Dead or Alive (1999)

A yakuza of Chinese descent and a Japanese cop each wage their own war against the Japanese mafia. But they are destined to meet. Their encounter will change the world.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writer:

Ichiro Ryu

Stars:

Shô Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Renji Ishibashi

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Riki Takeuchi	...	Ryuuichi
Shô Aikawa	...	Det. Jojima
Renji Ishibashi	...	Aoki
Hitoshi Ozawa	...	Satake
Shingo Tsurumi	...	Chen
Kaoru Sugita	...	Mrs. Jojima
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Duncan	...	Tanaka (as Dankan)
Shû Ehara	...	Rapist in restroom
Sei Hiraizumi	...	Police Chief
Hirotarô Honda
Michisuke Kashiwaya	...	Toji
Kazuki Kitamura
Mizuho Koga
Ryûshi Mizukami
Ren Osugi	...	Yan (as Ren Ôsugi)

Storyline

Without a home and feeling no obligation to Japanese society or Yakuza, Ryuichi (Takeuchi Riki) and his small group decide to make their own place by trying to take over the Shinjuku underworld and the drug trade from Taiwan. As they plan an all-out-assault on the remaining Chinese and Japanese mafia kings, only Detective Jojima (Aikawa Sho) stands between them and complete domination.

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Plot Keywords:

sexual perversion | mafia | detective | yakuza | taiwan | 

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Taglines:

WARNING: This motion picture contains explicit portrayals of violence; sex; violent sex; sexual violence; clowns and violent scenes of violent excess, which are definitely not suitable for all audiences.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality, language and drug use

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

27 November 1999 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Dead or Alive

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,783, 10 June 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,841, 1 December 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Motion Picture Company, Toei Video Company, Excellent Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Detective Jojima: My father was a small-village cop in a town where nothing ever happened. He just hung around like a scarecrow, until he died. But like they say - even a scarecrow keeps away the sparrows.

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Alternate Versions

R-rated version is edited. The unrated version is uncut.

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Connections

Featured in The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs: Dinners of Death: Dead or Alive (2018)

User Reviews

Hypnotically Bizarre, Insane, Sick and Violent

In Japan, after a massacre of Japanese and Chinese gangsters, the tough and persistent Detective Jojima (Sho Aikawa) is in charge of the investigations, while dealing with a personal family problem. His daughter needs to be submitted to a surgery and he needs to raise twenty millions yens urgently. He finds that the Chinese descendant Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) has associated to a Taiwanese drug dealer and is eliminating the competition. In the end, their confrontation becomes a personal issue for both.

"Dead or Alive: Hanzaicha" is a hypnotically bizarre, insane, sick and violent police story. The fast paced beginning is absolutely crazy, like a video-clip of unexplained violence. Takeshi Miike does not develop well the characters, with the exception of the ambiguous Jojima and the ambitious Ryuichi. He intends to shock the audiences with repulsive scenes, like for example the anal sex with a homosexual and with a dog, almost explicit oral sex, abusive use of drugs, perversions, sadism, drowning in feces and blood shed. The result of this madness is like a modern western-spaghetti, with the death of all characters. I liked this film, but it is only recommended for very specific audiences. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Morrer ou Viver" ("To Die or To Live")