Ichi the Killer (殺し屋１ Koroshiya Ichi) is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike (Audition) , written by Sakichi Sato, and based on Hideo Yamamoto‘s manga series of the same name. It stars Nao Omori, Tadanobu Asano and Alien Sun.
Plot Teaser
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?
As a publicity gimmick, vomit bags were handed out at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to those attending the midnight screening of this film. Similar bags were handed out during the Stockholm International Film Festival. Reportedly, watching the movie caused one person to throw up and another to faint.
In January 2009, The Norwegian Media Authority learned of this incident. Based on the incident and on the assessment that itsi nfliction of violence “is potentially harmful to children and adults” the film was banned in Norway. Any person caught screening or selling the film in Norway can face arrest with possible fines or imprisonment. The film has been banned in Malaysia since the movie’s distribution date. It later caused controversy in Germany and the film was banned for distribution there too. Private possession of the film remains legal. The film remains banned in all three countries as of 2009.
In the UK, 3 minutes and 45 seconds have been removed, the BBFC explaining:
“The Board’s main concern is with content which is likely to promote harmful activity. The Board’s Guidelines constrain, in particular, depictions which eroticise or appear to endorse sexual violence. Of specific concern are sexual images in a violent context which are designed to titillate. The Guidelines take account of academic research which indicates that violence when mixed with explicit sexual images (women forcibly stripped, shots which linger on naked breasts or genitalia during rape or assault) may produce a harmful response in some viewers. The scenes cut from Ichi the Killer include naked women being sexually mutilated or beaten or killed. They contain images of erotically explicit violence which have never been passed by the BBFC at any classification level.”
Director Takashi Miike reveals on the US Tokyo Shock DVD release that the semen used in the close-up during the intro sequence, when the film’s title raises out of a puddle of semen, is real.
Buy Ichi the Killer uncut on Blu-ray from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
Reviews
“I doubt Miike even intended for us to enjoy Ichi the Killer, only to react to it. Films exist to stimulate emotional responses from their viewers, be them happy or sad, and in the case of Ichi the Killer, some mild form of flu-like nausea and disorientation. The layer of complexity, depth and psychoanalysis in Ichi the Killer runs deep and dark, but only for those brave enough to subject themselves to it.” DVD Verdict
“Ichi The Killer is a sexually deviant, anarchic, psychotic, unsettling, politically incorrect, side-splitting and blood-drenched hammer to the head. Sure, it dragged at times and Ichi needed a good kick in the face, but if you dig your Asian cinema and have a set of balls the size of mammoth rocks (yes, this applies to the ladies too), try to nab this crazy bastard…he’ll take ya for one crazy ass joyride and you’ll thank him for it.” Arrow in the Head
“A lot of what makes Ichi the Killer so special is no its violent tone but the way that Takashi Miike deals with violence in general. If you go into the film with a sense of humor and looking for more than just sadism or gore then you are sure to enjoy this film. Ultimately Ichi the Killer is an orgy of carnage that hits all the right notes and makes all the right incisions.” 10K Bullets
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