DVD ROUNDUP
Ichi the Killer ("Koroshiya 1," 2001)

In an interview in the supplements of (if memory serves me) Dead or Alive, Japanese shock auteur Takashi Miike opines that the film of his that he'd most like American audiences to see is a little thing called Ichi the Killer. He doesn't say why; perhaps he feels it's his best work; or maybe he feels it's the most uncompromised version of his uniquely disturbed vision. More likely, he feels that this film is most likely to offend the delicate sensibilities of we Yanks. And he's probably right. Now, thanks to the fine folks at MediaBlasters and Tokyo Shock Video, we can fulfill his wish by watching it uncensored in all its blood-spewing, viscera-dripping glory.

A woman is graphically beaten and raped while the erstwhile protagonist watches, masturbating. A man is hanged from the ceiling by flesh-piercing hooks while boiling oil is applied generously to his face and back. Another is split clean in two, the halves peeling apart like something out of Looney Tunes, only with copious amounts of blood and guts. A sadomasochistic Yakuza apologizes for a mistake by cutting off something more valuable than a finger. A face, liberated from its head, slides down a wall with a somewhat bemused expression. Nipples are sliced off, skin is punctured, and limbs are ripped clean from their sockets. These sights and much more await the brave viewer who plunks Ichi into their DVD player.

This film is certainly not for everyone. In fact, it may not be appropriate for anyone. I would be truly frightened by the person that wasn't disturbed by it. Yet, for the viewer who's truly strong of stomach, there are rewards, chief among them the visceral (pun intended) joys of a gifted and innovative filmmaker at the top of his game.

There are mitigating factors that set Miike's work apart from the mindless and bloody exploitation films that have polluted our cinemas and video stores since the seventies. One is the nature of the violence. It's so outlandishly over the top that, however disgusting it is to watch, it can't possibly be taken as a realistic depiction of acts of extreme sadism. Ichi is adapted from a popular manga, and the violence accurately reflects the cartoonishly extreme violence and acts of perversion frequently featured in these Japanese comic-books-for-adults. (And yes, cyberspace Otaku, I realize that there are all kinds of manga that don't feature graphic sex and violence. But they are, on the whole, more explicit in their approach than mainstream American comics.) At one point, Ichi, a psychopath who's taken to killing Yakuza leaders, enters a roomful of gangsters. The camera stays outside the room, motionless, as blood, limbs, and organs fly out to the sounds of a cacophonous battle. It's clearly a visual quote from manga (and from the great Looney Toons skirmishes). We aren't meant to be titillated by the violence, as we are in a "Friday the 13th" movie, but neither is it completely verisimilar. It's not played strictly for laughs, yet there is often the air of slapstick about it. I suppose the closest equivalents might be darkly humourous splatterfests like Peter Jackson's Dead Alive or Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Or maybe there's an analogue in David Lynch's earlier films, where a severed ear or a dog with a human hand in its mouth are at the same time gross, funny, and symbolic. Miike doesn't want us to take him too seriously, but he also wants to push the envelope past the point where we can comfortably dismiss the images he presents as filmmaking fun and games.

Another mitigating factor is Miike's technical proficiency as a filmmaker. His output over the past decade has been beyond prolific, averaging something like ten films a year. For most, this inhuman work schedule might portend the lowest-quality dreck imaginable, but Miike has continued to progress as a filmmaker, doing more with less, coming up with imaginative solutions to restrictions of time and budget. His compositions are excellent, his camera moves inventive and eye-catching without seeming superfluous. Nobody gets better-looking results out of digital video, and I'm including George Lucas' overpriced and overwrought DV affairs. Most of all, his films are suffused with a relentless and infectious energy. Sometimes, this is to the detriment of the story, but I'll take energy over careful, by-the-book filmmaking any day.

I won't go into the plot; you already know if you want to see this film, and I wouldn't try to talk anyone into checking it out for fear of being branded a sicko. Storywise, it's actually one of Miike's more straightforward efforts. Miike fans will notice themes common to many of his films, chief among them the notion of transgressive behavior as liberating force for those not at home in normal society (though I have to suspect that the transgressive behavior depicted onscreen is symbolic of something less, well, criminal--I can't believe that Miike is suggesting that literally killing and abusing other humans is the way to find inner peace). There's some good acting, especially Tadanobu Asano as the sadomasochistic gangster Kakihara, whose iconographic blond 'do and slit and pierced cheeks are referenced by Tarantino in Kill Bill V.1. There's a cool score, clever use of CG effects, and lots of visual jokes: my favorite involves the classic shot of the gangster posse in their trenchcoated finery striding down the street in slow motion--except one of the henchmen is struggling to keep up as Kakihara has just plunged a large steel needle into his foot. It's not my favorite Miike film; I prefer the restrained suspense (for the first 3/4 of the film, anyway) of Audition and the straight-up weirdness of Happiness of the Katakuris. Ichi is a worthy and thought-provoking addition to his resume, however, and those who dare to watch will not be disappointed. For my part, I have resolved to seek out Midnight Eye.com founder Tom Mes' Miike monograph, Agitator, to see if he sheds any light on the film's abrupt and cryptic ending.

MediaBlasters' presentation of Ichi the Killer is anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 English and Japanese tracks and optional subtitles. The picture quality is very good, as is the sound. One quibble: why on earth does the disc default to the English dub? It's not a horrible dub by any means, but I think the audience for this disc would be fans of cult Japanese cinema who prefer to watch in the original with English subtitles. There are no extras, save for previews of other recent releases from the company. A word of warning: there appears to be an R-rated cut of Ichi in release. The copy I obtained from Netflix was the original unrated cut (as is their policy--and the reason I will stick with them despite their recent rate-hike). My guess is if you want to see this film, you don't care to see a watered-down, censored version of Miike's original vision. So caveat emptor when you're buying or renting this at the local retailer.

Film: 4 (If you're a fan of Miike or early Jackson); 0.5 (if you have a relatively normal tolerance for onscreen violence)
Look/Sound: 4 out of 5
Extras: 1 out of 5