Bunraku (2010)

The story of a a young man who has spent his life searching for revenge only to find himself up against a bigger challenge than he originally bargained for.

Director:

Guy Moshe

Writers:

Boaz Davidson (story), Guy Moshe (screenplay)

Stars:

Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Hartnett	...	The Drifter
Gackt	...	Yoshi (as Gackt Camui)
Woody Harrelson	...	The Bartender
Ron Perlman	...	Nicola
Kevin McKidd	...	Killer No. 2
Demi Moore	...	Alexandra
Shun Sugata	...	Uncle
Emily Kaiho	...	Momoko
Jordi Mollà	...	Valentine
Mike Patton	...	The Narrator (voice)
Shahar Sorek	...	Killer No. 3 / Mirror Drifter
Fernando Chien	...	Killer No. 4
Yoshio Iizuka	...	Killer No.5
Kofi Yiadom	...	Killer No. 6
Aaron Toney	...	Killer No. 7

Storyline

In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a bartender and a young samurai plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.

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Plot Keywords:

stabbed in the face | fight | brawl | shot in the back | mixed martial arts | 

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Taglines:

They'll risk everything for honor, for power, for justice, for love, for revenge.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Cinedigm [United States] Official Blog

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

30 November 2011 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Бунраку

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Snoot Entertainment, Picturesque Films, Ram Bergman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Snoot Entertainment's Keith Calder decided to produce this movie because he has always loved films in the "no-name stranger coming to town and ending up in a bigger struggle" genre. This movie was, for him, the opportunity to take this genre and spin it on its head and bring a unique and strong visual style to it.

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Goofs

When shooting the burning arrow, we see Yoshi's finger wrapped around it. This would not work in reality, as not only would the arrow go entirely it's own way without any control, but it would also cause friction burns, and probably cuts, on the finger. That is a mistake one makes only once.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Narrator: Long before the dawn of man, strife was already a major component of life. Wherever a creature shared a piece of land with another, it was just a matter of time until a struggle for resources would ensue. Man was no different, showcasing a perverse fascination with violence. Man and civilization brought forth more innovative ways of taking human life than any other function needed for survival. There are more ways of killing a man than there are ways of making bread or making love....

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Putting on the Blitz
Written by Ben Watkins
Performed by Ben Watkins
Courtesy of Barbarian Inc

User Reviews

Mild boredom relief Big Budget Flop

I'll give the film a generous five stars for trying to be artistic. There were some great actors in this one, but the direction was almost nonexistent, more like a producer whacked off in the writer's face so the writer could not see the page clearly and know that what he was typing was like chunks flying from a horse's arse. The plot was...not there. The narrator's voice was very very lame sounding, especially in its' delivery, and seemed to have more lines than some of the main actors at times which completely ruined any feeling of actually trying to get into the feeling of the movie, the creation of a setting. The little pop-up things only happened very rarely and weren't that mind-blowing or cult classic making, more like the saving graces that kept it from totally being lame, Ron Perlman's makeup was horrid, some sets were so not in the budget they were nothing more than sheets wrapped around fake trees! The fighting was pretty pathetic choreography, especially since nearly every hit or kill happens off screen or off camera somehow so that you can never see one person clearly land a single punch. The cartwheeling clowns? Reminded me of every bad movie ever made or a combination of all the worst movies ever made put together. Demi Moore...was there some purpose to having her in the film? Seriously, I had to write a scathing review because the other 2 reviews I saw here were definitely not honest with themselves or you because they wrote such glowing and praising remarks that they were obviously marketers from the company that wasted so many millions of dollars on a crap movie. East meets west? I don't think so. There are so many other better east/west films that this horrific attempt to blend the cultures on either side of the Pacific is just really really sad. The producers should hang themselves. Choppy editing in a bad way. The visuals were not artistic enough to be a true art film, everything was too glossed over, no attention to detail. Woody Harrelson was doing some really horrid acting on purpose (even though he can be a great actor if he wanted to) and the director could not even tell him to stop acting up and do the lines right because the director was obviously not competent enough to know what acting is or how to make his actors act in a way that makes the audience enjoy being entertained. No vision...or the people who made this film obviously had a very grand vision but almost everything flopped and got over-produced into the dirt, just like Mario Brothers. Best part of the movie was the very short animation sequences and they really weren't even all that special either. Looks like they were going for a cross between Kill Bill and Sin City and instead ended up with something more like The Last Samurai Gets Lost on the Way to Little Red Riding Hoods House meets Something Stupid This Way Comes. The best spot of acting actually came from the guy who played the uncle but the scene is ruined by the flashy CGI comic book style cations which looks cool when they appear but never reveal any grand truth or tell any funny jokes so, in essence, are a little kooky and fun but do not add anything really special to the film and are definitely not mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination. Seriously, these guys with the big dollars need to get someone like me in there to write at least a half decent script where the story is told by the actors' voices and not some retarded narrator guy. There could have been a bit more engaging dialogue, what with all the top dollar actors they signed for the deal. I bet most of them will look back in 10 years and regret doing this silly farce. I really thought Kevin McKidd was great in the movie 'Dog Sodiers' and the TV series 'Rome', but his ability to act well and pirouette could not save him from an atrocious director and the writers/producers who jerked off this worse than trash film into existence. I've seen low budget B trash films show more flair and panache in one little finger than this whole awful mess. There, that is my review that I had to write in definite opposition to the guys who said it was "brilliant" or something like that. Mediocre, mildly amusing, no matter how many times you punch a guy off screen it will not look any different the next time because it will be off screen then too. With all the budget cuts in the sets, costumes, and writers/directors...there should at least have been some good CGI or something, some kind of special effects. Special effects is a big joke to these Hollywood producers now though. Every effect can be simulated and half-arsed in ways off camera so that virtually every "special" effect, turns into more of a big let down. Where are all the good science fiction films of the past when "effects" were real effects that had wire pulling and air canisters and corn syrup mixed with red food dye and cybernetic stop motion claymation critters and people falling off buildings and things blow up? The good old days long gone.