Ichi the Killer

Rabies

Ok, WTF.
Has anyone else seen this. I know Karl Hungus definitly has but what do people think of it.
From peoples comments on boards before and other reviews I read I went and bought it from play.com. I knew it was a violent movie, that doesn't bother me at all. But i was just taken back a little by the nature and ease of violence in the movie. Ichi's back ground is seriously fvcked up and he gets aroused from killing :eek: I think the movie needs a 2nd watch before I can make a proper judgement.

TerrorFirmer

I thought it was a pathetic film, way over-rated.

But yes, serious WTF factor in this one, for sure.

Some interesting and well done scenes, but given the rep this one had before I'd seen it, I was hugely disappointed!!

Gore was stupid, neither fully serious or even fully comic - just a bizarre mix that really left me thinking "What a terrible movie."

Big thumbs down from me.

I think Miikes "Dead or Alive" is a far better film of his to watch.

Rabies

MobileInfantry wrote:

Gore was stupid, neither fully serious or even fully comic - just a bizarre mix that really left me thinking "What a terrible movie."

I kinda felt that some of the scenes were made extermely bloody just for the shock factor from the audience. Blood isn't always needed to get a reaction.

Must look in to Dead or Alive.

Karl Hungus

Definetly give it another look. I didn't know what to make of it at first, and it's almost David Lynch-esque ending didn't help either.

Oh, and personally I thought Dead Or Alive was one of Takashi Miike's worst movies.

TerrorFirmer

I kinda felt that some of the scenes were made extermely bloody just for the shock factor from the audience. Blood isn't always needed to get a reaction.

To be honesty, its style was such that I could neither find it brutal nor humourous - I was just sitting there thinking "What...?...thats just stupid!"

Was more like a stupid anime style, that was totally unbelieveable (Although in fairness, there were 2 or 3 nasty scenes in there, that look realistic and gritty.) Overall, its not as hyper violent in the context I was led to believe it was.

Oh, and personally I thought Dead Or Alive was one of Takashi Miike's worst movies.

I thought it was good, until the last 3 or so minutes.

Now THAT was a true "WTF!!!??" ending. Most dreadful ending ever in the entire history of ANY medium used to tell a story.

monkeyfudge

MobileInfantry wrote:

Was more like a stupid anime style, that was totally unbelieveable (Although in fairness, there were 2 or 3 nasty scenes in there, that look realistic and gritty.) Overall, its not as hyper violent in the context I was led to believe it was.

It's based on a Manga, so I guess that was the stlye he was trying for.

I really enjoyed it. I thought it was of Miike's better films. There is an Anime prequel that you can get on DVD, it does a good job of explaining Ichi's origins and it helps make the ending a little bit clearer.

I saw Gozu there recently... now that really is Miike trying his had at David Lynch, or at the least Flann O'Brien.

Dr. Loon

Rabies wrote:

Ok, WTF.

Exactly what I thought when I watched it. Karl Hungus advised me quite some time ago to check it out again. I haven't bothered, but I must do. Looking back I can say it's a better film than 9 songs anyway. I watched that last night and I was looking at the screen in disbelief when the credits rolled. Awful.

nadir

I thought it was good.

Makaveli

I enjoyed Ichi, found it quite interesting/funny/messed up/over the top.
As said it's based on a Manga so it can get a little silly at times. As for the anime, I found that to be a bit crap actually.
DOA is pretty decent, DOA2 is pretty crap. DOA2 is probably the worst Mikke film I've seen.

Scratch Acid

I just watched 'Visitor Q' recently...Hrm. Made 'Ichi' seem normal in comparison.

Karl Hungus

Visitor Q and Gozu are also brilliant.

Takashi Miike is a very interesting film maker though, and personally I wasn't too gone on him at all. His films can be sort of an aquired taste, and the way he does things are very unconventional altogether, so certainly not everyone will like his work. Despite his noteriety because of the aforementioned films, and the likes of Audition, his lesser known films can be shockingly different altogether, such as Rainy Dog, which is more like a sombre drama more akin to Takeshi Kitano than from the maker of Ichi The Killer. Likewise The Happiness Of The Katakuri's being a complete change in tone from anything else.

