Blind Beast vs. Dwarf (2001)
"Môjû tai Issunbôshi" (original title)

Monzo Kobayashi is a dime-novel writer. He goes to see the stage of Ranko Mizuki, a star of an all-girls'-operetta company known as Asakusa Revue. Monzo notices a creepy man sitting beside ... See full summary »

Director:

Teruo Ishii

Writers:

Rampo Edogawa (novels), Teruo Ishii (screenplay)

Stars:

Lily Franky, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Hisayoshi Hirayama

Cast

Credited cast:
Lily Franky	...	Monzô Kobayashi (as Ririi Furankii)
Shin'ya Tsukamoto	...	Kogorô Akechi
Hisayoshi Hirayama	...	Môjuu / Blind Beast
Little Frankie	...	Issunbôshi / Dwarf (as Ritoru Furankii)
Mutsumi Fujita	...	Ranko Mizuki
Reika Hashimoto	...	Yurie Yamano
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Dr. Tange
Kenpachiro Satsuma	...	Yasukawa, the doll-maker (as Kenpachirô Satsuma)
Chiho Yoshida	...	Madam Pearl
Tomoko Matsumoto	...	Michiko Yamano
Momoka Sakata	...	Kimiko (as Momoka)
Yasunori Yuge	...	Business manager
Katsuya Nishikawa	...	Kon-chan
Mayumi Yamada	...	Dancer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Naohiro Hirakawa

Storyline

Monzo Kobayashi is a dime-novel writer. He goes to see the stage of Ranko Mizuki, a star of an all-girls'-operetta company known as Asakusa Revue. Monzo notices a creepy man sitting beside him who keeps his head slumped down and does not even look up when Ranko appears on stage. On the way home from the theater, Monzo encounters another creepy situation. A dwarf (inch-high samurai) with a child-sized body and a grown-up's head passes right by him and is carrying a woman's arm that has been sliced off from the shoulder. Being a writer, this strangely enhances his interest of this dwarf and he begins an investigation about dwarfs. At the same time, his old friend Yurie visits him. Monzo secretly has a crush on her but knows that she is married to some one else. Yurie asks Monzo to introduce her to his friend, the detective, Kogoro Akechi. Monzo agrees to this and takes her to Akechi's apartment. When Akechi tells them about his current investigation, Monzo surprisingly finds out that ...

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Plot Keywords:

dwarf | detective | dismemberment | masseur | locked room mystery | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Official Sites:

official website

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

24 June 2001 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ishii Teruo Production

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Malformed Memories (2007)

User Reviews

Superior to even the greatest movies ever made

To think that this movie did not win Best Picture is a crime. Director Ishii uses all of his talent and resources to give to the world the greatest film ever made.

Though it's true that this is not the type of movie you want to sit down with the family and eat popcorn, the emotional drive of the picture, the story's poignant messages, and the fantastic acting of the cast draws you into a world that is both dangerous and unpredictable.

Ishii is able to take you into action and make you feel as if you are a participant in the movie and not just a viewer. This is Chika Arakawas' best movie he ever did. Forget his performances in Oneechanbara: The Movie - Vortex and Summer Island Affair (though they were also good); He should have received another Palm D'or for the role of Blind Beast, a freak who cannot die. It would have been well-deserved if he won again.

I give this movie my highest recommendation. Blind Beast vs. Dwarf is a movie that makes you realize how life is precious and how honor and duty, though they are deep philosophical concepts that are praised in life itself, can put you in jeopardy of losing your life for something you may not believe in.