miike takashi

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Check Out Two Cannes Promos For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL

I suppose what bugs me most is that there’s yet to be any decent poster art going online except for the same mobile viewing of the official home webpage for Miike Takashi’s Blade Of The Immortal. The trailers and TV spots have all proven awesome though as the film looks amply solid as one might hope, and especially thanks in part to J-rocker MIYAVI’s added touch.
As such, Cannes attendees can expect to catch the film next month for its forthcoming out-of-competition screening, as posed by Warner Bros. Japan with two short TV promos for the film which opens this Friday. The film is inspired by Samura Hiroaki’s famed manga with Kimura Takuya and Sugisaki Hana leading the tale of a martial arts school heiress and her quest for vengeance with the help of an afflicted, immortal samurai with his own intentions.
CJ Entertainment, who was also reportedly involved in the film’s early production stages, has also backed the film thus granting it releases in several territories throughout Asia via its subsidiary, CGV Cinemas. Also starring are actresses Toda Erika and Kuriyama Chiaki, and actors Fukushi Sota, Ichihara Hayato, Tanaka Min and Ichikawa Ebizo among the cast.
Check out the promos below and let’s hope we’re not waiting too long for some acquisition news toward Western audiences. We love these movies too!

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Miike Takashi’s JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE Shines Bright Like A Diamond With A New Poster And A Slick First Teaser

Miike Takashi is well on the way with his latest, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure hitting screens in Japan this August. Indeed, the story does reach some seriously bizzare and weird points which makes a guy like Miike such a fitting director as he has a knack for approaching oddities at great depth on film.

Such is what we now get in his latest follow-up from working on recent titles like Yakuza Apocalypse and Terra Formars and the forthcoming Blade Of The Immortal which opens in April. For this, it’s off to the finish line with the first official teaser now making thïe rounds from Warner Bros. Japan with actor Yamazaki Kento leading the cast for the film, inspired by Diamond Is Unbreakable arc in Araki Hirohiko’s hit manga series.

SYNOPSIS:

In the fictional town of Moriou, Josuke Higashikata is the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar. He possess a Stand (super power), called Crazy Diamond, that allows him to restore or fix broken objects or animals. Josuke and his friends go to war with other Stand users.

That war, stemmed from a long and ongoing battle years prior, is ignited by an elusive killer and the owner of a mystical bow and arrow to which you know what happens if you’ve read the manga or seen the anime. And so with the teaser, there isn’t much to see on the VFX end with five months to go, though I’d count on an official trailer to help lend us a glimpse into what the battling Stands will look like.

For now, you get a quick glimpse of Miike’s vision for the very town in which our adventure commences with a cast that also adds Iseya Yusuke in the role of Kujo Jotaro, Kamiki Ryunosuke as Hirose Koichi and actress Komatsu Nana as Yamagishi Yukako with Okada Masaki and Mackenyu as the Nijimura Brothers – Keicho and Okuyasu, and Yamada Takayuki as Angelo.

Catch the teaser below as well as the glistening new poster and stay tuned for more updates!

Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure – Live Action Posters

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Kimura Takuya Has Hundreds Of Men To Kill In The Official BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Trailer!

Live-action approaches to popular manga and anime properties continue to be tested as always, such are nothing new for director Miike Takashi to tackle as he’s taken on quite his fair share. His latest one whose IP is loved by many a manga reader, titled Blade Of The Immortal and now on par for an April 29 release from Warner Bros. Japan.

Samura Hiroaki’s hit 1993 Monthly Afternoon publication lays the groundwork for this new affair with actor Kimura Takura starring as Manji, an afflicted immortal swordsman whose help is desperately sought by a young woman eager to avenge her parents and their fencing school, destroyed at the hands of the “itto ryu”. Actress Sugisaki Hana stars as our heroine bent on seeking revenge opposite actor Fukushi Sota who plays one of the film’s several deadly principal villains.

Follow Miike’s career long enough and it appears you’ll prosper, because the official trailer below has arrived and while I’m not at all familiar with the manga, I’m immediately thrownback to my viewing of 13 Assassins just a few years back. Clearly Miike knows how to speak the language of chanbara and he does so with sheer excellence.

Official artwork is abound so stay tuned in the meantime and check out the trailer below.

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Meet Josuke In The First Teaser Poster For Miike Takashi’s Live-Action JOJO’S BIZZARE ADVENTURE Movie!

I can absolutely see why a property like this would appeal to Miike who recently completed The Mole Song 2 and the forthcoming Blade Of The Immortal adaptation this April. If there’s one thing you should know about Miike is that he’s not afraid to stray into the bizzare which suits him perfectly for something like this and hopefully by the film’s August release as noted in the latest teaser paired with Yamazaki in full Josuke costume, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure will land itself a theatrical hit.

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Buy Your Copy Of Arrow Video’s Release Of Miike Takashi’s BLACK SOCIETY TRILOGY Now!

After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of “V-cinema” in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one’s place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the “Black Society Trilogy” was the beginning of Miike’s mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director’s finest works. 

