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Director Spotlight
Takashi Miike
4:00 am Mar 13 - by Matthew Telles – Buzz writer
In just less than twenty years in the industry, this sunglass sporting Japanese director has more than 70 directorial credits to his name. Miike consistently uses themes of extreme violence and over the top sexual perversions that push global censorship to its limits. Hollywood has recently remade several of his works that fall short of his original sense of horror and narrative style.
Audition (1999)
A lonely widower begins a desperate search for a new mate using his friend’s ties to the film industry. After numerous auditions, he finally finds a seemingly sweet, young woman for the part. The dream becomes a nightmare when his new wife’s past is uncovered and she goes on a torturous rampage involving a burlap sack, two-foot long needles, and a piece of wire.
Ichi the Killer (2001)
When a yakuza boss suddenly disappears, it is up to his chief henchman to figure out the mystery. His first reaction is to torture rival yakuza members for answers. As the search intensifies, Ichi, a boyish hit man, surfaces for a final rooftop battle to settle things with his razor sharp shoe heels and excellent martial arts abilities.
The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
Straying just a bit from his gory themes, Miike presents a family struggling to keep their newly opened bed and breakfast afloat. When guests begin turning up dead in their rooms, the family gets frantic, covering-up by burying the bodies in a nearby forest. Miike combines comedy, clay animation, and a few musical scenes in this genre-bending film.
Gozu (2003)
A yakuza boss deems a psycho too crazy to live and orders his own brother to kill him. When the hit man ends up dead, it is up to his brother to properly dispose of the body. Trapped in an ominous town, he meets several eerie characters that offer him help. Gozu is often considered one of the director’s most bizarre works to date.
Jeff Brandt (Jeff Brandt) said on Mar. 13, 2008 at 5:28 pm:
Nothing like peeping a bit of the old ultra-violence.
I saw about half of Ichii the Killer once. It's utterly captivating and yet hard as hell to watch at the same time. Not quite the right movie to watch while playing drinking games, I tell ya.