Ichi the Killer Duo Edition

I don't really know how to sum up the life-changing moment that you have after watching this film for the first time all-the-way through. It's not for the easily offended, or honestly anyone that gets offended by fiction in general, but dear god is this film beyond twisted and intense. It somehow sits in a category of being a "hipster" film as much as it is a torture porn, but not in the horrendous way that say "I Spit On Your Grave" or "Saw" would be considered to be. It's immaculate in its insanity and unique beyond almost any other film before it. It's grotesque as it is beautiful, and intriguing and as it is shocking. It's a must see film for fans of horror, anime, eastern crime cinema, and just unsettling content in general. Do not watch this at a party or around family by any means, it's just too much for most to handle. I've seen people literally get into arguments while watching Ichi because of the taboo subject material and the judgments/assumptions that some will make if you present this film to them. It's an upsetting and intriguing experience unlike any other piece of art before it.So let me just say this, the way I describe Ichi The Killer to people haven't seen it is as so...."If you want to see a film with everything that is terrible or horrible in the world all rolled up into one giant ball then Ichi is a must watch." It has torture, masturbation, extreme gore, extreme sexual assault, women being brutally beaten, hard-drug use, child death, gun violence, people being burnt, stabbed, beaten, abusive relationships...it just covers all the bases of everything that is horrible and I applaud it for being so abrasive and different than anything else out there.

Takeshi Miike's legendary and controversial 2001 film adaptation of the manga "Ichi the Killer" will always be a rough looking film. It was filmed in 16 millimeter, telecined to HD video for post production, and then filmed out on 35mm inter-negative for the making of release prints.Previous DVD and blu-rays of the film have looked terrible. A lot of people blamed that on the process that the film was made. I called shenanigans on those assertions stating that these prior releases were simply botched transfers and that someone needed to at some point do a full blown HD restoration of this classic and notorious film.Enter Emperor Motion Pictures who in 2017 oversaw a full 4K restoration of the film from the 35mm internegative. After a brief film festival circuit run which received rave reviews, Well Go USA would get the rights to release what is intended to be the definitive blu-ray release of "Ichi the Killer" in early 2018.I can say with resounding praise that they succeeded! This new remastered blu-ray is truly like seeing the film again for the first time. There have been some people grumbling as to why they didn't go back to the original 16mm film stock. That simply was not possible with how this film was made.Presented in 1.85:1 in its uncensored director's cut form, colors are much improved. Most importantly contrast and film grain is much better resolved. Now people expecting this disc to resemble a modern film need to keep their expectations in check. While this transfer is definitive, the film itself will always be rough around the edges visually which is what was intended when it was originally made. Detail is considerably better than before and this is most noticeable in the blood and gore shots of which fans know there are many. My only small quibble is why Well Go USA chose to go with a single layer disc rather than dual layer to increase the bit rate a bit more. Now don't don't get me wrong, the bit rate gets into the mid 20's during busy sections so no compression artifacts are to be found. But with a dual layer disc, this could have been increased even more. On the audio side, it is presented in 5.1 master audio and sounds great. I should mention that Well Go USA chose to drop the English dubbed track from past releases in favor of only the original Japanese track with English subtitles which I am perfectly fine with.Sadly no new extras are included though they did port the commentary track, still gallery and trailer from prior releases. I would like to have seen them include new extras highlighting the film's still influential legacy but the new transfer is fine by me as is.While "Ichi the Killer" most certainly will not be for everyone (the various instances of brutal violence towards women throughout the film do still make me wince), as a piece of groundbreaking transgressive cinema, it is one of the best. Fans of the film can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that someone has given this film the care and attention that it rightfully deserved!

For many people, this movie will be nothing more than an endurance test, but for a person who's not easily offended and appreciates insane cinema, "Ichi the Killer" is a lot of bloody fun. Takashi Miike's entire filmography is pretty much composed of ultra-violent, over the top films, and this one is one of his best known films for a reason. The scenes of gore will make anyone cringe. The violence is very imaginative, you have to give it that. There were scenes of violence and torture so shocking, even I was taken aback and couldn't resist cringing. Despite it being extremely graphic, it's done very well and makes sense in the context of it's already wacky story and tone. Go check it out, but make sure you have a strong stomach.

I originally saw this movie around when it came out at the San Francisco International Asian Film Festival. To say that it was hard to watch is an understatement. It’s got to be Takashi Miike’s most extreme film. Luckily it’s not a constant gore fest. There’s even some black humor thrown in especially with the bloody yet hilarious ending. If you can take the extremes its got an interesting cast of characters. Tadanobu Asano plays a psychotic Yakuza. Nao Omori is Ichi a scared and outcast youth who doesn’t know how to interact with people. Shinya Tsukamoto is his handler and manipulator. There’s a bunch of other crazies and gangsters as well.The first time I saw Ichi I felt like I was shell shocked. Watching it now years later I was able to enjoy it much, much more.

This is a review of the Rarewaves import Bluray.First the good:The film is uncut, unlike its UK DVD release which was very heavily cut. If you only own the UK DVD (or are considering buying that) then get this instead.Now the bad:Picture quality is disappointing. Despite claims of being sourced from a 4K remaster there is no more detail than there was in the Dutch DVD, just a lot more noise/grain. Contrast has been boosted and colours have been "corrected" so that they look more "natural", but lose some of the aesthetic style.Subtitles are also a downgrade over the English subtitles on the Dutch Premier Asia release, being somewhat simplified and also subtitling the English dialogue in the film... not very accurately.In short, if you already own the uncut Dutch DVD there's really no reason to get the Rarewaves BR. It looks worse, subtitles are worse and there are less special features.

What to say. Weird. The storyline, if you can call it that, is very bitty, it jumps all over the place so it's actually hard to work out what's going on, and why. Also, there is no back story as such, to explain my Ichi kills the way he does. However, if you like your "horror" or thriller movies with lots of blood and gore, then you'll like it.Storyline **Effects ****Blood and gore *****

Ichi The Killer is a masterpiece of dark and disturbing live action anime, very true to the Mango from which it originates. One downside to note is that the UK version edited out at least a couple of parts. I prefer to see the movie exactly as the director intended.

Proper good mad film

one new film for the collection