Synopsis
A daring exercise in ultra-violent extremes.
Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.
Dead or Alive
1999 ‘DEAD OR ALIVE 犯罪者’ Directed by Takashi Miike
Cast
Riki Takeuchi Sho Aikawa Renji Ishibashi Hitoshi Ozawa Shingo Tsurumi Kaoru Sugita Dankan Michisuke Kashiwaya Ren Osugi Tokitoshi Shiota Susumu Terajima Kaei Okina Tomorowo Taguchi Hirotaro Honda Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi Mizuho Koga Sei Hiraizumi Manzô Shinra Shu Ehara Kazuki Kitamura Ryûshi Mizukami Kyosuke Yabe
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Alternative Titles
Dead or Alive I, Dead or Alive - Hanzaisha, 데드 오어 얼라이브 - 범죄자
Genres
Themes
Crime, drugs and gangsters Intense violence and sexual transgression violence, action, guns, cops or killing martial arts, kung fu, choreography, cool or action-packed violence, shock, disturbing, brutal or graphic cannibals, gory, gruesome, graphic or shock gangster, crime, criminal, violence or ruthless Show All…
Popular reviews
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I love that in the West the tagline attached to this movie was "Takashi Miike: the rabid dog of Japanese cinema returns to the bite the world on its ass".
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A cop with cool shades and a gangster with a forever mullet running around doing crazy shit in this Takashi Miike acid trip. Falling hooker. Kissy kissy. Stripper tits. Funky sunglasses worn only at night. Pussy poker. Yummy noodles! The longest line of cocaine ever. Ass shakin'. Tit suck. Bathroom doggy. Neck stab. Itty bitty bit of blood. Soupy stomach. Kitty sniffer. Extreme shotgun. Open legs. Pole licker. Music you only hear at the craziest raves. Stripper clown? Adidas tennis shoes. Spinning wheel? Bicycle hand brake. Cops watch NYPD Blue? Edward Furlong's Japanese look-a-like. Beachside fun. Bathing suit seduction. Dog fucker? Riki Takeuchi's mature mullet. The opening 10 minutes is batshit Miike super crazy. You might need detox or rehab…
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Movie wise, 2020 was definitely the year of Franco for me, where I watched 40+ of uncle Jess' movies. After watching Dead or Alive, I kind of want this year to be the year of Takashi Miike. So I'm going to set myself a challenge: 21 Miike movies in 2021.
That should be doable, right?
01 of 21 Miike movies watched
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I've been guilty of underrating this film in the past. It's been a long time since I last watched it - a lot of water under the bridge, many movies logged (including the whole Black Society trilogy) - and you know what, I think this might just be Miike's magnum opus, as far as his yakuza output goes.
Dead Or Alive kicks off in a pulse-pounding 6-minute blaze of sex, violence and gastronomic obscenity, tongue firmly in cheek. It's a fantastic opening sequence that sets the scene for what's to come, functioning as abstract for Miike's insane thesis and condensing what follows into a lurid concentrate. Revisiting familiar territory, DOA gives us a turf war between a gang of ambitious…
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An absolutely bonkers opening, and surely the all-time greatest ending to a film. The coolness of the two leads and Miike’s injections of insanity between the film’s beginning and end are enough to keep the middle engaging, too.
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Let's say 4 stars for the opening 15 minutes, 5 stars for those incredible last ten minutes and about 2 stars for the rest.
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Takashi Miike Revisited (#5)
Master Lord Commander Alejandro Jodorowsky once said in an interview that Takashi Miike is quite possibly the greatest filmmaker working today. He went off into a joyful tirade describing in great detail his favorite moments in Miike films, like Fudoh for example, which shows a seemingly innocent little schoolgirl spreading her legs to shoot a dart out of her pussy into a guy's neck. He describes in so many words that it's this insanely entertaining and daring kind of mindset Miike has that most auteurs today are lacking and how such a quality is what puts him above so many contemporary indie filmmakers, and there is some heavy truth to that. What separates him from most…
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I spent most of this movie thinking it was wild that Tony Scott never remade this, with Denzel Washington as the cop and, oh I dunno, let's say Ethan Hawke or Colin Farrell in the Ryuichi role, some early 2000s teen idol as the kid brother and maybe Gene Hackman or Christopher Walken or somebody like that as the psychotic crime boss. Then I got to the final scene, arguably the greatest ending to any crime movie ever, and I realized why that never happened.
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Week 2: Jan. 8-Jan. 14
Takashi Miike WeekWARNING: This motion picture contains explicit portrayals of violence; sex; violent sex; sexual violence; clowns and violent scenes of violent excess, which are definitely not suitable for all ages. —Tagline
Even though I was unlucky enough to only own the old Kino R-rated release, which cuts out 7 minutes of extra gore and nudity, I still thoroughly enjoyed this early Takashi Miike film. It’s not one of my favorites, but Dead or Alive is still filled with crazy shit only a madman like Miike could come up with.
Everyone talks about the gonzo opening and for good reason. It’s a coked our music video of nonstop t/a, blood,…
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