miike takashi

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FIRST LOVE Swoons Online With A Cast Teaser For Takashi Miike’s New Action Thriller

Anyday is a good day to be a Takashi Miike fan! So much so that his latest, First Love, landed the Directors’ Fortnight line-up at Cannes from HanWay Films and is now unveiling a first look teaser to kick things in motion. Rounding out the cast is an octet comprised of actors Masataka Kubota (Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul: S), and actress Sakurako Konishi, with Nao Omori (Ichi The Killer), Shota Sometani (Legend Of The Demon Cat), actress and singer Becky (Eight Ranger, Eight Ranger 2), and actors Jun Murakami (upcoming Aircraft Carrier Ibuki), Sansei Shiomi (Beyond Outrage, Outrage Coda) and Seiyo Uchino (13 Assassins).

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FIRST LOVE Adds Takashi Miike’s Latest World Premiere Action Thriller To Cannes’ Directors Fortnight Line-Up

Want some more Miike for your moviegoing? Then take a gander at HanWay Films’ latest nab of the auteur’s new action thriller, First Love. The UK-based international sales/distro banner acquired rights to the Japan/UK co-prod which reteams Miike with Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas’ Recorded Picture Company for a fourth time following Hara-kiri: Death Of A Samurai, 13 Assassins, and Blade Of The Immortal.

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ICHI THE KILLER, Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, 2001, ©Media Blasters

ICHI THE KILLER Gets A Digitally Restored 4K Bloodbath From Well Go USA Starting This November

It was back in May ahead of the Cannes Film Festival that news broke of a forthcoming remastering and re-release of film auteur Miike Takashi’s manga adaptation hit, Ichi the Killer. The controversial ultra-violent crime horror scored a cult following after its 2001 and having only been shot on Betacam and only coverted 35mm film at the time, new technology now deems it possible for a more crisp and pristine finish.

Restoration of the film was handled by L’Immagine Rittrovata Asia, the Hong Kong offices of Davide Pozzi’s Bologna, Italy-based film restoration lab which opened to a lucrative streak of restoring Asian film in the wake of bolstering online video demand. Since then, the long-awaited announcement of its acquisition news was made over the weekend with word that Well Go USA have officially acquired distribution rights to the new 4K restoration now dubbed Ichi The Killer: The Digitally Restored Director’s.

Asano leads the film as a sadistic Yakuza enforcer whose search for his boss’s killer brings him full circle with a psychologically scarred martial artist armed with a kill switch and a blade tethered to his left foot. Asano is joined by title actor Omori Nao along with Tsukamoto Shinya, Sun Paulyn, Terajima Susumu and Sugata Shun.

“At Well Go USA, we’re big Takashi Miike fans,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment, “and we couldn’t be more excited that we get to finally unleash Ichi the Killer the way it was meant to be seen – and freak out a whole new audience!”

Pfardrecher herself negotiated the deal on behalf of Well Go USA with Emperor Motion Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers. Limited theatrical engagements begin exclusively on November 10 at the Metrograph in New York City with more dates and locations to follow over the next several months.

The film will be the second of two adaptations directed by Miike rolling out at the top of the month with Blade Of The Immortal making the first rounds on November 3 from Magnet Releasing.

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The U.S. Trailer For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Arrives, Drenched In Blood, Body Parts And Brutalizing Fun!

Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.

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JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE: Watch The First Thirteen Minutes Of Miike Takashi’s Live-Action Manga Thriller!

It remains to be seen when exactly we’ll see some acquisition news regarding Miike Takashi’s second of two anime adaptations this summer, JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable. Apart from that, all one needs to know is that the reactions have all but largely fared well by those who’ve managed to spy an eye on the spooky live-action fantasy horror treatment of Araki Hirohiko’s longstanding anime about a high school student’s journey of self-discovery amid epic battles with “stand users” that soon start to affect the quiet town of Morioh.

