International superstar 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano combines cool violence and powerful emotions ... more
to reinvent the gangster film genre in his explosive and critically acclaimed masterpiece Violent Cop. 'Beat' Takeshi plays a renegade cop who is up to his neck in Drugs and Organised Crime. Soon the Violent Cop has to face up to a sadistic and ruthless Yakuza when his sister is kidnapped and drugged...
Violent Cop("Sono otoko kyobo ni tsuki") is the first film directed by Takeshi "Beat" ... more
Kitano, the Japanese star who began as a stand-up comedian on television. It's aDirty Harry-type tale of a cop whose overly muscular methods are disapproved of by his superiors. When his partner is killed by the local Mr Big, Azuma (Kitano) goes into action, along with a new sidekick he initiates into the ways of the world. Dismissed from the force, Azuma carries on his one-man campaign, despite his sister's being forcibly drugged and raped by the gang. The violence is graphic, but what's most engaging about the film is Kitano's acting. He's an unlikely hero with his bow-legged walk and the face of a punch-drunk boxer, but his low-key style, a counterpart to the explosive violence, is always cool and it's easy to see why he's such a cult figure.--Ed Buscombe
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Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Advantages: Kitano's 1st. A great piece of genre cinema. Disadvantages: None.
(no lifting, similarities are coincidental - past experience in reviewing)
Takeshi Kitano is one of the most influencial directors from Japan, alongside Shohei Imamura, Akira Kurosawa, Seijun Suzuki, Kinji Fukasaku, Shinya Tsukamoto, Takashi Miike, Nagisa Oshima and at least a dozen others I can think of.
VIOLENTCOP was his very first film.
This release was a bit of a shock for Japan. Previous to ViolentCop, Kitano had been a huge stand-up comedy star. It looked as if he had given up comedy altogether with this film: a dark and hyper-violent tale of a lone cop against a bunch of merciless yakuzas. He would however return to comedy in between films, as well as various other talk-shows and popular Japanese TV. Comical and slapstickish elements would also find their way into most of his films anyway.
For those familiar ...
I love Arnie films, he is just so funny and Kindergarten Cop is one of my all time favourites of his. Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 movie and is classified as a comedy thriller.
Like with all Arnie films it seems there has to be a bit of action and goodie v baddie scenes and this film is no different. Arnie plays, yep, you've guessed it, a cop called John Kimble. He is a bit hard nosed, brash and has been chasing the drug dealer Cullen Crisp for years. He finally nails him but is unable to convict him without testimony from his ex-wife. However, all is not as simple as it seems. His ex-wife has gone into hiding and no one knows who she is. Arnie must then go undercover at a Kindergarten to find the ex-wife and Cullen's son who is a pupil at the kindergarten.
They say you should never work with animals or children but that's exactly what ...
Advantages: Great action and entertainment Disadvantages: none
Director: Martin Brest
Producers: Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer
Writers: Danilo Bach, Vincent Patrick and Daniel Petrie
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher and Steven Berkoff.
Released in the late part of 1984, this hour and 45 minute cop movie introduces the world to the rather witty, although sometimes arrogant character Axel Fowley? the Detroit officer with attitude?
**BRIEF PLOT**
Axel Foley is detective from the tough streets of Detroit who has a terrible habit of ignoring orders and doing things his own way?constantly upsetting his boss, Inspector Todd, played by (Gilbert Hill)?
But when Mikey Tandino, (played by James Russo) an old friend of Axels, turns up at his apartment and is promptly assassinated by Zack, (played by Jonathan Banks) Axel takes the law into his own hands ...
Contains strong bloody violence and sexual violence
Video Category
World Cinema Feature Film
Country Of Origin
Japan
Plot
Detective Azuma is a misfit. He creates his own rules and his own form of justice. He is also beyond control.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
SECOND SIGHT FILMS LTD.; METRODOME DISTRIBUTION; SONY DADC
Languages
Main Language
Japanese
Subtitle Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
68 minute documentary, Commentary by Chris D, author of Outlaw Masters Of Japanese Film
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
...As star of his own film, Mr. Kitano is a riveting figure....VIOLENT COP packs a punch... (New York Times, 12/03/2009)
DVD Description
In his directorial debut, famed Japanese screen personality Takeshi Kitano (acting under the alias Beat Takeshi) plays Azuma, a brutal but honorable cop at the end of his rope. Azuma's trying daily routine involves dealing with a naive new partner and caring for his drug-dependent, mentally challenged sister. When a friend on the police force is killed and his sister is kidnapped by drug dealers, Azuma begins walking a mercilessly vengeful path that leads to a shocking finale. VIOLENT COP is a stunning first feature from Kitano, who took over for veteran director Kinji Fukasaku after he left the project. Primarily known as a television comedian, Kitano rewrote the script to better suit his surprisingly dark vision of the film, which serves an intriguing introduction to his unique directorial style, combining scenes of extreme violence with beautifully meditative shots. Elevating the then-waning yakuza genre to a more artistic level, Kitano's film is a landmark in late 20th century Japanese cinema.
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