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Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

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Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Old 05-12-14, 01:59 AM
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Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

For those who know the movie: There was a lot of talk that Kitamura and the crew would all be back to do a bigger budget sequel in 2005. Obviously that never happened. Anyone know why?

For those who don't know: "Versus" is a superb, low-budget horror flick from Japan that launched the career of director Ryuhei Kitamura ("Midnight Meat Train," "Godzilla: Final Wars"). It was a mix of "Dead Alive" and "The Matrix" along with Japanese sensibilities. For $400,000 they made a crazy, fun and at times disgusting movie. They got a lot out of that meager investment.
Old 05-12-14, 02:38 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

No idea, but I know that they went back and did a special edition years later with lots of new footage.

Oh, and thanks for reminding me that I don't have this movie in my collection. Now I have to go spend even more money on Blu-rays, even though lately I've already spent far too much already.
Old 05-12-14, 09:00 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I'm sure you know but the film is never going to look amazing on BD cuz of the source. From what I can remember the BD of it here is pretty much the same as the SE DVD. We got of it.

Still need to get it. I loved it when I first saw it. Was really impress by what they did with what they had.
Old 05-12-14, 10:25 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I totally forgot about this movie. I remember loving it and owning it on DVD.
Old 05-12-14, 10:46 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Loved it! It was The Matrix meets Evil Dead. At least the director made a horror splash here in the U.S. with Midnight Meat Train. I fucking love MMT. He also did No One Lives with Luke Evans but I haven't seen that one.
Old 05-12-14, 11:16 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I LOVE MMT except for like the big finale. Felt off to me. Everythin was going right but then it got all weird. Great BD.
Old 05-12-14, 11:34 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Originally Posted by Solid Snake
I LOVE MMT except for like the big finale. Felt off to me. Everythin was going right but then it got all weird. Great BD.
Loved the ending to MMT, because it went full H.P. Lovecraft mode there.
Old 05-12-14, 11:38 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I don't mean the literal ending but like when Cooper got all prepared and shit to take on Vinnie jones. Came off weird to me. I like what ended up happening at the end but what led to it just didn't sit well with me. I need to see it again probably.
Old 05-12-14, 11:41 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Originally Posted by Solid Snake
I don't mean the literal ending but like when Cooper got all prepared and shit to take on Vinnie jones. Came off weird to me. I like what ended up happening at the end but what led to it just didn't sit well with me. I need to see it again probably.
Gotcha. Well, the cycle continues, is what I got out of it. It's the order of things in that world.
Old 05-12-14, 11:54 AM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

RK did a movie with Luke Evans called No One Lives. How was that?
Old 05-12-14, 01:43 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

It might sound very unusual, but Versus was actually the first live-action Japanese movie I saw since a B&W Kurosawa film I thought, "Damn! Do all Japanese movies look like this now?"
Old 05-12-14, 01:52 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Wait. Not even a Godzilla movie?
Old 05-12-14, 02:05 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Yeah, I should've re-phrased that.
I saw plenty of 'zilla movies as a kid. But in the 90's, I was mostly on an anime high and (Japanese) live-action films didn't appear to be on my radar. During that time, I discovered that the guy who made Seven Samurai also made some other very good movies that I should check out. So what I meant was I went from seeing Throne of Blood to Versus

I do remember first hearing about Versus on some article way back when. The plot sounded COMPLETELY badass and I knew I just had to see it. Granted, I wasn't aware that the movie was shot on video (That really threw me off big time) but by the time the film ended, there was no denying that I had a great deal of fun with it.
Old 05-12-14, 02:08 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

That fight scene with the swords was awesome. Crazy Kitamura.
Old 05-12-14, 02:12 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I remember the way people tried to describe Versus to me. "It's like a two-hour fight scene." "It's like The Matrix meets Evil Dead." None of that really prepares you for the lunacy of Ryuhei Kitamura. This is the guy who made a Godzilla movie in which a SWAT team staffed with X-Men fight a giant lobster with laser bazookas. (And win.) It's been a while since I've seen Versus so I can't recall if it was quite that nuts, but it's certainly a "dafuq did I just watch" sort of thing. In a good way, not a Transformers way.

