Koroshiya 1 aka Ichi The Killer (Takashi Miike, 2001)
Based upon the popular manga, one of Miike's (many) 2001 efforts is arguably his most notorious, because of the strong use of sexualized violence, masochistic use of torture, and strong, gory, bloody violence.
Yakuza boss of the Anjo gang suddenly goes missing, and a stack of cash disappears with him. It's left to Kakihara (the excellent Tadanobu Asano) to try and find him... by any means necessary. Kakihara is a sadomasochist, and probably a nihilist to boot. He loves torture of all kinds, whether it's inflicted on himself or on other people. He longs to be hurt by somebody who really loves inflicting pain.
The Yakuza are getting set-up by an old man, who -a la Yojimbo- appears to be playing the two rival gangs for his own gain. In the midst of this he also has control over a lunatic killer cry-baby, Ichi (Tadanobu Asano), whom he manipulates in order to get certain gang members killed.
Set in the seedy streets of Shinjuku, Miike is clearly in his element. His favourite location, OTT blood & gore, glorified mysogyny, mutilation and violence are all on show here. As a result, Ichi the killer has been cut in several countries... Germany, Hong Kong & the USA have in the past released severely cut versions, and in some countries was simply banned outright! And yes, the dreaded BBFC also took the scissors to Ichi, trimming 3 and a quarter minutes worth of the movie, due to sexualized violence. The newer US release and (of course) the Dutch releases are fully uncut.
Indeed, the banning/cutting of Ichi seems to have over-shadowed the fact that it is a very good film, not to mention an excellent adaptation of an explicit manga. The effects are good (not great, good), the story is also good, and the cast are uniformly excellent.
Ichi also has an interesting ending, with equally interesting end credits and music. Not at all for the faint-hearted, Ichi is highly recommended, but do your research, and try to see an uncut version... the mediablasters unrated version released in the USA is probably the best version you'll find on the planet, released on SD & a Blu-ray that lacks lustre.
