"Actor: Takeshi Kitano"

• Battle Royale | DVD | (18/11/2013) from £10.08   |  Saving you £2.91 (28.87%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One Dead. 41 to go. Battle Royale is back. It s time to return to the island and kill your friends because the cult Japanese movie that defines twisted action and sickening violence is ready to shock you all over again. In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island arm them and then give them a simple choice... Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison cross-bows machetes and dynamite. Beat Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop Zatoichi) is a teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Kidnapped and gassed his class wake up with exploding metal rings around their necks. If they rebel they could lose their heads. Now they have three days and only one is permitted to survive this grisly battle to the death. Directed by the master of 70s Yakuza thrillers Kinji Fukasaku and featuring Kill Bill star Chiaki Kuriyama Battle Royale is the movie that helped to define extreme Asian cinema in the 21st Century.

• Battle Royale - Two Disc Special Edition | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as A Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolkids, whose bad behaviour provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial Lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale". Their only chance of survival in the "Battle" is through the death of all their classmates. Some pupils embrace their mission with zeal, while others simply give up or try to become peacemakers and revolutionaries. However, the ultimate drive for survival comes from the desire to protect the one you love. Battle Royale works on many different levels, highlighting the authorities' desperation to enforce law and order and the alienation caused by the generation gap. Whether you view the film as an important social commentary or simply enjoy the adrenalin-fuelled violence, this is set to become cult viewing for the computer-game generation and beyond. On the DVD: Battle Royale comes out fighting in a special edition format only a few months after the initial DVD release became cult viewing. But don't get too excited about the new cut of the film, only a few additional scenes have been added and the alternate ending simply offers a series of Requiem sequences. Disc 2 contains a whole heap of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, unfortunately many of these tend to repeat material. The Q&A with the cast (in full costume) and the director is repeated in the Tokyo Film festival. The special effects comparison feature is a case of "spot the difference" the S-FX hardly being in the Star Wars league and the instructional video on how to direct a film proves that the DVD makers have tried to grasp irony and failed. The disc also includes trailers and text filmographies for "Beat" Takeshi and director Kinji Fukasaku along with a written statement by the master of extreme cinema. Lacking in commentary and substance this DVD is redeemed by a superior sound and visual print to its predecessors. –-Nikki Disney

• Tokyo Bullet Reloaded - Black Angel / Score / Gonin | DVD | (01/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Black Angel: Ddirector Takashi Ishii continues to explore his distinct vision of Tokyo as a dark forbidding Technopolis a city of faceless chrome and marble structures cold lights and deep shadows. The Black Angel stars Riona Hazuki as Ikko the most powerful female action heroine ever to hit celluloid. At age 6 Ikko was safely put on a plane to Los Angeles by hitman Mayo but not before seeing her Yakuza boss father and mistress mother killed before her eyes. Flash forward 14 years. Ikko returns to Tokyo seeking revenge for the killings. She too calls herself the Black Angel styling herself after Mayo whom she remembers as a towering almost superhuman figure. When her target realises that she is after him and his gang he enlists the original Black Angel to wipe out Ikko and the stage is set for a violent reunion... (Dir. Takashi Ishii 1997) Gonin: Japanese Director Takashi Ishii's brutal hyperstylish hallucinogenic "" roller coaster"" of a movie takes a group of five desperate men through the robbery of a Yakuza gangster and the bloody revenge that follows. Ishii has assembled a cast of Japan's coolest actors including Naoto Takenaka (""Shall We Dance"") and the legendary 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano and his fluid sensual camera work creates sequences of unrivalled ballistic bloodshed. But what really raises this movie to a different level is the off-beat characters: 'Beat' Takeshi's sadistic portrayal of the one-eyed hitman gay hustlers and downtrodden ex-cops give 'Gonin' an eccentric film noir atmosphere that will blow you away. (Dir. Takashi Ishii 1995) Score: A gang of thieves come together for a jewellery heist one which they naturally carry out in their finest Reservoir Dogs outfits. All goes pretty much according to plan until a pair of psychotic highway robbers follow them to their hideout and attempt to part the gang from their loot... (Dir. Atsushi Muroga 1995)

• Battle Royale | DVD | (05/04/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This ultra violent satire from Japan tells of 42 teenagers taken to a remote island where they are told that if they wish to survive they must kill all of the others!

• Brother | DVD | (04/10/2010) from £20.23   |  Saving you £-4.24 (-26.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Written, directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano, Brother is the story of a displaced yakuza gangster (Takeshi Kitano), whose crime family is annihilated in a Tokyo gang war, and who flies to LA in search of his brother.