I think it's worth taking into consideration that the man makes a staggering amount of films, compared to other film makers who might make a film a year, Miike manages to do up to 8 films a year. While it might seem like an excuse for some perhaps hit-and-miss films, his reasoning is the sheer love of his art, and while working as a second unit director, he was quite disheartened by the fact that everyone he was working with would just finish up at 5 daily, so his way of doing things is all out 100% for the love of the craft of film making, not as a 9-5 job.

So you're seeing the work of a genuine artist when you watch a Takashi Miike film, and often times that art can be an abstract piece of what the hell is that omg, but sometimes it can be very different, and even you as the viewer can take something different from the experience.

Thematically, Ichi The Killer is almost a love story, and the focus isn't so much on Ichi himself, but Mr. Kakihara and his love of pain, and even the tagline for the film is Love Really Hurts. So if you're going to watch it again, watch it with the notion in your mind that it's a tragic love story about Mr. Kakihara and pain. Of course, that could just be one interpretation.

Rcuomo

yea i thought this film was really terrible, i didnt get it at all i guess,
wtf? sums it up perfectly

evad_lhorg

yuo need to see the uncut version! nice and nippleless

Scratch Acid

Hmm, I was wondering about that, about 3 and a half minutes is cut from the UK release right? From what I remember when I read the manga, the

nipple cutting

scene didn't go on for very long, certainly not long enough to take up 3 minutes of the film. What else is cut? This is one of my favourite films so I really should get around to seeing the uncut version...

Mac daddy

One of the lads i used to work with he was from belgium he had the full uncut version wich was quite good some nice parts in it -

One of me other mates - said " i have Ichi The Killer" i got a loan off it - he had the poxy cut version of it what a waste of time.

TerrorFirmer

The version I watched was the "extended" special edition which included the anime version on another DVD....think it had 3 discs overall....anyone tell me if this was the bbfc cut or uncut version??

Rabies

I got the regular version from play.com ... Link
There was a 3 disc version that included the anime but i heard it was fairly **** so didn't get it ... Link

evad_lhorg

the anime is absolute sh-ite i got the three disc and was disgusted at how bad it was and lackin in violence. the cut version is missin about 5 minutes but the original cut version was missin 23 minutes. thats sick!

luckily some lad sold me it here on boards.

is hard to get now.

Karl Hungus

Personally, I enjoyed the Anime too. Nothing amazing, but it was a nice little side-piece to Ichi The Killer.

koneko

I really liked Ichi The Killer, but if you don't like films that don't fit into a certain genre or box, then it's likely you won't enjoy it. It's very different from the typical western films.

Playboy

Its always going to be very difficult for anyone in the western world to get their head around a Japanese movie. Takashi Miike as an artist can only be truly interpreted by a Japanese viewer ... what seems like an OTT barrage of violence to us is more than likely a symbolic representation of a changing and conflicted Japan. Take for instance the Rape fantasy and the self mutilation, these have specific meaning for a Japanese culture that would go staright over the heads of most westerners.

Scratch Acid

I noticed no-one has mentioned the fantastic soundtrack whenever 'Ichi' comes up on this forum. It's become one of my most listened-to albums since I got it, it's quite different from the rest of the Boredoms output. (Probably since Eye isn't on the album ) I'm not saying I don't like the rest of their stuff (I love it...) but it seems less...insane or something.

Dont Ban Me

Thoughtn Ichi was a good film, but has a serious WTF factor! Some of the violence is over the top, but it adds to the character of the film!!
Rabies leant it to me, and that nipple cut seen has me quiet intrigued!!

And that Zatoichi (spelt wrong) film you lewant me last night, (about the blind masseur) is very good aswell!! But I couldnt help notice how both the lead men in the films are called Ichi! What is the translation of this name??

monkeyfudge

Dont Ban Me wrote:

But I couldnt help notice how both the lead men in the films are called Ichi! What is the translation of this name??

I believe it means '1', that's why he has a big number 1 on the back of his costume.

I could be wrong though.

Dont Ban Me

monkeyfudge wrote:

I believe it means '1', that's why he has a big number 1 on the back of his costume.

I could be wrong though.

Ahhh I see said the blind man...

Scratch Acid

Ichi means 1 indeed. The Japanese title is 'Koroshiya Ichi' which translates to 'Hitman 1' I believe. Could be wrong though.

Edit: The similarities in monkeyfudge's language usage and mine were unintentional, by the way.

evad_lhorg

ichi is 1 and 2 is it not?