(aka "Violent Cop" or "Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki" )
Japan 1989
What should have been a comic Dirty Harry-ish farce, became
an gritty, dark and violent tale, when director Kinji Fukasaku walked out of
the project and Kitano was offered the chance to direct. Kitano virtually
rewrote the entire script, removed all comedy and made himself a platform,
from which he could show his serious side. Originally a stand-up comic, Kitano
followed the advice from friend and director Nagisa Oshima and played
criminals in order to express not only his darker side but also his dramatic
talent. Having done this quiet successfully on TV and in Oshima’s “Merry
Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, Kitano felt let down, when all he was offered was
comic roles: Now he had the chance to control what he wanted.
The story is pretty straight forward. Azuma (Kitano) is a rogue homicide
detective, a loner without respect or care for neither his superiors nor
police procedures, using violence and other unethical methods to get results.
When his best friend gets killed by the yakuza, he goes after the killer, but
instead of getting support, Azuma is charged with wrongful arrest, planting of
evidence and attempting to kill a prisoner. He is fired. Having lost
everything and feeling betrayed, he buys a gun and goes on a personal
vendetta, seeking justice in the only way he knows: By killing everyone in his
way.
Extraordinary simple in both story and visual style, Kitano may not have had a
clue how to direct, but his passion and vision sat aside any lacking of
experience. An extraordinary strong directorial debut by any standard.
The original title, “Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki”, means "Watch out, this man
is dangerous" and is far more fitting for the story that the rather generic
American title, “Violent Cop”.
Henrik Sylow (Kitanotakeshi.com)
Poster
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Theatrical Release: August 12, 1989 (Japan)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: AV Channel (Takeshi Kitano Collection) - Region 4 - PAL
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution |
AV Channel Region 4 - PAL |
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| Runtime | 1:38:21 (4% PAL speedup) | |
| Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate |
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| Audio | 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese | |
| Subtitles | English, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: AV Channel Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 13 |
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| Comments |
What is left to say than, Finally an anamorphic transfer of "Violent
Cop" with English subtitles. And it simply looks damn good. Based upon the Shochiku masters, the frame is slightly overscanned compared to the Fox Lorber frame, but here in correct ratio of 1.85, where the Fox Lorber was stretched 5% vertically to fill out the 16x9 ratio. There are some compression artifacts, mainly edge enhancements and color banding, but only in some scenes and only very minute. The central issue with the AV transfer is its light / darkness in relation to its contrast, making white bloom and shadows go towards black, and "Violent Cop" is a bit too dark for my taste. Overall, this is a near perfect transfer. The best this film ever has looked on DVD. Colors are strong, deep and saturated, details are sharp, and for once no ghosting or "echo". |
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Screen Captures
subtitle sample
Captures resized to 800px from 1016px native resolution
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(AV Channel - Region 4- PAL TOP vs. Fox / Lorber - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
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Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
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