(aka "Kikujiro no natsu" or "Kikujiro - een zomerse roadmovie" or "Kikujiros Sommer" or "L'Eté de Kikujiro" )
Japan 1999
Celebrating the success of “Hana-bi”, by which Kitano announced himself to be a master, the world tour brought him to Rotterdam, where Tony Rayns during the talk show asked him about his next project. “I’m going to make a road movie”, Kitano said. “One like those by Wim Wenders?”, Rayns asked. “No, one like ‘The Wizard of Oz’”, Kitano said – and made his idiosyncratic laughter.
Experimenting with form and function, Kitano also used the road movie structure in “Hana-Bi”. The advantage is, that it offers the chance to bring in a wide range of characters and incidents without any of them being unrealistic and without one having to explain anything. Equally free in form, Kitano chose to use improvisation in many of the scenes. Finally, the entire form was divided into chapters, represented by living pictures, as if someone read an old diary and remembered back; this also allowed more freedom.
Typically for Kitano, he got bored with the simple form not even halfway thru production. He needed something to keep his mind busy, to keep his interest, so he made up several dream sequences, playing around with editing (from Kuleshov cuts to cause/effect ellipses) and colours.
Masao is nine and lives alone with his grandmother. When all his friends go away for the summer, he is all alone all day, so he decides to go visit his mother, whom he never has seen, as she moved away to get a job to support Masao. Being too young to travel on his own, a friend of his grandmother sends along her no good husband, Kikujiro, to protect him. However on the very first day of travel, Kikujiro has gambled all Masao’s traveling money away. So begins the real journey.
“Kikujiro” is easily the most beloved film by Kitano. It is full of life, it has the heart at the right place. Like no other Kitano film, “Kikujiro” is all about moving on (“the angel trilogy”) and as such it marks the end of the three films about making things right he made after recovering from his accident. Life is cruel, life never is as one hopes it to be, but there is always a friend you can rely on. Both the use and representation of the angel motif is stronger here than in the two films prior: Not a Christian motif, but about people who helps others in time of need.
Henrik Sylow of kitanotakeshi.com
Poster
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Theatrical Release: June 5, 1999
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Bandai - Region 2- PAL vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Enoch, Henrik of TakeshiKitano.com and Martin Norefors for all the Screen Caps!
(
Bandai - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
Bandai Visuals Region 2- PAL |
Enter One Region 3- NTSC |
Sony Region 1 - NTSC |
Chinese
Bootleg Region 3 - NTSC |
de Film
Freak Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 2:01:54 | 201:36 | 2:01:31 | 2:01:54 | 1:56:49 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9
enhanced |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
| NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. | |||||
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Bandai and Enter One and Sony
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Chinese Bootleg
and de Film Freak
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| Audio | 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese | Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround | 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese |
2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese |
2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese |
| Subtitles | English, Japanese, None | Japanese, Korean, English, None | English, French, Spanish, None | English, None | Dutch, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Bandai Visuals Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: January 25, 2001 Chapters 11 |
Release
Information: Studio: Enter One Aspect Ratio:
Edition
Details: Chapters 11
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Release Information: Studio: Sony Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 28 |
Release Information: Studio: Chinese Bootleg Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: de Film Freak Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: December 8, 2003 Chapters 9 |
| Comments |
ADDITION; Bandai (Sept. -2004) -
Not surprising, the
Japanese DVD from Bandai, has the best picture, followed by the Korean
DVD, which is a direct port of the Bandai DVD, followed the
Chinese Bootleg, a direct
"copy" of the Bandai DVD.
Both
Sony and FilmFreak are cropped. Sony 2.5% left/right, 3.5% top/bottom vs.
FilmFreak 3.5% left/right, 4.5% top/bottom. In addition, the FilmFreak
frame is streched horizontal to get the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Equally,
these versions colours are off scheme. Sony is very green and FilmFreak is
yellow-ish with alot of contrast.
While
the DVD from FilmFreak is has the worst picture, it has the best
additional material in form of the 93-minute ultra rare documentary “Jam
session - Kikujiro no natsu koshiki kaizokuban” (1999) by Makoto
Shinozaki, which deals with the production of “Kikujiro” and offers a
rare glimpse behind the scenes of a Kitano film and has cameo’s by for
instance Hou Hsiao-Hsien. This documentary alone makes the Film Freak DVD
a must buy, regardless if one doesn’t understand the languages, as its
only subtitled in French and Dutch. - Henrik Sylow of kitanotakeshi.com |
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Recommended Reading for Japanese Film Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Japan Journals : 1947-2004, by Donald Richie |
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp |
Kon Ichikawa (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs) by James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario |
Shohei Imamura (Cinematheque
Ontario Monographs, No. 1) by James Quandt |
Eros Plus Massacre: An
Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema
(Midland Book, Mb 469) by David Desser |
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Ritchie |
by Yasujiro Ozu, Kogo Noda, Donald Richie, Eric Klestadt |
Ozu by Donald Richie |
A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Menus
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(Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - LEFT vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Subtitle Samples
(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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Screen Captures
(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(Bandai - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. Enter One - Region 3- NTSC 2nd vs. Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Chinese Bootleg - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. de Film Freak - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Bandai |
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Sound: |
Sony |
| Extras: | de Film Freak |
| Menu: | de Film Freak |
| DVD Box Covers |
Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best... |
Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best... |
|
| Distribution |
Bandai Visuals Region 2- PAL |
Enter One Region 3- NTSC |
Sony Region 1 - NTSC |
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
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Many Thanks...
Takeshi Kitano's - Kikujiro - Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Kikujiro - Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - Kikujiro - Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano Kikujiro Kikujirô no natsu DVD Review Takeshi Kitano's - 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