The "Takeshi Kitano" Thread!

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 08 Mar 2006, 11:11

EvaUnit02 wrote:I watched Hana-bi this evening, fantastic film. BTW the DD5.1 remix was terrible, it's basically a phony Anchor Bay UK-style ones where the front channels of the original stereo track are played through all 5 channels.

I love my remixes but man I hate it when they fuck them up like this.

As for Hana-bi like most of Kitano directing output it didn't work for me. I liked Zaitochi (sp?) and Dolls but otherwise I've not really been a fan of any of it.

Out of:

Violent Cop
Brother
Hana-bi
Sonatine - This is supposed to be his best??? It's one of the worst
Dolls
Zaitochi

They're all decent enough but I just couldn't connect with them. I found them fairly boring, bar Zaitochi (and that wasn't outstanding, good though).

Even Dolls I struggled with. Dolls is definitely his best, it's very beautifully shot.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:00

bradavon wrote:They're all decent enough but I just couldn't connect with them. I found them fairly boring, bar Zaitochi (and that wasn't outstanding, good though).

It's all just the sensibilities of Japanese cinema. It's very similar to how American films were during the Amercian film "Renaissance"/"New Wave" from the late 60's til the end of the 70's (1980) - a large number of the greatest films of all time were made in this period.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:08

Well, looking at the screenshots over at DVDBeaver I see no reason to upgrade. The German DVD has a nice cover, though. But still no reason for me to upgrade. I can do without the Japanese 5.1 track.

I really enjoyed all the Kitano-films I have seen so far. I can't decide which one is the best. I like the calm atmosphere of his films. When I watch a Kitano-film, I know I can sit back and relax and just enjoy beautiful cinematography and cool action scenes without them being too noisy or without a shaking camera.

I really want to see "A Scene at the Sea", "Boiling Point", "Kids Return" and "Getting Any". There are Korean re-releases of his films labeled as "Kitano Takeshi Collection". They are from Enter One. But over the years only a few have been released. I'll wait until they get a bit cheaper or until another decent version is released elsewhere:

#1: Getting Any?

#2: A Scene at the Sea

#3: Boiling Point

The latest film he directed and starred in is called "Takeshis' ". It is his most personal film to date.
[quote]Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, who, still an unknown actor, is waiting for his big break.

After their pathes cross, Kitano seems to begin hallucinating about becoming Beat.[/img]

Can't wait for the HK disc. You can imagine what the Japanese Bandai disc costs.

DVD Cover

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:16

I just found this Korean release of "Sonatine" which sure looks like an Enter One release. I first thought it could be number 4 of the collection, but the production company is called Sponge. Huh? Have they bought the rights from Enter One?

- Commentary
- Photo Gallery
- Trailer
- Special Message From Kitano Takeshi
- 12 Pages of Handbill

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:54

EvaUnit02 wrote:The R4 of Boiling Point sounds excellent:- anamorphic uncropped 1.85:1 native PAL progressive-encoded transfer + a mostly probably decent 5.1 remix

Funny I never knew Kitano wanted 5.1 remixes for these films. Double stands pah!

EvaUnit02 wrote:It's all just the sensibilities of Japanese cinema.

I suspect you're right. Actually boring isn't the right word. I didn't find them boring. I didn't find them captivating either though

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Mar 2006, 14:05

Where can I buy the R4 of "Boiling Point"? Please let it be a store where I can pay with PayPal.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Mar 2006, 14:15

OK, just found and bought it on eBay.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Mar 2006, 14:44

How is the Thai disc of "A Scene at the Sea"? Is it probably a port of the Korean disc as the cover say "Kitano Takeshi Collection No. 2" as well.

http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.536 ... etails.htm

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 08 Mar 2006, 15:00

thelostdragon wrote:How is the Thai disc of "A Scene at the Sea"? Is it probably a port of the Korean disc as the cover say "Kitano Takeshi Collection No. 2" as well.

Both are ports of the japanese disc as far as I know. I got my copy from ethaicd

About Kids Return; the korean dvd is a port of the japanese disc. I have timed subs for the japanese disc, but there's no point buying it since the korean release is so much cheaper.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Mar 2006, 11:07

Cheers LD and Hung for the info on the Thai disc of A Scene at the Sea. I couldn't find the Korean disc in stock at any e-tailer that I know of.

BTW the quality of the R4 Boiling Point is excellent, I watched it tonight. Shame that the film was quite pants (review in the usual place).

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Mar 2006, 11:31

bradavon wrote:Funny I never knew Kitano wanted 5.1 remixes for these films. Double stands pah!