Can't wait for my Blu-ray to show up. I ordered a copy within minutes of seeing this topic.
Old 05-12-14, 03:03 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I tried watching this again recently...I got caught up in the hype when I bought it a couple of times and convinced myself it was great. It really is not a very good movie.
Old 05-12-14, 03:44 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Hey, I'm still waiting for History of the World Part 2.
Old 05-12-14, 03:59 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Originally Posted by d2cheer
I tried watching this again recently...I got caught up in the hype when I bought it a couple of times and convinced myself it was great. It really is not a very good movie.
Maybe. But it has a lot of heart.
Old 05-12-14, 04:12 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Old article from last year:

Kitamura Ryuhei Talks NO ONE LIVES, VERSUS 2 And Sakaguchi's 'Bullshit' Retirement

http://twitchfilm.com/2013/05/kitamu...etirement.html

Spoiler:
LMD: I had the pleasure of speaking to some protégés of yours back in 2011, Mr. Tak Sakaguchi and Mr. Yudai Yamaguchi. They hinted at a Versus sequel in the works and you've just recently confirmed it. However, I wonder how you'll be able to make that movie when your main star is in retirement?

RK: {Laughs} That retirement thing is fucking bullshit! I was kind of pissed that I was the only one who was very vocal about that. [*cough*] On the opening night of No One Lives, because of course, Sakaguchi was there, right?

They think that it's a retirement, but it's all about the fucking politics. Those powerful agencies - those parasites and sharks - and poor Tak Sakaguchi, he's trapped in the middle and he was kind of like forced to retire. Which he never had to do, anyway. But it's a small world, anyway, and of course that's why he retired, but I was like, "What on earth made you? You are the stubborn person. Just fuck them all." But you know, Taku has his reasons.

He is like my son. I don't call him my brother; he is like my son. He calls me Daddy. Because before Versus, he was just a street fighter, he was nobody. Taku, he's a super loyal soldier to me. He never betrayed me, he never ran away from me, and I've know that guy for like 14, 15 years. I met him last week and every single time I meet him, he'd come top speed running with a big smile {Laughs}. He is like a crazy guy who loves me too much.

LMD: Well, it doesn't sound like his retirement is going to stick.

RK: No, I'm going to bring him back. That's the thing. The only time he can retire is when I tell him to.

LMD: I believe Versus is at least partly responsible for the zombie renaissance in film and television we see now. When Versus came out it, wasn't like any other zombie movies before. Now that zombies are everywhere, is it more of a challenge to make Versus 2 stand out from the current trend?

RK: Uh-huh, whatever is happening the US, we all love zombies. Every, like, five years, the Hollywood producers, they all love the zombie movies, right? Zombieland, The Walking Dead kind of stuff. Now everybody loves zombies, right? Then everybody says, 'Uhh, too much zombies." So now they don't want to make zombie movies. It's so crazy right? It's not about what you wanna do; it's all about, 'Somebody's making money? All right, we'll do it.' Then, there's too much, "Uhh, no, no, no, no, we don't do it.'

LMD: So Versus is going to stay true to what we saw before?

RK: Yes, of course, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. I made that movie 13 years ago and everybody all over the world - I really appreciate the fans - they're telling me "Versus 2, Versus 2, Versus 2," but I never wanted to do it just for money. I know that if I did Versus 2, I'm gonna get money. That's not my motivation, so I always was thinking; I'll do it when I come up with the right story.

Then when I was doing the preproduction of No One Lives, one day lightning strikes and all the pieces of the puzzles came together inside my brain. So, I actually wrote the script when I was in Louisiana. So now I have the script and now I feel like, okay, now I see what I wanna do. Ultimately, it's the same script, but it's not gonna be the same. It's on a completely new, much, much bigger scale. But the movie opens up from the exact moment the original Versus ended. We'll do a story showing how that KSC2-303 character - Tak Sakaguchi's character - how he's fallen into the dark side. {Laughs} How he got a Darth Vader story.