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Arrow Video Announces Miike Takashi’s DEAD OR ALIVE Trilogy For March 2017

Miike Takashi’s Dead Or Alive trilogy is one I’ve been after for a while now and I’m glad that the good folks at Arrow Video are on top of it going into the new year. Two pre-order links are available in the announcement below for the U.S. and U.K. releases which ought to be an easy steal.

Read on:

NEW UK/US TITLE: Dead or Alive Trilogy Blu-ray/DVD releases 

Pre-order Dead or Alive Trilogy UK Blu-ray: http://bit.ly/2hderBo 

Pre-order Dead or Alive Trilogy UK DVD: http://bit.ly/2hcZXBM  

Release Dates: 13th/14th March 

Beginning with an explosive, six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence, and ending with a phallus-headed battle robot taking flight, Takashi Miike’s unforgettable Dead or Alive Trilogy features many of the director’s most outrageous moments set alongside some of his most dramatically moving scenes. Made between 1999 and 2002, the Dead or Alive films cemented Miike’s reputation overseas as one of the most provocative enfants terrible of Japanese cinema, yet also one of its most talented and innovative filmmakers. 

In Dead or Alive, tough gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his ethnically Chinese gang make a play to take over the drug trade in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district by massacring the competition. But he meets his match in detective Jojima (Show Aikawa), who will do everything to stop them. Dead or Alive 2: Birds casts Aikawa and Takeuchi together again, but as new characters, a pair of rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends; after a botched hit, they flee together to the island where they grew up, and decide to devote their deadly skills to a more humanitarian cause. And in Dead or Alive: Final, Takeuchi and Aikawa are catapulted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they once again butt heads in the action-packed and cyberpunk-tinged finale to the trilogy. 

Each of them unique in theme and tone, the Dead or Alive films showcase Miike at the peak of his strengths, creating three very distinct movies connected only by their two popular main actors, each film a separate yet superb example of crime drama, character study, and action filmmaking. 

(Blu-ray Special Features) 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
• High Definition digital transfers of all three films
• Original uncompressed stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for all three films
• New interview with actor Riki Takeuchi
• New interview with actor Sho Aikawa
• New interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura
• New audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes
• Archive interviews with cast and crew
• Archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final
• Original theatrical trailers for all three films
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena 

(DVD Special Features)  

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition digital transfers of all three films
• Original stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for all three films
• New interview with actor Riki Takeuchi
• New interview with actor Sho Aikawa
• New interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura
• New audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes
• Archive interviews with cast and crew
• Archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final
• Original theatrical trailers for all three films
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena 

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger

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Arrow Video Is Reviving Miike’s BLACK SOCIETY TRILOGY For An Early 2017 Release

Arrow Video Is Reviving Miike’s BLACK SOCIETY TRILOGY For An Early 2017 Release

Acclaimed film auteur Miike Takashi’s body of work remains as a peculiar, intriguing and earnest one, still invested with a trio of manga/anime adaptations between now and then, including the upcoming sequel, The Mole Song 2 arriving this December. This week, however, his earlier career in direct-to-video films is getting a highlight courtesy of Arrow Video with the announced DVD/Blu-Ray re-releases of the violent, gritty crime saga, Black Society Trilogy, as of January next year in the U.K., with U.S. releases pending.

A playlist of retro trailers for all three are available above until further notice while Arrow Video are presenting their latest news with the first artwork below along with the announcement:

NEW UK/US TITLE: Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy Blu-ray/DVD 

Takashi Miike’s “Black Society Trilogy” arrives on separate Blu-ray and DVD releases 

Pre-order your UK Blu-ray here: http://bit.ly/2efHY9y Pre-order your UK DVD here: http://bit.ly/2efFatp North American pre-orders links should be live soon! 

UK Release Date: 16th January 2017US Release Date: 17th January 2017 

After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of “V-cinema” in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one’s place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the “Black Society Trilogy” was the beginning of Miike’s mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director’s finest works. 

Set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society follows a mixed-race cop (Kippei Shiina, Outrage) struggling with private issues while hunting a psychotic criminal (Tomorowo Taguchi, Tetsuo the Iron Man) who traffics in children’s organs. Rainy Dog, shot entirely in Taiwan, is about an exiled yakuza (Dead or Alive’s Show Aikawa) who finds himself saddled with a son he never knew he had and a price on his head after the Chinese gang he works for decides to turn on him. Ley Lines moves from the countryside to the city and back, as three Japanese youths of Chinese descent (including The Raid 2’s Kazuki Kitamura) seek their fortune in Tokyo, only to run afoul of a violent gang boss (Naoto Takenaka, The Happiness of the Katakuris). 

Three of the most dramatically moving films created by the director, the “Black Society Trilogy” offers clear proof that Miike’s frequent pigeonholing as a specialist in bloody spectacle is only one aspect of his filmmaking career, and taken as a whole, the films are among the finest works ever to deal with the way violence and brutality can unexpectedly destroy even the most innocent of lives. 

