Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki (1989)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Hisashi Nozawa (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1989 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results...

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Police | Friend | Drugs | Police Chase

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Azuma (as Beat Takeshi)
Maiko Kawakami	...	Akari
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Kikuchi
Shirô Sano	...	Yoshinari
Sei Hiraizumi	...	Iwaki (as Shigeru Hiraizumi)
Mikiko Otonashi	...	Iwaki's Wife
Hakuryu	...	Kiyohiro
Ittoku Kishibe	...	Nito
Ken Yoshizawa	...	Shinkai
Hiroyuki Katsube	...	Deputy Police Chief Higuchi
Noboru Hamada	...	Chief Detective Araki
Yuuki Kawai	...	Detective Honma
Ritsuko Amano	...	Honma's Fiancee
Tarô Ishida	...	Detective Tashiro
Katsuki Muramatsu	...	Deputy Commissioner Anan

Also Known As:

Violent Cop (International: English title) (USA)
Warning, This Man Is Wild

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 (1992, cut) | Sweden:15 (uncut DVD version) | Hong Kong:III | Norway:15 | Poland:15 | Denmark:16 | South Africa:16 | Israel:18 | Peru:18 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:18 | Mexico:C | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Czech Republic:15 | Hungary:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 (alternate rating) | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18 | Australia:MA

Company:

Bandai Media Department

Trivia:

The original script was a comedy. Kitano was then very concerned about the audience recognizing his acting skills and he didn't feel that a comedy would allow him to act nor allow the audience to abstract from his comic TV personality. So he rewrote the script, removed all comedy and turned it into a drama.

Quotes:

[Azuma has run over a man with a car.]
Kikuchi: Why'd you hit him?... He might be dead!
[The man appears suddenly and begins smashing out their windows with a bat.]
Azuma: Does he look dead to you, idiot?!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sonatine (1993)

Soundtrack:

Gnossienne No.1

Masterful exploration of nihilistic violence

A shallow description would refer to this as a Japanese version of Dirty Harry. And it does bear some resemblance to that film, but while Dirty Harry broke the rules in order to get a criminal at any cost, Kitano's character Azuma seems to seek vengeance due not only to his lust for revenge but because he's psychotic. There's a sense that Azuma won't rest until he gets his man not out of duty but out of madness. Kitano gives what might be his best performance in this film; he is absolutely riveting. And the film itself is beautifully shot, and the score is especially good. But the best part of this is perhaps the end - the film ends on a perfectly cynical note that couldn't be topped. Seek this out.