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Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Opens In U.S. Theaters This November

Spring and summer have been much ado with acclaimed director Miike Takashi, now making waves at Fantasia this summer following his most recent theatrical Japan release, Blade Of The Immortal back in April from Warner Bros. Japan. Its Cannes premiere in May led to some terrific news for folks in North America tracking the film and with none other than Magnet Releasing snagging the rights for a U.S. release to be announced.

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JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE: The Stands Take A Stand In The Newest Trailer

Nothing like a fresh new trailer for Miike Takashi’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable to keep the pot stirred ahead of its August 4 release in Japan. This one definitely stirs some with even more supernatural action and adventure with actor Yamazaki Kento starring as a gifted Stand user student forced into a secret war with other forces of evil that have plagued his quiet town.

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Crazy Diamond Shines In The Official Second Trailer For JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE – CHAPTER ONE

The marketing is a little iffy for me as I’m still trying to get a grasp about what will happen after the August 4 release of Miike Takashi’s JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter One. The original fourth chapter in the series and its subsequent anime is pretty sizable and a lot does happen for everything to be told in one film.

For this, I personally I hope there’s a sequel. In the meantime, legendary auteur Miike Takashi is at the helm for this, his 101st film adapting Araki Hirohiko’s popular manga with this particular portion centered on a young high school student, a Pompadour-wearing, polite-yet-short-tempered “stand user” whose abilities bear a history with his extended family, ensuing an adventure of murder, intrigue and supernatural danger that lurks in his quiet town of Morioh.

Yamazaki Kento stars in the film and will be making his first film festival appearance this year next to “Guest Of Honor” Miike at Neuchâtel where the film will have its world premiere before screening at Fantasia and releasing wide in Japan the following month. Rounding out the cast are actress Komatsu Nana, and actors Kamiki Ryunosuke, Okada Masaki, Mackenyu, Yamada Takayuki and Iseya Yusuke.

The official trailer has finally arrived, and thus, now teases plenty more of some of the heavy-handed VFX work to further flesh out our heroes and villains just a little more. Take a look!

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Miike’s JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE Goes To NIFFF And Fantasia This Summer

Miike’s JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE Goes To NIFFF And Fantasia This Summer

Highlighting suspense and mystery, Miike Takashi’s energetic and visual effects heavy direction is perfectly suited to follow the strange daily lives of his characters, who will have to deal with unusual and bizarre encounters. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable is an event — an extraordinary cinematic experience through the greatest adventure in the history of manga.

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BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Wields A Deadly New English-Subbed Trailer!

Miike Takashi’s new movie, Blade Of The Immortal, is screening at Cannes on Thursday and with more deals to be made on its distribution after inking a North American deal with Magnet Releasing. In the meantime, we finally have an English-subtitled trailer to share from HanWay Films who are representing the film internationally for buyers.

The film, produced by Jeremy Thomas, Misako Saka, and Shigeji Maeda in association with Warner Bros Japan, takes from Samurai Hiroaki’s popular manga of the same name; Oishi Tetsuya’s screenplay centers a young woman who, following the murder of her family and devastation of her dojo at the hands of a bloodthirsty martial arts school, desperately seeks vengeance with the help of an afflicted, immortal swordsman with a vendetta of his own.

Actor Kimura Takuya leads the cast along with Sugisaki Hana, and also stars Fukushi Sota, Toda Erika, Ichikawa Ibizo, Tanaka Min and Yamazaki Tsutomu.

Screendaily exclusively made the trailer debut on Thursday, and I have to say, as spoilery as a only few bits and pieces here may be, I’m still eager to see this one myself. Check it out below!

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New International Sales Art For BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Keeps Score

I don’t quite know everyone’s tastes in music, but recording artist MIYAVI’s title track for Miike Takashi’s latest, Blade Of The Immortal, feels like music to my ears. It’s only on the heels of excellent news of its forthcoming U.S. release from Magnet Releasing as well and I can’t wait to share that experience in theaters provided it gets a decent rollout.

