Shigenori Takechi Movies
A police detective finds himself running with the creatures of the night while investigating a gruesome murder. Detective Hoshino questions a slain maid's former employer, an ethereal beauty named Miyako Rozmberk, in hopes of landing a solid lead before the statute of limitations runs out. When Miyako's tip leads Detective Hoshino to Ukyo Kuronuma, the fact that the man is found attempting to feast on a frightened young girl seems to indicate that he was indeed the killer. But shortly after learning that Ukyo is in fact the famed shogunate-era swordsman Okita, who has been transformed into a vampire by the powerful Miyako, Detective Hoshino, too, becomes born-again as a deathless bloodsucker. Later, when Miyako's loyal servants wage a vicious fight to become her one and only companion, Detective Hoshino realizes that even in death, the struggle for survival never ceases. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The insanely prolific Takashi Miike teams again with screenwriter Shigenori Takechi (Graveyard of Honor) for his first samurai film, Izo. The film begins where Hideo Gosha's 1969 Hitokiri (the last film author Yukio Mishima starred in before his suicide) left off, with the crucifixion and bloody execution of a low-level samurai, Izo (Kazuya Nakayama). After death, Izo's spirit travels through history and ends up in the present day, where he finds himself among the downtrodden. Before long, his sword becomes the instrument of vengeance, and it seems he is seeking revenge on all humankind. Jumping through time and space, Izo goes on a wild killing spree that brings him to the attention of Japan's eternal powers, including the Prime Minister ("Beat" Takeshi Kitano in a cameo role) and the androgynous, seemingly all-powerful Emperor (Ryuhei Matsuda). We learn that among Izo's various guises was a doomed soldier who had to leave his lover (Kaori Momoi) to fight in World War II. He spares neither Buddhist monks nor schoolchildren, and eventually, Izo confronts Mother Earth (Haruna Takase) herself in his (perhaps eternal) quest for bloody retribution. The film is loaded with cameos, including Ken Ogata, Ken'ichi Endou, Susumu Terajima, kickboxer Masato, and K1 fighter Bob Sapp. Folksinger Tomokawa Kazuki appears throughout the film, strumming his guitar and commenting on the action as a sort of Greek chorus. Izo was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of the 2005 edition of Film Comment Selects. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike directed this characteristically offbeat and hard-hitting crime drama. Seiji and Yoshifumi are a pair of yakuza (Japanese gangsters) who have sworn their loyalty to mob boss Muto. When Muto fails to pay his proscribed share of the fund for an upcoming gang battle, Muto tells the other leaders of the Date family that he will fight to make up his debt. Seiji, however, becomes concerned for Muto's safety, so he has his boss arrested and offers to fight in his place. This, however, leads to speculation about Muto's role in his recent misfortune. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
For his fifth or sixth film of 2002 -- one easily loses count -- Takashi Miike adapts Kinji Fukasaku's 1975 gangster classic Jingi no Hakaba about a doomed love affair between a renegade yakuza and his long-suffering girlfriend. Whereas the original film was set in the poverty of Japan's immediate postwar era, this work is set during Japan's yen-flushed bubble era of the 1980s through the economic malaise of the 1990s. The film opens with Rikuo Ishimatsu (Goro Kishitani) coming to the aid of crime lord Sawada (Shingo Yamashiro) with guns a-blazin' in a slick Chinese restaurant. The grateful godfather makes Ishimatsu his under boss, though he quickly establishes himself as a loose cannon with a hair-trigger temper. His first meeting with his future common-in-law wife Chieko (Narimi Arimori) is short and violent: He rapes her in a hostess club. Not only does she not press charges, but she falls for the brute. Later, Ishimatsu is thrown in jail for killing a loan welsher where he becomes friends with Imamura (Ryosuke Miki), a lieutenant in a rival gang. When Ishimatsu finally gets out of stir, both Sawada and Chieko are waiting for him. He quickly rises the ranks of the gang power structure, only for him to blow it over a misunderstanding over a ten-million-yen loan. Ishimatsu's temper gets the better of him, and causes harm to all close to him. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Goro Kishitani, Narimi Arimori, (more)
For his fifth or so release of 2002, phenomenally prolific filmmaker Takashi Miike directs this gangster epic. The film opens with the godfather (Yuya Uchida) of the Sanada-gumi being targeted for a hit. The hired gun, however, finds the old goat less than willing to die. Of course, the murder infuriates the clan's second-in-command Kunisada (Riki Takeuchi) who viewed the slain crime boss as in own flesh and blood. He, along with his henchman Shimatani (Kenichi Endo), discover that the guy who ordered the hit was Otaki (Renji Ishibashi), the head of a rival gang. Kunisada's bloody act of revenge precipitates a bloody gang war that turns downtown Shinjuku into a veritable war zone. Kuzuya Nakayama and Sonny Chiba also appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
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