Gozu

Starring:Gozu
Studio: Pathfinder Home Ent.
Product Type: DVD

Description

From the acclaimed director, Takashi Miike, comes a Yakuza/horror film to shock and amaze audiences everywhere! When Minami is sent to kill his mentor, Ozaki, who is in the midst of a nervous breakdown, he embarks on a journey of unexplained natural phenomenon that only the director of such films as Audition, Dead or Alive and Ichi the Killer can provide in this surreal Lynchian/Cronenberg-like odyssey!

Customer Reviews:

This movie has Miike written all over it........2007-06-01

The vast majority of the film doesn't make a lick of sense, but it's so funny and jolting that sense would almost be a distraction. Gozu is a fascinating trip which is bizarre, perverse, entertaining, downright hilarious in parts, with some stunning cinematography and in all honesty a very interesting exploration of the intense bonding of brotherhood between the Yakuza that goes beyond loyalty and into self-sacrificial love. Gozu is a completely different film in comparison to Miike's earlier work, while some may call upon the definitive identity the film has as a Miike production in all honesty he has never really made a film like this before. The violence on display is very much toned down with no real shock factor. In Gozu Miike parodies his earlier work (thus the scenes of lactation) and the violence that is present is more restrained and bizarre as opposed to offensive.

It's Miike doing Lynch and Cronenberg and I have to say its an ill-fated entertaining ride. Gozu is simply not supposed to be taken seriously, any film that opens with the paranoid ramblings of a Yakuza claiming Chihuahuas are trained to kill simply has to be taken with a pinch of salt. And yet, despite the often ridiculous locations, characters and plot turns there is still a fascinating subtext to be found that lifts Gozu from the realms of entertainment into a genuinely interesting film.

However tenuous this may seem, Gozu is actually quite an interesting take on homo-eroticism in the yakuza. Without giving too much away, (the film really is best experienced blind) Miike examines themes of masculinity, and the difference of physical and emotional attraction with the bonding of men whose only cause for separation lies within their physical embodiment. This in turn, leads to one of the biggest "what the hell" endings I have seen for a long time. When dissected however, it only further enhances the sexual politics of the story bringing more weight to the question of sexual orientation. This subtext however, takes backseat to just pure unadulterated dirty humor and entertainment as Miike pulls out all the shots to dazzle, perplex and excite the audience into a frenzy of surrealist humor, inventive plot twists and plenty of in-jokes to satisfy his ever growing fan base.
Looking at this jacket of this disc led me to believe that Gozu would deliver a garish horror film, however, there is very little horror on display despite the occasional moments of suspense as Miike relies heavily upon the strains of the cello score rather than a true deep rooted sense of fear. but what we truly get is a film that dives into a surrealist landscape which is much more bizarre than terrifying. However, with tongue firmly in cheek Miike does succeed in living up to its kitsch B-movie feel.

Wipe that milk mustache off your face!.......2007-03-11

At first, "Gozu" begins like one would imagine a Yakuza movie might. An underling, Minami, has been given the unenviable task of disposing his superior and best friend Ozaki, who seems to have gone crazy. When Ozaki mysteriously dies on the road to Nagoya, and later disappears, the warped minds of writer Sakichi Sato and director Takeshi Miike rush in to assault Minami and viewers with a seemingly endless parade of quirky characters and disturbing imagery which would give Freud and Jung fits.

Why do half of the characters in a town outside Nagoya seem to make no sense? Who exactly is the pretty young woman Minami finds in his car? And why does he keep seeing a man with a cow head in his dreams? Minami seems to be locked into a nightmarish roller-coaster ride of insanity. I can guarantee you'll never look at milk or soup ladles the same way again.

If you've not seen Miike's films before - as I had not - "Gozu" might not seem to make a lot of sense at all. If you give in to your will to be weird, however, you might recognize the terrifying beauty of Miike's creation.

Yakuza in Twin Peaks.......2007-01-05

If you ever wanted to see what would happen if you threw a David Lynch movie in the blender with a Takashi Miike movie, I'd say this film is most likely what you'd get.

This movie is pretty damn strange but being that I love both directors, I couldn't help but love this strange tale of.... man, I don't even want to spoil it for you but this one goes down as one of the oddest Yakuza movies in existence.

This is a nice DVD package. Picture is good, sound is fine, and there are a good amount of bonus features, like interviews, commentary and other goodies.

Hey, if you like Lynch or Miike films, give this one a shot. One of the better Miike films I've seen.

good but not great.......2006-09-18

I was expecting more from this movie but it left me wanting more...The movie was strange and a little disturbing but there ws nothing scary or horror like about it...I would recommend this film if you're a Takashi Miike fan.

decent for low budget.......2006-08-01

I just like movies that have a little more happening. But with some of the strangest scenes ever, I have to say that I am really split in the middle with this. I didn't like it, but I was almost intrigued enough to watch it again. Everything is just sort of a long build up for the end, and I don't know if it was worth waiting for. I would highly recommend another twisted movie called Oldboy over this.

Average customer rating:

Gozu
Starring: Shohei Hino , Ryo Ishibashi , Kimika Yoshino , Sho Aikawa , and Harumi Sone
Director: Takashi Miike
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000641D88
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Description

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