13 Assassins (Takashi Miike)

[KK2.0]

http://twitchfilm.net/news/2010/05/t...-assassins.php

it looks pretty amazing imo, i've always wanted to watch Miike at the helm of a bigger movie.

[Mysterious Dude]

I'm watching this tonight.

[Mysterious Dude]

My feelings about this film are probably a bit tainted by my theater experience -- I've never seen an audience so into a foreign film before. I don't go to midnight showings, but I imagine they're a lot like this. The movie was scheduled to show twice during the Minneapolis film festival, and both shows were sold out. The movie did stop at one point because someone was suffering from heat stroke or some fucking thing, but it started up again soon after that. It's not the worst thing that's happened during a show in the years I've been going to this festival.

Anyway, the movie. It begs comparison to Seven Samurai, being about a group of samurai on a mission which culminates in a lengthy battle in a town. This time, the mission is to assassinate one Lord Naritsugu, whose penchant for casual cruelty reminded me of Amon Goth of Schindler's List.

One area where the film really does not compare favorably to Seven Samurai is in the characters. There is only one who really has any personality -a kind of wild man who lives in the forest, hunting animals for food and in love with a woman he can never have; he is the only non-Samurai character of the 13. The rest are difficult to distinguish from each other. This was not a problem I had with Seven Samurai. I also didn't get any sense of the characters living in the town at the end. How do they feel about their homes being completely destroyed?

But the movie is still a riot. Most samurai movies these days are so maudlin and depressing. 13 Assassins does take itself seriously, but it is also fun and action-packed, and, considering its length (140 minutes), surprisingly fast-paced. The movie is worth seeing for the final battle, where the movie's flaws are forgotten amidst the old-fashioned violence.

[EyesWideOpen]

Just read what I think is the first review of the dvd/blu-ray release and it is indeed the US edited version of the film with 15 minutes removed. I was hoping for both versions to be included. It does include deleted scenes though.

[number8]

They were always going to put the edited cut because it wasn't Magnet's decision to release in theaters cut. From what I read, it was the original studio that sold a shorter version to international distributors, supposedly to jack up foreign sales of the DVD.

[D_Davis]

I've watched it twice now, and I really can't imagine it being any longer. I don't know. It just feels so perfect as it is. Of course I'll wait to say for sure until I eventually see the longer cut, but it could be one of those times when the cuts are justified.

[number8]

By the way, I also saw Ninja Kids!!! Now I just need to see Hara-kiri.