Rewatching Takeshi Kitano's debut feature, it doesn't have quite the same impact it did when I first saw it some years ago, my introduction to the murky world of Kitano. Partly that's because so much of the movie does depend on shocking you, on defying your expectations and throwing surprises right in your eye. Mainly violent ones The violence in the movie is a sharp contrast to HK's Heroic Bloodshed - here, it comes suddenly, brutally, painfully and not necessarily to those who deserve it. There are no heroes here.
Given that this was Kitano's first job as a director, and that he wasn't even meant to be the director originally, his distinctive style is surprisingly recognisable from the start. The way scenes are filmed, the characters, the dialogue, the soundtrack and of course the violence are all very Kitano. Definitely a man with a vision, and a big influence on the development of Japanese cinema since he made this movie.
Violent Cop is a bleak movie... unrelentingly so in fact. It goes straight into the bowels of humanity and has no shame in showing you what it finds there. Tremendously nihilistic! Not Kitano's best film, though it was the one that did have the biggest effect on me when I first saw it. Movies like Sonatine, Hana-Bi and even Kikujiro all refine his style a little more. Violent Cop is still an important movie in the history of world cinema.
Sadly, such an important movie has been brought to the US market on what is quite possibly the worst DVD I have ever seen - to get such a messed up picture they must really have had to try hard. Almost painful to watch. I had been hoping that the recently released UK DVD would correct this state of affairs, but apparently it's just as bad or even worse. So sad, so sad!
Given that this was Kitano's first job as a director, and that he wasn't even meant to be the director originally, his distinctive style is surprisingly recognisable from the start. The way scenes are filmed, the characters, the dialogue, the soundtrack and of course the violence are all very Kitano. Definitely a man with a vision, and a big influence on the development of Japanese cinema since he made this movie.
Violent Cop is a bleak movie... unrelentingly so in fact. It goes straight into the bowels of humanity and has no shame in showing you what it finds there. Tremendously nihilistic! Not Kitano's best film, though it was the one that did have the biggest effect on me when I first saw it. Movies like Sonatine, Hana-Bi and even Kikujiro all refine his style a little more. Violent Cop is still an important movie in the history of world cinema.
Sadly, such an important movie has been brought to the US market on what is quite possibly the worst DVD I have ever seen - to get such a messed up picture they must really have had to try hard. Almost painful to watch. I had been hoping that the recently released UK DVD would correct this state of affairs, but apparently it's just as bad or even worse. So sad, so sad!