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: 

•High Definition digital transfers of all three films 

•Original uncompressed stereo audio 

•Optional English subtitles for all three films 

•New interview with director Takashi Miike 

•New interview with actor Show Aikawa (Rainy Dog, Ley Lines) 

•New audio commentaries for all three films by Miike biographer Tom Mes 

•Original theatrical trailers for all three films 

•Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon   

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films

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Miike Steps Into Live-Action JOJO'S BIZZARE ADVENTURE For A Summer 2017 Release

With an adaptation of Samura Hiroaki’s Blade Of The Immortal still looming, acclaimed filmmaker Miike Takashi is now off to another endeavor with news of the forthcoming live-action foray, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure. Warner Bros. and Toho are reportedly aiming to produce the film for a release next Summer, based on Araki Hirohiko’s eight-part manga with emphasis on the fourth installation, “Diamond Is Unbreakable”.

via Anime News Network:

The story is set in Morioh, located in S City in M Prefecture of Japan, and it follows the misadventures of Jōsuke Higashikata and his companions, as they are involved in a series of bizarre incidents in their town.

Araki launched the manga via Shueisha in 1987 before following in the years after with light novels, video games and a slate of animated series and films. Rounding out the cast are Death Note TV series actor Yamazaki Kento as Higashikata Jōsuke and Kamiki Ryunosuke from Bakuman and Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno as Hirose Kōichi, with Nana Komatsu as Yamagishi Yukako, Okada Masaki as Nijimura Keichō, Mackenyu (Chihayafuru) as Nijimura Okuyasu, Yamada Takayuki as Katagiri Anjūrō, Iseya Yusuke as Kūjō Jōtarō, Mizuki Alisa as Higashikata Tomoko and Kunimura Jun as Higashikata Ryōhei.

As for all else, next to Gintama and Bleach, I have my homework cut out for me.

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Miike Takashi To Helm Hit Manga BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL

Miike Takashi‘s Yakuza Apocalypse is heading to U.S. theaters this weekend, marking a delightful opportunity for moviegoers to introduce himself to his work. In the meantime, with the current production of his new intergalactic creature thriller, Terraformars, comes news forwarded by Crunchyroll of his latest addition to the roster of manga adaptations.

For this, we look toward Samura Hiroaki’s 1993-2012 manga publication, Blade of the Immortal, from Dark Horse. Japanese pop band SMAP’s own Kimura Takuya (Howl’s Moving Castle, Space Battleship Yamado) is set to star in the title role with a story centered on a lone swordsman in feudal Japan whose only means of freedom from immortality and misery is through the spilled blood of one-thousand evil men. The role marks Kimura‘s roughly ten-year return to the period genre following Yamada Yoji’s 2006 film, Love And Honor.

If you know Miike, whose credits include an adaption of Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django to name a few, you know this is right up his alley. This one is expected to arrive in 2017, so chalk this one up as a priority through next year as we await Terraformars and learn more about Miike‘s celebrated return to kickass Japanese action with Yakuza Apocalypse.

Stay tuned for more info.

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Japanese Crime Pic, SHIELD OF STRAW Gets The English-Language Remake Treatment

There is not a lot of love lost for director Miike Takashi’s 2013 thriller, Shield Of Straw, based on author Kiuchi Kazuhiro’s 2004 Kodansha crime novel of the same name. Osawa Takao and Matsushima Nanako led the cast with actor Fujiwara Tatsuya central to the film’s premise about a team of Fukuoka detectives who come under fire from swarms of vigilantes when a vengeful billionaire puts a meaty contract out on a Tokyo-bound convoy transporting a murder suspect.

Made long prior to Miike’s own professed promise of a return to formula with this year’s Yakuza Apocalypse, Shield Of Straw was nearly panned by critics and fell to a mixture of cheers and louder jeers upon its Cannes premiere. Needless to say, there’s always going to be some form of controversy when audiences bare certain expectations from directors, and though it’s been two years since then, none of this appears to be an issue for the team now banding together for an English-language remake.

Variety is reporting that Chris Weitz, producer of About A Boy and The Golden Compass, as well as all four American Pie films, is set to produce the remake through his Depth Of Field banner with backing by All Nippon Entertainment Works and Nippon Television. Also to note is the a distinct vision clearly being set here for a solid actioner as hinted by the hiring of The Expendables 3, Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen scribes Creighton Rothberger and Katrin Benedikt for the screenplay.

Shield Of Straw, like most others, may not be the type of film for the crowd who isn’t exactly fond of remakes and reboots, though again, that isn’t to suggest they all don’t work. Quite a few of them do when applied mindfully enough, and with any luck, the open-minded ones who may have seen the 2013 version may be able to appreciate what this one has in store despite whatever individual opinions are had. Besides, a director still hasn’t been named and that could always be the defining factor in how well this latest effort bodes. 

Miike is currently underway with the upcoming manga sci-fi horror adaptation, TerraFormars with Yakuza Apocalypse preparing a stateside release in the U.S. this October through Samuel Goldwyn Films. Weitz himself also has other notable writing credits as of recent with his current script for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story now being applied under director Gareth Edwards for next December.

Stay tuned for more info on Shield Of Straw!

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