter 
The Bird People Of China - Great stranger in a strange land tale about two mismatched Japanese guys in China who stumble upon a weird and quite poignant legend. Miike can direct any genre he wants, but he just has to have a crazy yakuza dude in it! Quite cool that he gets the most development out of the two main characters.

Also watched Blues Harp, which has shot up into my top 5 Miike films (I dont know what my top 5 is yet). About a yakuza who's trying to take over his gang, and a mixed race Japanese youth who plays a mean harmonica, whose paths cross. Its a nice offbeat film that vaguely reminded me of the manga Beck. Again for Miike, the main characters are outcasts in their society, and you're rooting for them to succeed as the film builds to a nail-biting climax. Really liked this one.
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post #27 of 66
7/7/07 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Electrichead
I've seen both and Irreversible is certainly the more disturbing scene between the two. If we were talking about Visitor Q, then that might be different.

Fuck yeah. i've seen some gnarly shit in real life, but god damn if the fire extinguisher scene doesn't make me sick every damn time. It's basically the only movie that can do that to me anymore.
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post #28 of 66
7/7/07 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by le Stephanois
Say what you will, but Deadly Outlaw Rekka...is strange. And it sucks.

When you make 6-10 movies a year, at least one has to suck. The laws of averages are against you.
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post #29 of 66
8/6/07 at 7:11am
I just saw Visitor Q.

Damn.

Got milk?
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post #30 of 66
8/6/07 at 7:49am
The ending of Q, though, I found surprisingly heartffelt, given all that had come before.

On a different note, I just checked out Miike's filmography. 73 movies since 1991. 73!!!!
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post #31 of 66
8/6/07 at 8:04am
73 films in 16 years? Who the hell finances them all? I know I'd put my money on the table just to get that rigor mortis-scene. I haven't laughed that hard since birth.

Funny, I got that same heart felt-feeling from the ending too, even though it was still pretty deranged.
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post #32 of 66
8/6/07 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Virtanen
73 films in 16 years? Who the hell finances them all?
I think I read somewhere the yakuza might have financed quite a few Miike movies over the years, which when you think about it, now makes perfect sense! Actually, I wonder what they thought of Miike's deranged portrayal of yakuza, because frequently they're depicted as homosexual maniacs, who dont belong anywhere, and ultimately end up dead in bizarre ways. I'm sure the yakuza are generally more fond of Takeshi Kitano's output!

Cant wait to check out Visitor Q myself...with my parents. (not)
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post #33 of 66
8/6/07 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cognizant
I think I read somewhere the yakuza might have financed quite a few Miike movies over the years, which when you think about it, now makes perfect sense! Actually, I wonder what they thought of Miike's deranged portrayal of yakuza, because frequently they're depicted as homosexual maniacs, who dont belong anywhere, and ultimately end up dead in bizarre ways. I'm sure the yakuza are generally more fond of Takeshi Kitano's output!

Cant wait to check out Visitor Q myself...with my parents. (not)

Deadly Outlaw Rekka was one of those times, Miike even admits as such on an interview on the disc.
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post #34 of 66
8/6/07 at 11:21am
So far, I've only seen Ichi the Killer and Audition, and while I "enjoyed" both of them, I have to say that the slow burn of Audition worked much better for me than Ichi's over-the-top (and altogether awesome) gore.

I've not seen enough to have an opinion on Miike overall, but I've got pretty much all of his available movies on my Netflix queue, and will be checking them out eventually. As of right now, though, based on what I've seen combined with what I've read about the man's other work, I have to say that I'm very impressed with his ability to jump from style to style and genre to genre.

I'm simultaneously looking forward to and dreading checking out the rest of his output.
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post #35 of 66
9/23/07 at 5:05pm
What might be a silly question:

How do you pronounce Miike? Looking at it, I want to say "me-kay"?

I was talking about "Audition" to someone a couple of days ago and totally froze up because I wasn't quite sure how to say his name.
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post #36 of 66
9/23/07 at 5:11pm
I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "me-kay".

Has anyone seen his Django. Is it even out yet?
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post #37 of 66
9/23/07 at 7:16pm
It's definitely "me-kay", but whenever I actually say it either aloud or in my head I pronounce it like "Mike" but with a longer "i" sound.

Just watched Bird People in China last night. Pretty great, though I wish the image from the DVD menu (and I think the cover, not sure. Got it from Netflix) happened somewhere in the film. I was looking forward to it.
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post #38 of 66
9/23/07 at 8:18pm
You don't get the Salaryman with his Papier Mache wings extended? That's odd, I'm sure it occurs in my film, about ten minutes or so from the end.
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post #39 of 66
9/23/07 at 8:50pm
One of my favorite filmmaker's, hands down. Always interesting, even when he misses. Started out with Visitor Q, which creeped me the fuck out but stuck in my mind so hardcore that I had to watch it again the next day. Audition is one of my favorite movies, and every time I see Gozu it amazes me on a different level. I've been trying to find The Happiness of the Katakuris to purchase for awhile now, but am having no luck. I made it through Izo once, and I ate up every minute, but for some reason I'm finding it hard to go back to.

