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The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi / Sonatine Takeshi Kitano Takeshi Kitano reimagines a Japanese institution with this stellar entry in the Zatoichi canon. The action follows the blind master swordsman, played by Kitano, as he helps two geishas seek revenge on the men who killed their parents. Dispatching enemies in a whirl of artfully choreographed, stylized violence, Zatoichi eventually comes face-to-face with the gang's mastermind (Tadanobu Asano, Ichi the Killer), a man as skilled as Zatoichi with the blade. Cartoonishly bloody and violent, Zatoichi also possesses a humorous heart, best typified by the tap-dance musical number at the finale. DVD also includes Beat Takeshi's Sonatine, a brutal crime thriller about a world-weary yakuza who finds he's been double-crossed after travelling to stop a gang war. Featuring an introduction by Quentin Tarantino. The DVD is letterboxed, closed-captioned, and includes behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, Quentin Tarantino video introduction, bonus material, and more. Japan, 2004/1993, 210 mins. DVD | $44.95
Blood and Bones Yoichi Sai Japan's official entry for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar in 2006 was this "kimchi flavored, Nipponese blend of The Godfather and East of Eden" (Variety). Actor-director Takeshi Kitano plays Kim Shunpei, a Korean immigrant in Japan who is more creature than man, prone to abusing his wife, fish cake factory underlings, and everyone else in his nefarious life. As the years pass, Shunpei's heartlessness reveals the ugly side of daily life in Osaka's Korean ghetto. Adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by Korean-Japanese author Yang Sok Gil. In Japanese with optional English subtitles. Japan, 2004, 144 mins. DVD | $44.95
Brother Takeshi Kitano Takeshi Kitano comes to America in this grim yakuza drama filmed partially in Los Angeles. Kitano also stars as an individualistic gangster who leaves serious trouble behind in Tokyo and comes to live with his half-brother (Claude Maki) in California. Before long he has built up a new criminal empire, but one that seems destined to crumble as quickly as it rose. Omar Epps co-stars as a criminal initially antagonistic toward his new boss who eventually becomes his most loyal subject. Kitano's distinctive blend of violence and melancholy gives this genre exercise unexpected emotional resonance. The DVD is letterboxed and includes optional French and Spanish subtitles and theatrical trailers. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. Japan/Great Britain/France, 2000, 113 mins. DVD | $44.95
Dolls Takeshi Kitano Known for his violent epics, director Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine) shifts forms with this memorable picture that weaves together three stories of undying love. Kitano follows a pair of "bound beggars" wandering through Japan, an aging yakuza boss searching for the love he abandoned 30 years earlier, and a pop star who's about to meet her most devoted fan, likening each character to bunraku puppet theater dolls controlled and driven by unseen strings of love. In Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 2002, 113 mins. DVD | $44.95
Getting Any? Takeshi Kitano A goofy, slapstick sex comedy from Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine, Hana-Bi). Completely unlike his other films and directed under the pseudonym Beat Takeshi, Getting Any? is about the ridiculous lengths that one man will go to for sex. A bizarre, odd film that is an absolute hoot. Japan, 1994, 76 mins. DVD | $44.95
Kikujiro Takeshi Kitano Filled with warm humor as well as a quiet sadness, Kikujiro came as something of a surprise to audiences expecting the tougher, more violent elements of Fireworks or Sonatine. Yet, with its meditative, reflective tone, this is very much a Kitano film, somewhat in the spirit of his third movie, A Scene at the Sea, although more sentimental. When a lonely young boy takes to the road in search of his mother, a brash, gambling-crazed tough guy (Kitano) is recruited to act as his guardian, leading to several offbeat encounters. A funny and sensitive work that, at its heart, is an affectionate look at boys of all ages at play. In Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1999, 116 mins. DVD | $44.95
