- Actors: Kazuya Nakayama, Kaori Momoi, Ryûhei Matsuda, Ryôsuke Miki, Yûya Uchida
- Directors: Takashi Miike
- Writers: Shigenori Takechi
- Producers: Fujio Matsushima, Kazuyoshi Okuyama, Taizô Fukumaki
- Format: Colour, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language English, Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Tokyo Shock
- DVD Release Date: 11 Oct 2005
- Run Time: 128 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B000AC7P3S
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
34,853 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
- #61 in Film & TV > Horror > Asian Horror
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:DVD
In feudal Japan Izo is tortured to death by the establishment's guards; his vengeful spirit seeks retribution against those responsible in Miike's time-travelling samurai saga. Izo slaughters everybody he comes across as he leaps from one time zone to another on a quest to rid the world of rules and rulers. The content is totally savage throughout; Izo even has intercourse with his own mother before slicing her in two and moving on remorselessly to find his next victim for punishment. The closer Izo gets to achieving his goal the more his spirit transcends into a demon figure. Can anybody stop the masacre before the world is dead with only the angry demon Izo remaining?
Along the way he encounters every major player within the Japanese film industry including stars Sonny Chiba, "Beat" Takeshi Kintano, Ryuhei Matsuda and even Bob Sapp the wrestler. All of which couldn't wait to play a cameo in Miike's blockbuster. The most noted cameo though comes from renowned Japanese folk singer Kazuki Tomokawa who provides an amazing soundtrack to the feature which is, by far, the stand alone highlight; listening to this man belt out his philosophical poems is pure gold.
The additional disc in the two-disc set is loaded with extras, including a very humourous behind the scenes footage showing team Miike and the star studded cast fooling around on set. An unique flick, of sorts, but not one of Miike's best by a long shot - worth watching if your a big fan.
Along the way he encounters every major player within the Japanese film industry including stars Sonny Chiba, "Beat" Takeshi Kintano, Ryuhei Matsuda and even Bob Sapp the wrestler. All of which couldn't wait to play a cameo in Miike's blockbuster. The most noted cameo though comes from renowned Japanese folk singer Kazuki Tomokawa who provides an amazing soundtrack to the feature which is, by far, the stand alone highlight; listening to this man belt out his philosophical poems is pure gold.
The additional disc in the two-disc set is loaded with extras, including a very humourous behind the scenes footage showing team Miike and the star studded cast fooling around on set. An unique flick, of sorts, but not one of Miike's best by a long shot - worth watching if your a big fan.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
28 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Miike's masterpiece
11 Feb 2008
Format:DVD
It's hard to be familiar with the movies of Takashi Miike. Despite seeing the majority of his films released in America (and even a few that have yet to be released here), it's hard not to feel like I've lost something in translation. I can appreciate the humor, the violence, the plotlines, etc but there are usually parts that confuse me, and his movies typically require repeated watchings. It's not that I'm particularly new to the films he creates or the films of Japanese directors in general ("Tetsuo" creator Tsukamoto is probably my favorite director); the point I'm trying to illustrate is that you have to WANT to appreciate his films. You have to work hard sometimes to get into what he's doing, because he often throws conventional plot points, "hooks" that grab you, and structure out the window. Even his most fairly straightforward films take many detours into the bizarre (see the tank randomly showing up in "Family" or the rocket launcher that comes out on nowhere in at least two of his films!)...
So, it's not surprising that this is one of the lesser-recieved of Miike's works. Using the "hook" of a sword fighting epic initially gets people interested in this film, but seeing no conventional plot or point to what is happening throws people off. This confuses me -- though I definitely didn't grasp everything upon the first viewing of this, I was still instantly amazed at what Miike has set up here: A journey through one man's tortured soul. Even if you don't feel like you understand everything that's happening, you still realize this film is genius -- maybe you just haven't figured out why yet.
Upon repeated viewings, however, I figured out why. As another reviewer mentioned, you have to kind of look in between the lines. This film is powerful, epic, emotional, and even darkly comedic. On the surface, this film is basically just a journey through someone's afterlife. However, beyond that, the film pours on flashy imagery, ultraviolence, and heavy emotion to an almost suffocating degree. In a lot of ways, this film reminds me of "El Topo" -- a movie that is disguised as a genre effort (El Topo being a Western, this being a samurai swordfighting film) that just uses the basic genre outlines and explores topics deeper than have ever been covered in the genre before.
I think those who overlook this film simply were expecting a straightforward swordfighting movie, which this film clearly isn't. It's way better than that, and it's honestly probably the best film to come out in the last decade. Don't write this off after one viewing, it REQUIRES repeated viewings. A masterpiece.
So, it's not surprising that this is one of the lesser-recieved of Miike's works. Using the "hook" of a sword fighting epic initially gets people interested in this film, but seeing no conventional plot or point to what is happening throws people off. This confuses me -- though I definitely didn't grasp everything upon the first viewing of this, I was still instantly amazed at what Miike has set up here: A journey through one man's tortured soul. Even if you don't feel like you understand everything that's happening, you still realize this film is genius -- maybe you just haven't figured out why yet.
Upon repeated viewings, however, I figured out why. As another reviewer mentioned, you have to kind of look in between the lines. This film is powerful, epic, emotional, and even darkly comedic. On the surface, this film is basically just a journey through someone's afterlife. However, beyond that, the film pours on flashy imagery, ultraviolence, and heavy emotion to an almost suffocating degree. In a lot of ways, this film reminds me of "El Topo" -- a movie that is disguised as a genre effort (El Topo being a Western, this being a samurai swordfighting film) that just uses the basic genre outlines and explores topics deeper than have ever been covered in the genre before.
I think those who overlook this film simply were expecting a straightforward swordfighting movie, which this film clearly isn't. It's way better than that, and it's honestly probably the best film to come out in the last decade. Don't write this off after one viewing, it REQUIRES repeated viewings. A masterpiece.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Worth more than 1 viewing
3 Nov 2006
Miike is certainly not a conventional filmmaker and this may be his most unconvetional film. That doesn't make it bad(far from it), nihlism & self destruction are the main themes played out in an almost acid trip of a movie.
For some reason it reminds me of The Last Temptaion of Christ splattered in blood, begging for mercy and asking the ultimate truth of human suffering.(with some really great cameos)
Only for true Miike fans.
For some reason it reminds me of The Last Temptaion of Christ splattered in blood, begging for mercy and asking the ultimate truth of human suffering.(with some really great cameos)
Only for true Miike fans.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
You gotta look in between the lines.
27 Dec 2005
Format:DVD
Many say that this film is just a completely brutal and totally pointless movie. I disagree with this enormously. Miike would never make a movie that has no theme or hidden message in it. Izo, to me, is a reflection of today's society. Our man, Izo is hardcore and ruthless, and seems to be killing out of the pure joy of it. Do we not in today's world also commit such acts? Maybe not to such an extreme as this movie portrays... but Miike always ALWAYS shows us things exxagerated to the utmost and fullest. I found Izo to actually be very philosophical and actually referenced Buddhism folk-tales from time to time. You gotta look in between the lines. Izo is for the intelligent crowd who knows how to handle sarcasm and large (very large) amounts of violence. I think if you really study Miike's work, you'll find this film satisfactory. And if you don't want to think and just wanna see some repulsive scenes of gore, you can go for this one as well (weirdo).
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