Takashi Miike

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Takashi Miike

August 24, 1960 (age 47)

Yao, Osaka, Japan
Occupation Director, Producer, Writer, Actor
David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Shinya
Influences
Tsukamoto, Paul Verhoeven[1]
Born

Takashi Miike ( Miike Takashi?) (born August 24, 1960) is a highly prolific
and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video,
and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone,
Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions.

Contents
[hide]

1 Biography
o 1.1 Early life
o 1.2 Career
o 1.3 Themes of his work
o 1.4 Controversies
o 1.5 Personal life
2 Filmography
o 2.1 Director
o 2.2 Actor
o 2.3 Producer
3 Quotes
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links

7 Bibliography

[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Miike was born in Yao, Osaka, Japan. Although he claimed to have attended classes
only rarely, he graduated from Yokohama Vocational School of Broadcast and Film
(Yokohama Hoso Eiga Senmon Gakko) under the guidance of renowned filmmaker
Shohei Imamura, the founder and Dean of that institution.

[edit] Career
Miike's first films were television productions, but he also began directing several
direct-to-video V-Cinema releases. (These were purportedly financed as moneylaundering operations for the yakuza, although there has never been any conclusive
proof of this.) Miike still directs V-Cinema productions intermittently due to the creative
freedom afforded by the less stringent censorship of the medium and the riskier content
that the producers will allow.
Miike's theatrical debut was Shinjuku Triad Society (1995). The film showcased his
extreme style and his recurring themes, and its success gave him the freedom to work on
higher-budgeted pictures. Shinjuku Triad Society is also the first film in what is labeled
his "Black Society Trilogy", which also includes Rainy Dog (1997) and Ley Lines
(1999). He gained international fame in 2000 when his romantic horror film Audition
(1999) and his violent yakuza epic Dead or Alive (1999) played at international film
festivals. He has since gained a strong cult following in the West that is growing with
the increase in DVD releases of his works.

[edit] Themes of his work

Miike has garnered international notoriety for depicting shocking scenes of extreme
violence and bizarre sexual perversions. Many of his films contain graphic and lurid
bloodshed, often portrayed in an over-the-top, cartoonish manner. Much of his work
depicts the activities of criminals (especially yakuza) or concern themselves with nonJapanese living in Japan. He is known for his black sense of humor and for pushing the
boundaries of censorship as far as they will go.
It should be noted that, despite his somewhat notorious reputation, Miike has also
proven himself to be capable of directing lighthearted children's films (Zebraman, The
Great Yokai War), touching period pieces (Sabu), and subdued, moving pictures such as
the road movie The Bird People in China. Even in his more violent work, he is given to
moments of surprising sentimentality, as in Dead or Alive 2. His dabbling in every sort
of genre and emotional range is a testament to his versatility as a director, though a lot
of his output is genre-defying. For example, The Happiness of the Katakuris is an
unconventional farcical musical-comedy-horror involving a bizarre claymation
sequence, zombies and b-movie pastiches.

Other less controversial works include Ley Lines and Agitator, character-driven, serious
crime dramas. Graveyard of Honor (2002) is a remake of the 1975 Kinji Fukasaku film
by the same name. Andoromedeia, perhaps one of his less renowned films, is a teen
drama starring the J-pop girl-band SPEED.
Critics have sometimes noted the puzzling discrepancy of Miike's artistic development
noting that he appears to be simultaneously becoming more radical and more
mainstream a director. Films like One Missed Call are his most commercial works to
date while films like Izo and the "Box" segment in Three... Extremes are less accessible
and target arthouse audiences and fans of extreme cinema.
Despite Miike's voluminous output, it would be erroneous to consider him a dilettante
or a director for hire. Academics have recognized Miike as an auteur, noting much depth
as well as stylistic and thematic consistency in his body of work. Reoccurring themes
and imagery in his work include reincarnation, birds, family, chaos and order. Films like
Visitor Q and Izo are highly philosophical beneath their violent, taboo-laden exterior.
This mingled with his imaginative and often idiosyncratic cinematography makes his
work instantly recognizable regardless of the genre he works in.

