Really Surprised!

Best movie ever!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Ichi the Killer is a brutal yakuza movie by renowned director Takashi Miike. If you haven't watched any of his movies yet, let me tell you that this film isn't for lighthearted audiences. In the first five minutes alone, we see illegal gambling in a shady bar, a yakuza boss beating up and raping a prostitute and a voyeur masturbating to this instead of helping the poor woman. You will see prolonged torture sessions, people taking drugs and blood-red rooms filled with guts after intense massacres. Anyone who criticizes this movie for these elements or calls the viewers of it sick clearly didn't inform himself what kind of movie he was about to watch. Japanese yakuza movies are usually over-the-top, graphic and for mature audiences only. This is what makes them stand out.Ichi the Killer tells the story of a mentally unstable killer who seems to be manipulated via hypnosis and psychological torture by a lowly yakuza named Jijii who orders him to take out two rival yakuza gangs. Sadomasochistic hitman Kakihara wants to avenge his deceased boss but also desires meeting the killer in order to be domineered and tortured by him.If you think that this movie is only filled with perverted brutality, you've got it all wrong. The film features a lot of cultural elements related to yakuza traditions such as yubitsume, a ritual to atone for offenses by performing self-mutilation. The filming techniques are very experimental, working with unusual camera angles and stop-and-go technology. The authentic settings in form of dirty back alleys, small apartments and shady bars clash with flashy costumes as the sadomasochistic hitman walks around in colorful suits while the unstable killer wears a costume with special hidden weapons. The film works a lot with colors and their symbolism with white standing for the loss of childish innocence, black for darkness and red for violence. The experimental and vivid soundtrack blends in perfectly.The greatest element about this movie might be its stunning finale that actually offers some food for thought. It isn't immediately obvious what actually happens, how it occurs and what the consequences are. Personally, I believe Ichi the Killer, lowly yakuza Jijii and prostitute Karen are one and the same person with multiple-personality disorder since they share the same memories at times but there are many possible theories. No matter how you think about the film's outcome, it's something you will still be thinking about long after you have actually watched the movie.In the end, I can recommend the movie if you are equally interested in Japanese culture, brutal gangster films and intellectual film-making. Ichi the Killer stimulates your brain, your guts and your heart. It's an unforgettable experience based upon a unique manga and directed by one of the best directors of all times.

You here it everywhere treat others how you want to be treated, David Lynch follows this philosophy and made a video recently spouting that same idealist utopian @#$%% proving he isn't intelligent one bit. My favorite writer and yes I have read the entire Manga series that inspired this film and was surprised how much Miike packed into a 2hr film what is a 20+ issue series, Hideo understands sick people do just that. He shows us the truth of our stupid pitiful sayings and definitions based on surface glance overs at the local scoff and go. Watch this film and the whole time think of every a hole who has ever spoken those nonsensical words, now every time some one says treat others how blah blah blah...I say unless they are a sadomasochist right? and puzzled looks is all I get from the western ideal peanut gallery that calls it self an intelligent species.

It has been a while since I watched this movie, used to have it on DVD, but didn't know what to think of it. Anyway just bought it again, unrated this time. Anybody familiar with Takashi Miike's work should not be surprised by this movie, it is his usual shocking, gruesome and controversial movie, that delivers on violence gore and just been plain weird. This was the first movie I watched by Takashi Miike's, Maybe that's why I didn't know what to think of it at first. Ichi the killer is a great movie if you know what to expect, it's got a good, but weird story, that focuses on a psychopathic yakuza member, looking for his boss and a very disturbed and misled serial killer that goes around in a black sort of suit, with blades on the heels that he uses to slice people in to pieces. All in all it is a violent, disturbing gory gore fest of a movie with a story about a psychopathic, sadistic yakuza member, who likes to inflict pain and also receive it, and a serial killer who is just plain weird. I rate this movie 10/10 for weirdness and entertainment.

I knew of the actor who plays the part of Ichi The Killer from another film called Fallen Angels where he also plays a killer connected to organized crime in Asia. Aside from that actors performance, the film is pretty much a dud and is also probably the grossest and bloodiest film I've ever seen in my entire life and that is really saying something. Typically bad acting is here aplenty-a thing that often mars Asian cinema in films like Old Boy and a number of other pseudo martial arts epics that have come out of Asia in the past decade or so. There isn't much special or even good about this movie-in many ways it is the personification of 'hack cinematography.' Nobody survives in the film or learns anything at all making it a real black journey in the true sense of the concept. Don't waste your time with this crap. In case you are interested the guy on the poster isn't 'Ichi The Killer'-he's is a crime lord of some type in the film who is being targeted by Ichi's rival organization.