I've been let down by a few of his works; most notably Kintaro the White Collar Worker and Andromedia, but overall I gotta say his films are quite something to behold.
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post #40 of 66
9/24/07 at 4:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall
You don't get the Salaryman with his Papier Mache wings extended? That's odd, I'm sure it occurs in my film, about ten minutes or so from the end.
Is he in the suit and everything? There was the scene where him and the Yakuza finally fly, but he was wearing what he wears for most of the film. I guess I could look again, but it seems like I would have spotted it. I was really looking for it.
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post #41 of 66
9/24/07 at 6:53am
He has a dream, of himself on top of a skyscraper in his Salaryman suit which sort of fades onto the mountain.
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post #42 of 66
9/25/07 at 4:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall
He has a dream, of himself on top of a skyscraper in his Salaryman suit which sort of fades onto the mountain.
Fuck. Must have blinked. Oh well.
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post #43 of 66
9/28/07 at 11:38am
I'll be watching Fudoh for the first time this evening. It's been awhile since I've watched me some new (to me) Miike.
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post #44 of 66
1/3/09 at 9:08am
Thread Starter 
Well, been a while since I or anyone posted here so time to bump things up. Lately I've been continuing my trek through Miike's filmography (give or take a few miscellanous stuff that I'll skip and check out later) and have since watched Ley Lines, Dead Or Alive 2 and Visitor Q.

I cant remember much about Ley Lines as I saw it ages ago, except that it yet again continues Miike's love for having a cosmopolitan displaced (out)cast spiral out of control violently. (well Chinese addition this time anyway)

DOA 2 features the most fucked up play in the history of cinema. If I was a kid at that play, I would have needed psychiatric help afterwards.

Visitor Q. Ah, Visitor Q. So by now I've watched 13 Miike films and thought Miike just couldnt mess with me anymore. I thought I was strong. I thought I was a Miike veteran. I thought he couldnt freak me out anymore. I was wrong. He totally freaked me the fuck out with this disturbing film.

Next up for me is Agitator. What have you guys been watching?
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post #45 of 66
1/3/09 at 12:41pm
You might be disappointed by Agitator, it's Miike most conventional film. It plays more like a Kinji Fukasaku movie than anything else and I absolutely love it.
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post #46 of 66
1/3/09 at 6:52pm
Big Miike fan myself, actually. I've seen around 50 of his films and have so far only disliked possibly three at the most. Then again, even substandard Miike is more interesting than most of whatever else comes along.

Ever had chance to read Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike by Tom Mes (of midnighteye.com)? Very good book, detailing Miike's background and his work's recurring themes. Mes has reportedly been working on a second volume to cover the dozen or so films Miike's made since.
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post #47 of 66
1/3/09 at 9:55pm
I've always had a soft spot for Gozu, even though it's basically Miike doing Lynch. The opening scene great, I love it.
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post #48 of 66
1/10/09 at 4:32pm
I've been somewhat apprehensive about checking out Miike's directorial efforts because a lot of his films seem to be stuffed with a lot of shock value scenes (Necrophiliac sex scenes, or the fact the he used real semen for the opening of Ichi the Killer). Are their any good Miike films that prove this statement wrong? I'm kind of interested in The Great Yokai War due to its kaiju nature, and I did enjoy his two surreal episodes of Ultraman Max.
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post #49 of 66
1/10/09 at 5:39pm
I'm a bit apprehensive too, considering that every time people discuss his work, there's usually a "Gah! This movie was fucked up" type of comment. His films seems to have more substance to them but I don't feel particularly motivated in getting past scenes of people drowning in shit and over-the-top violence.
Am I wrong in thinking this?
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post #50 of 66
1/10/09 at 6:08pm
I'm pretty sure we had this discussion in this thread but Miike is often at his best as a director with his quieter pieces. Agitator, The Bird People In China, Ley Lines and Rainy Dog are all great films which eschew a lot of Miike's over the top tendencies. It's irritating because beyond the gore and perversion films like Audition, Dead or Alive: Birds, and Gozu are all kind of great films. But they've sort of been taken onboard by gorehounds who only seem to appreciate the more extreme moments in the films.

Audition should be making critics top 10 lists, but its association with Miike and critics initial reaction to the film sort of lumped it in with Miike's zanier stuff which is crying shame.

And the thing that always strikes me about Miike is that he's doing a lot of this outlandish stuff because he can rather than he wants to pander.

The Great Yokai War is really, really, fucking awesome. Love that film to bits.
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