Koroshiya 1 (2001)

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writers:

Sakichi Satô (screenplay), Hideo Yamamoto (manga)

Stars:

Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ohmori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tadanobu Asano	...	Kakihara
Nao Ohmori	...	Ichi (as Nao Ômori)
Shin'ya Tsukamoto	...	Jijii
Paulyn Sun	...	Karen (as Alien Sun)
Susumu Terajima	...	Suzuki (as Sabu)
Shun Sugata	...	Takayama
Tôru Tezuka	...	Fujiwara
Yoshiki Arizono	...	Nakazawa
Kiyohiko Shibukawa	...	Ryu Long (as Kee)
Satoshi Niizuma	...	Inoue
Suzuki Matsuo	...	Jirô / Saburô
Jun Kunimura	...	Funaki
SABU	...	Kaneko (as Hiroyuki Tanaka)
Morooka Moro	...	Coffee Shop Manager
Hôka Kinoshita	...	Sailor's Lover

Storyline

When a Yakuza boss named Anjo disappears with 300 million yen, his chief henchman, a sadomasochistic man named Kakihara, and the rest of his mob goons go looking for him. After capturing and torturing a rival Yakuza member looking for answers, they soon realize they have the wrong man and begin looking for the man named Jijii who tipped them off in the first place. Soon enough Kakihara and his men encounter Ichi, a psychotic, sexually-repressed young man with amazing martial arts abilities and blades that come out of his shoes. One by one Ichi takes out members of the Yakuza and all the while Kakihara intensifies his pursuit of Ichi and Ichi's controller Jijii. What will happen as the final showdown happens between the tortured and ultra-violent Ichi and the pain-craving Kakihara?

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Plot Keywords:

pain | face cut off | breasts | exploitation | art censorship | 

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Taglines:

hisashiburini zetsubou shitéyo. majide. (It's been a while since I wanted to despair. Really.)

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong perverse violence/gore and sexuality, language and drug content

Details

Country:

Japan Hong Kong

Language:

Japanese Cantonese English

Release Date:

25 July 2002 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Ichi the Killer

Box Office

Budget:

$1,400,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$20,285, 1 April 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Omega Project, Omega Micott Inc., Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min 117 min (heavily cut) 110 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Takashi Miike originally intended to have the author of the original manga (comic), Hideo Yamamoto, to write a script entirely in manga form, but the idea fell through when Yamamoto felt he could not complete it due to writer's block.

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Goofs

When Kakihara is attacked in the streets, protective padding is visible under his clothing. Look for it when he bends over backwards without falling over, before he removes his piercings.

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Quotes

Funaki: Kakihara! What the fuck do you think you are doing?
Kakihara: [referring to Suzuki] Just a little torture.

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Crazy Credits

End credits scroll up, down, left, right, forwards and backwards.

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Connections

References Dead or Alive (1999)

User Reviews

Excellent mix of sadistic violence and humour.

Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer" is a masterpiece of insane cinema.This film is surely challenging-filled with enough sadistic violence and rape to satisfy fans of Japanese harrowing cinema.It's based on the popular manga by Hideo Yamamoto.The character of Ichi is truly amazing-he is a mysterious figure who slices various individuals into numerous bloody pieces with razor sharp blades strapped to his boots.The gore is pretty extreme as Ichi literally slices people in half with his razor-sharp boots.The acting is surprisingly good-Nao Omori and Tadanobu Asano are impressive as Ichi and Kakihara.Highly recommended,especially if you have strong stomach.9 out of 10.