In the meantime, the film which opened theatrically in Japan at the tail end of April has an Out-Of-Competition premiere on Thursday at Cannes while sales continue to move forward with HanWay Films representing, and best believe it has some nifty sales art for buyers to take a gander at. Front and center of course are actor Kimura Takuya and actress Sugisaki Hana in roles inspired by Samura Hiroaki’s hit manga of the same name.

Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. 

Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. 

The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine… the 100th film by master director Takashi Miike.

Check out the poster below and stay tuned!

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BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Lands At Magnet For U.S. Release

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It’s probably some of the best news you’ll hear of it and with any luck it’ll mean a wider release granted than other titles from various distributors and their ridiculous event screenings, but the word now is that Miike Takashi’s 100th film, Blade Of The Immortal now has U.S. distribution over at Magnolia Pictures’s genre arm, Magnet Releasing in a deal with HanWay Films.

The film premiered in Japan on April 29 from Warner Bros. Japan and is currently slated as an Official Selection presentation at Cannes this week. Magnet is an especially good shingle for the film to reside at especially considering the film is home to, among its other cult titles, the first two installments of Kitano Takeshi’s Yakuza crime trilogy, Outrage and Beyond Outrage.

Based on the famous manga, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL follows the deeds of Manji, a skilled samurai in the Shogunate era who is cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. 

Haunted by the murder of his sister, Manji knows that only by fighting evil will he be able to regain his soul. After Manji crosses paths with a young girl named Rin, he promises to help her avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by the ruthless warrior Anotsu. 

But this mission changes Manji in ways he could never imagine.

Oishi Tetsuya (Death Note, Death Note: The Last Name, Higanjima) adapted the screenplay inspired by the popular Samura Hiroaki manga which stars Kimura Takuya (Space Battleship Yamato), Sugisaki Hana (Mozu: The Movie) and Fukushi Sota (Library Wars trilogy) along with Ichihara Hayato (Yakuza Apocalypse), Toda Erika (Death Note: Light Up The New World), Ichikawa Ebizo (Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai), and Tanaka Min (Rurouni Kenshin 2 & 3). Blade Of The Immortal is currently one of two Miike-directed titles circulating among acquisition headlines in the past week with the other being Emperor Motion Pictures’s latest remastering and re-release grab of his mindbending 2001 cult crime horror manga adaptation, the controversal Ichi The Killer.

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JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE: DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE: Things Get Even More Bizzare And Deadly In The Official Trailer!

My own anime intake still has a lot to cover and especially with the world author Araki Hirohiko built within the chapters of the hit manga property, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure. The same could be said for director Miike Takashi who hasn’t run short on manga adaptations this year, and especially with some of the content he’s delved into for his Summer offering, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable.

Thus, what we get in the brand new trailer now live as of Wednesday doesn’t look like the film will cover much, although the arc itself, as explored in the subsequent anime, is surely an intense one; The film bookmarks just the latest chapter in the Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure, immersing you in the quiet town of Morioh where we meet Higashikata Josuke, a gifted Stand user whose  abilities, embodied by Crazy Diamond, include repairing broken items and healing injuries other than his own.

As the story moves forward, Higashikata, in the course of his own self-discovery, learns of a serial killer on the loose in his town – a dark twist that ultimately paves the way for an even darker, more gruesome mystery the deeper he digs. There’s a lot more than that which happens in this particular end of the saga and I think it’ll be fun to see how Miike’s own vision has it handled. We still don’t immediately get to see the CG treatment of what the Stands will look like although there are hints of it, and Miike is already winning points with the scene involving the jab at Higashikata’s hair, which is a no-no for anyone in striking distance.

Actor Yamazaki Kento leads the cast along with Iseya Yusuke, Kamiki Ryunosuke and actress Komatsu Nana with actors Okada Masaki, Mackenyu and Yamada Takayuki also starring. The film comes to life on August 4 from Warner Bros. Japan, which, frankly speaking, isn’t running short at all on adaptations this year…Gintama, Fullmetal Alchemist, current Cannes Out-Of-Competition entry Blade Of The Immortal from Miike and such.

Watch the new trailer below!

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