Yeah I'm a hypocrite, like I fucking care. I like decent 5.1 remixes for films that were originally in stereo. I draw the line at ones that were originally in mono though, the original track always sounds much better.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Mar 2006, 11:33

Received the Thai disc of "A Scene at the Sea" this morning. Will check it out soon.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Mar 2006, 18:31

thelostdragon wrote:Received the Thai disc of "A Scene at the Sea" this morning. Will check it out soon.

Please do tell about the quality of the English subs.

Hungfist, are the English subs on the Korean disc of Kids Return decent?

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Mar 2006, 22:50

I've quickly skipped through it. Subs seem to be ok. No punctuation at some points. Man, I received quite a shock, because the first thing I played was the "More Attractions"-option and it started with the EDKO (HK) logo. It was the trailer for "Kikujiro". So I thought that "Scene at the Sea" was the HK transfer. I checked, but it is a good anamorph picture quality.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Mar 2006, 23:20

thelostdragon wrote:No punctuation at some points.

That's a dying art it seems

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Mar 2006, 23:37

bradavon wrote:
thelostdragon wrote:No punctuation at some points.
That's a dying art it seems

Yeah! You're the best example, unless you count the smiley as a full-stop.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 10 Mar 2006, 00:03

I. never. felt. the. need. to. punctuate. much. myself.
Good Garmamr is orveeratrd

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 10 Mar 2006, 10:46

dragonhero005 · Post by **dragonhero005** » 10 Mar 2006, 16:01

thelostdragon wrote:I really want to see "A Scene at the Sea", "Boiling Point", "Kids Return" and "Getting Any".

Kids Return is a very good movie!
You have to see this one. I loved the soundtrack, as always: the great atmosphere, the story, the humor and the boxing training scenes. Everything seems so realistic. I haven´t seen Crying Fist so far, but of all the other movies I know, Kids Return shows the most realistic boxing.

As you may know, Kids Return was the first movie Kitano directed after his accident.

It´s my personal favourite, just in front of Sonatine, which is awesome.

I´d like to know what you guys think of Boiling Point. There were some scenes I liked, but overall I don´t really know what to think about.
And Kitano´s apperance was weird and kinda unnecessary...

slasher13 · Post by **slasher13** » 10 Mar 2006, 16:17

Hana-bi is a wicked film, I really love that, the music is soo good, and just love the way everything is. I believe the best versions are Japanese (No english sub) and Korean version (english sub included). See this comparison from dvdbeaver

So might get the spectrum release.

Also Brother UK release it a good release, good film, and a good documentary as well.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 10 Mar 2006, 18:26

Violent Cop is the best one I've seen.

I want to get the R4 from Eastern Eye but it's too expensive.

I sometimes find American films of the 70's quite boring and self-indulgent.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 10 Mar 2006, 18:40

EvaUnit02 wrote:
Hungfist, are the English subs on the Korean disc of Kids Return decent?

There's a bunch of typos but otherwise they seemed fine to me (though I'm not the best person to judge that). I used those subs but fixed some of the typos when I subbed my japanese disc (I only bought it because those idiots at dvdbeaver had incorrect caps of the bootleg disc. Somehow they managed to make korean dvd and the bootleg (both are ports of the japanese disc) look very different in their caps. Just like with Iwais's Love Letter...) (and A Scene at the Sea, if I remember correctly)

slasher13 wrote:Hana-bi is a wicked film, I really love that, the music is soo good, and just love the way everything is. I believe the best versions are Japanese (No english sub) and Korean version (english sub included). See this

The japanese disc does have english subs. I own it. But no chapter stops which is quite irritating. The korean disc is supposed to be a port, but I'm not 100% sure.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 10 Mar 2006, 18:55

Markgway wrote:Violent Cop is the best one I've seen.

I want to get the R4 from Eastern Eye but it's too expensive.

As R4 DVDs virtually never go down in price :twisted: I'd/you'll probably have to bite the bullet and pay up.

I can't see a better version coming any time soon. The R4 is miles better than the competition.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 11 Mar 2006, 02:17

Markgway wrote:I want to get the R4 from Eastern Eye but it's too expensive.

bradavon wrote:As R4 DVDs virtually never go down in price :twisted: I'd/you'll probably have to bite the bullet and pay up.

HA! For once you poms will know what's it's like for me when I want to import R2UK DVDs that are 14+ pounds!

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 11 Mar 2006, 02:23

dragonhero005 wrote:I´d like to know what you guys think of Boiling Point. There were some scenes I liked, but overall I don´t really know what to think about.

See my impressions of the film here.

And Kitano´s apperance was weird and kinda unnecessary...

I disagree, Kitano's scenes were the best in the film and stopped it from being a total dreck.