The Fonz

Has anyone seen anything else by the director Takashi Miike? I saw a trailer for Sukiyaki Western Django on YouTube. It looks AMAZING! Has anyone seen it? Can anyone recommend anything else by him that's out already???

RichC2

Takashi Miike, up until a few years ago, was one of the more mainstream Japanese gore masters. Audition and Ichi: The Killer have become especially notorious since their releases.

Django is unlike most of his filmography so it's kind of tough to call.

Bird People of China seems to be fairly popular as well.

Of his movies I've seen:
Audition - One of my favorites, a romance movie with a dark edge.
The City of Lost Souls - Somewhat enjoyable, one of his lesser films imo.
Dead or Alive - The first 10 minutes are madcap and amazing, the rest of the movie not so much but still worth seeking out.
Fudoh: The New Generation - Throwback to old Grindhouse-style action flicks, very fun movie. With vaginal blowdarts.
Visitor Q - Fucked up.
The Happiness of the Katakuris - A musical (remake of a S. Korean film called The Quiet Family) about a family running a bed and breakfast in the woods, but their guests keep dying in strange ways.
Ichi The Killer - A comic book movie, the "hero" is a sadist, the "bad guy" is a masochist, really f'ed up.
Three... Extremes - He has one of the 3 segments, it's calm and quiet but beautifully executed.
The Great Yokai War - Power Rangers crossed with Spirited Away

Fudoh and Audition are my favorites of his, but just about anything he does is worth a view if only they're so damn different. (Except the original One Missed Call, that was a huge disappointment).

notkevinbacon

^ Yeah, his movies are quite notorious for being extreme. Certainly, not for everybody.

Audition and Ichi the Killer would be the two I'd recommend, as well. I'd say Audition first.

Maybe check out Dead or Alive (not based on the game)or Full Metal Yukuza... but Audtion and Ichi would be the place to start IMHO.

Nth Power

There's also his Masters of Horror entry Imprint, which I thought was pretty decent.

riotinmyskull

don't forget GOZU if you're a fan of lynchian films.

visitor Q

I'd probably steer you towards more "mainstream" Miike where the narratives are slightly more, ummm, straight forward or subtle than his more complex and extreme films. Negotiator, Blues Harp or Audition are where I usually start people off. Even Audition depends on who is asking.

Even his Shinjuku series is very good, but China Mafia War "bath" and the POV shots in Ley Lines are all getting into that bizarre realm. Rainy Dog (one of my top 3 fav Miike films) is a great contemplative Yakuza film with no real signature moments. So I might add that as a recommendation. And if you liked Rainy Dog then I'd recommend a few films from a different director, Kitano Takeshi.

So it all's about what you can handle. I'd say screw it and go straight for Gozu or Visitor Q, but I think it's probably best to be eased into that format of film.

zombeaner

I wouldn't call him a gore master, since he's only really done 2 horror films out of the 70ish films in his oeuvre. Gozu and Visitor Q are excellent. I'm growing to love his lighter fare, stuff like Bird People in China, Young Thugs: Nostalgia, and Dead or Alive 2: The Birds are all great films. His more recent stuff like Zebraman (just out on DVD earlier this year) and Like a Dragon and Crows Zero (neither of which are on English friendly DVD yet) are all fantastic. I have something like 45 Miike DVDs and I always find something new to recommend!

visitor Q

zombeaner, HKFflix has a Singapore R0 release of Crows that is Eng friendly. There's also a Thai Region 3 release with Eng subs that is floating around. This one seems more legitimate.

Not cheap though. Lowest price I've seen is $28. I'll dig a little deeper this weekend.

zombeaner

I just watched a bootleg of it my local video store had. HKFlix carries a TON of bootlegs too, so I'm a bit wary about those. Besides, I'm sure a good Eng subbed edition will be around shortly.

Cardiac161

I've seen Miike's Sukiyaki Western via R2 Japan dvd. I was told that a good 20 mins were cut from the US theatrical (eventual bluray) version.

Nevertheless, the R2 dvd that I have has no English subtitles which you may need in understanding what the hell the characters are saying. I personally didn't have much of a problem since I'm half-Japanese and my cousins talk the same way which is phoenetical English.

If you're familiar with the oddities that come with a Miike film, you may like it. Plot is basically another Yojimbo remake.

Meglos

Great flick.

Unless Tarantino is onscreen. Like him as a director, but he gets on my nerves whenever he's "acting".

Tarantino

Looks really fun. Hopefully that bit about 20 minutes being cut isn't true...

= J

NoirFan

Brief clip from Bloody-Disgusting here.

Dr Mabuse

'Izo' was such a good movie.

Probably my favorite by him.

NoirFan

Brian Orndorf's DVDTalk review

zombeaner

I'm of the opposite opinion, but I do think it warrants a second viewing.

Giles

TLA has the DVD up for order - might blind buy it.

Giles

I think I was the only who enjoyed 'Dead or Alive 2: Birds'

Mondo Kane

It's my favorite by him.

Supermallet

Dead or Alive 2 is in my top 2 or 3 Miike films, along with Ichi The Killer and The Bird People In China. A very poignant picture.

zombeaner

I posted way up the page that it was one of my favorites. Anyone who likes this should try Young Thugs: Nostalgia. Its a prequel, but it stands alone and has a similar plot device and is thematically fairly close.

Giles

'Zebraman' is my all time favourite of his films.

Supermallet

Young Thugs is a prequel to Dead or Alive 2? I never heard that. Thematically similar, yes. Existing in the same universe? That's news to me.

zombeaner

Sorry, I wasn't clear, Nostalgia is a prequel to Young Thugs: Innocent Blood

Supermallet

Oh, ok, yes. That makes a lot more sense.

Caught Sukiyaki last night. It had its moments, and the craft is impeccable, but overall I'd say it's one of Miike's weaker efforts lately. I saw a post earlier in the thread that said this cut was shorter by 20 minutes, and maybe those 20 minutes made it better. The plotting on this one did feel a bit lopsided, but at the same time, I'm not sure I'd like another 20 minutes, it was already starting to drag at the current run time. Still, even a less than great Miike film is more interesting than most movies in general, so I'm glad I saw it.