• Takeshi Kitano Collection: Violent Cop, Boilingpoint, A Scene At The Sea, Sonatine, Getting Any?, Kids Return | DVD | (06/10/2008) from £68.83   |  Saving you £-18.84 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Violent Cop: Japanese superstar Beat Takeshi Kitano makes his directorial debut in this critically acclaimed action film in which he also stars as Azuma an urban cop at the end of his rope. Not above using violent tactics in order to punish the lawless Azuma's daily routine involves a new partner and a mentally challenged sister. When his violent ways cause the death of a friend his short fuse comes dangerously close to reaching its' end... Boiling Point: When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquaters... A Scene At The Sea: Kitano relates a touching story about a deaf-mute garbage collector who takes a passion in surfing. His mute girlfriend accompanies him and even though he is hindered at every point he never lets this dampen his passion. The couple does not exchange a single word throughout the entire film Kitano embracing the power of silence and love that transcends words. Sonatine: Takeshi is Murakawa an established and ruthless Yakuza sent outside his usual turf to intervene in a gang war on the tropical island of Okinawa. Things go badly wrong and he and his gang get caught in the crossfire. Forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway they kill time and fool around on the beach but then their enemies start picking them off one by one. Murakawa decides to go on the offensive for a final and breathtaking showdown... Getting Any?: Middle-aged Asao's sole goal in life is to have sex but in order to achieve his dream he is thrown from one wacky situation to the next. From robbing banks to becoming invisible to transforming into a super-sized fly monster Asao will do anything to get any! Kids Return: Two old friends revisit their old schoolyard to remember the times they shared together at school before they left and found their own ways in life one as a boxer and one as part of a local gang. They have done well but revisiting their memories reminds them of their undisciplined ways.

• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence | Blu Ray | (11/02/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  David Bowie stars in Nagisa Oshima's 1983 Palme d'Or-nominated portrait of resilience, pride, friendship and obsession among four very different men confined in the stifling jungle heat of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java during World War II.This powerful prisoner-of-war drama features a stunning cast - including David Bowie in one of his greatest roles - and is the first English-language film by acclaimed Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses).Set in Java at a Japanese POW camp in 1942, a war of wills - and unspoken erotic attraction - unfolds between a rebellious prisoner, David Bowie, and camp commandant Ryuichi Sakomoto, who is impressed by Bowie's defiance while bilingual prisoner Tom Conti (Mr. Lawrence) engages in a more adversarial relationship with sadistic sergeant Takeshi Kitano (Hana Bi), who finally offers Lawrence a sinister 'Christmas' present.Fine performances by Conti, Kitano (his first dramatic role), Sakamoto (his acting debut, he also contributed the memorable score) and Bowie, combined with stunning cinematography and brilliant direction by one of Japan's finest filmmakers, make this a memorable and compelling war drama.The Oshima Gang Featurette (The Making Of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence)An Interview With producer Jeremy ThomasAn Interview With actor/composer Ryuichi SakamotoAn excerpt from Scenes by the Sea: The Life and Cinema of Beat Takeshi Kitano Theatrical Trailer

• Boiling Point | DVD | (11/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquarters...

• The Takeshi Kitano Collection (3 discs) | DVD | (08/03/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Titles Comprise: Dolls: Bound by a long red cord a young couple wanders in search of something they have forgotten. An aging Yakuza returns to the park where he used to meet his long-lost girlfriend. A disfigured pop star confronts the phenomenal devotion of her biggest fan... Zatoichi: Masterless samurai Zatoichi comes to a village that is on the brink of gang war. Always on the run and looking for the next dice game a blind masseur and swordsman soon finds himself a wanted man in town when he protects his landlord's nephew in a slaughter at the makeshift casino. At the same time two geishas come to town to seek revenge for the deaths of their family ten years previously. As they begin to hunt down those responsible Zatoichi and the geishas find themselves targets in a final bloody showdown... Takeshis' i: Beat Takeshi a prominent actor meets a lookalike named Kitano who is a struggling actor but after the meeting Kitano's dreams take a violent surreal turn.

• Demon | DVD | (28/10/2002) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A yakuza member Shuji turns his back on his gangster lifestyle and moves to a remote fishing village. His past is kept hidden as is the yakuza style 'demon tattoo' on his back. But when another gangster comes to the town ensnaring the fishermen with all the night drinking gambling and drugs Shuji's secret is revealed. Shuji must either pursue his new found freedom or the demon on his back.

• Blood and Bones | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Takeshi Kitano is a true legend of Asian cinema both in front of and behind the camera. His ability to captivate audiences with his powerful on-screen performances in films such as Battle Royale and Zatoichi are unrivaled and as such he is hugely admired all over the world. Shunpei (Takeshi Kitano) is a violent man working at the fish factory in Osaka. When he is off he drinks and is continuously consumed by hate. When the factory closes he becomes a loan shark. With no limit to his obsession for money Shunpei's family are soon drawn into his ego-bound quest for riches. Based upon one of the biggest bestsellers in Korea - the Yamamoto-Syugoro prize winning novel ""Chi no Hone"" by Yang Sogiru (Sogil Yan) - the film tells the story the story about Yang Sogiru's father Shunpei who was amongst the first generation Koreans to live in Japan.