LMD: Will any of the other actors from the first film make an appearance?

RK: I don't think so. Taku will be there. Taku is the only spirit of Versus.

It's a sad thing, but people change, right? Also, half of the actors, they disappeared. They retired from the movies. I made the movie with an all-nobody cast. But, of course, 70% of the actors, I have no idea where they are or what they're doing. Obviously, they're not in the scene. Then a few survived, then they changed; they forget about what made them and some of them betrayed me. But I'm the director of Versus; if you pick a fucking fight with me, I will fight you back. That's exactly what the movie No One Lives is about right? You picked the wrong guy. I will kill you all! That's exactly me; if I don't find myself in this project, I can't do it. I can do it technically, but I'm not interested in doing it. The Driver character, when I read the script, I was like, 'Oh, this is like me. I'm a nice guy, but if you pick a fight I will fucking fight you back.' That's what I am. I will do anything to protect somebody I love. Tak's somebody I love, and it's all connected in my work.

LMD: We've been talking about Versus 2, but is there anything coming up for you before that?

RK: Actually, right now I'm about to start the preproduction of my big comeback movie in Japan. That's why I'm here. I cannot tell you what it is. {Laughs} It's a completely different role than what I've done before. It's also not a bloody movie, not a horror movie. It's a big action movie.

Last edited by Match; 05-12-14 at 04:18 PM.
Old 05-12-14, 04:31 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

I thought it was cool that after the initial success of the movie they went back and shot more scenes and spliced them in to the original flick. Of course, that made it a whole lot gorier, like
Spoiler:
ripping out the guy's heart and eating it.


My favorite scene was when one guy pointed a 50 caliber at one of the big shot yakuza and he went on this diatribe about how fast his reflexes were, etc, and when the shooter pulled the trigger, the yakuza tried to do a Neo backbend (you know, the famous 'Matrix' rooftop scene where Neo bends backward at the knees and avoids almost all of the bullets but gets grazed in the leg) but he wasn't flexible enough, popped right back up, *BLAM*. Splatter everywhere. I could not stop laughing. Kitamura's a nut.
Old 05-12-14, 04:35 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Originally Posted by Solid Snake
I'm sure you know but the film is never going to look amazing on BD cuz of the source. From what I can remember the BD of it here is pretty much the same as the SE DVD. We got of it.

Still need to get it. I loved it when I first saw it. Was really impress by what they did with what they had.
Yeah I can't see it being really good. This was a low budget movie shot in the days before digital video. And horror movies lose something when they are in crystal clear high def because you can see the fakeness. I know people said that about the Guinea Pig movies.

Here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Versus-Special.../dp/B000095J2Y
Old 05-12-14, 05:00 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Originally Posted by Traxan
I thought it was cool that after the initial success of the movie they went back and shot more scenes and spliced them in to the original flick. Of course, that made it a whole lot gorier, like
Spoiler:
ripping out the guy's heart and eating it.


My favorite scene was when one guy pointed a 50 caliber at one of the big shot yakuza and he went on this diatribe about how fast his reflexes were, etc, and when the shooter pulled the trigger, the yakuza tried to do a Neo backbend (you know, the famous 'Matrix' rooftop scene where Neo bends backward at the knees and avoids almost all of the bullets but gets grazed in the leg) but he wasn't flexible enough, popped right back up, *BLAM*. Splatter everywhere. I could not stop laughing. Kitamura's a nut.

That 50 Cal scene was fucking legit!
Old 05-12-14, 08:01 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

never heard of Versus 1. Theres your answer.
Old 05-13-14, 12:17 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Great movie. My favorite guy was the joker-like thug with the knives. He was fantastic... he ever do anything of note afterwards?
Old 05-13-14, 12:52 PM
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Re: Why was 'Versus 2' never made?

Versus was mediocre at best, hence no Versus 2.

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