[edit] Controversies
Miike's style is often regarded by detractors as offensively misogynistic, though usually
Miike's female characters retain ultimate power, which they use to overturn established
principles of Japanese patriarchy (e.g. Audition (1999), Visitor Q (2001).[citation needed]
One of his most controversial films was the ultra-violent Ichi the Killer (2001), adapted
from a manga comic of the same name and starring Tadanobu Asano as a
sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer. The extreme violence was initially exploited to
promote the film: during its international premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival in 2001, the audience received "barf bags" emblazoned with the film's logo as a
promotional gimmick (one typically flamboyant gory killing involves a character slicing
a man in half from head to groin, and severing another's face, which then slides down a
nearby wall).
However, the British Board of Film Classification refused to allow the release of the
film uncut in Britain, citing its extreme levels of sexual violence towards women. Many
regarded this as inconsistency, as they had recently passed Irrversible (2002), a film
featuring a nine-minute rape scene, uncut. In Hong Kong, 15 minutes of footage was
cut. In the United States it has been shown uncut (although unrated). An uncut DVD
was also released in the Benelux.
In 2005, Miike was invited to direct an episode of the Masters of Horror anthology
series. The series, featuring episodes by a range of established horror directors such as
John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper and Dario Argento, was supposed to provide directors
with relative creative freedom and relaxed restrictions on violent and sexual content
(Some violent content was edited from the Dario Argento-directed episode Jenifer).
However, when the Showtime cable network acquired the rights to the series, the Miikedirected episode Imprint was deemed too disturbing for the network. Showtime
cancelled it from the broadcast lineup even after extended negotiations, though it was
retained as part of the series' DVD release. Mick Garris, creator and executive producer

of the series, described the episode as "amazing, but hard even for me to watch...
definitely the most disturbing film I've ever seen".[2]
While Imprint has yet to air in the United States, it has aired on Bravo in the UK and on
FX in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, The
Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Anchor Bay Entertainment, which has
handled the DVD releases for the Masters of Horror series in the US, released Imprint
on R1 DVD on September 26, 2006.

[edit] Personal life

Miike is almost never publicly seen without wearing sunglasses.
He wrote the foreword to Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto by Tom Mes and
provided a commentary for his segment "Box" from the film "Three Extremes" on the
Region 1 DVD release.
Miike claims Starship Troopers to be his favorite movie.[citation needed] He admires film
directors David Lynch, David Cronenberg, and Paul Verhoeven.[1]

[edit] Filmography
[edit] Director
Year

English title

Japanese

1991
(Rasuto ran: Ai
to uragiri no
hyaku-oku en - (unknown)
shiss Feraari
250 GTO)

Romanization

Type

Rasuto ran: Ai to
uragiri no hyakuoku en - shiss
Feraari 250
GTO
TV
Last Run: Ai to
uragiri no 10
000 000 000 shiss Ferrari
250 GTO

(Topp!
Minipato tai Aikyacchi
Jankushon)

Topp! Minipato

tai - Aikyacchi Video

Jankushon

(Redi hant:
Koroshi no

Redi hant:
Koroshi no

Video

pureryuudo)

1992

purerydo

A Human
Ningen kyki: Ai
Video

Murder Weapon
to ikari no ringu
Bodyguard Kiba

Bodigdo Kiba

Video

Oretachi wa
tenshi ja nai

Video

(Oretachi wa

tenshi ja nai 2)

Oretachi wa
tenshi ja nai 2

Video

Shinjuku
Outlaw

Shinjuku autorou Video

(Oretachi wa
1993 tenshi ja nai)

1994
(Shura no
Shura no

mokushiroku:
mokushiroku:

Bodigdo Kiba)
Bodigdo Kiba

Video

(Daisan no
gokud)

Daisan no
gokud

Film

(Shura no
2
mokushiroku 2:
Bodigdo Kiba)

Shura no
mokushiroku 2:
Bodigdo Kiba

Video

Osaka Tough
Guys

Naniwa
ykyden

Video

1995

Shinjuku
Shinjuku Triad kuroshakai:
Society
Chaina mafia

sens
1996 (Shin daisan no Shin daisan no

Film

Video

gokud:
boppatsu

Kansai gokud
sens)

gokud:
boppatsu Kansai
gokud sens

(Shin daisan no
II
gokud II)

Shin daisan no
gokud II

Video

(Jingi naki
yab)

Jingi naki yab

Video

(Piinattsu:
Rakkasei)

Piinattsu:
Rakkasei

Video

Kenka no
hanamichi:
saka saiky
densetsu

Video

Gokud
sengokushi:
Fud

Film

The Way To
Fight

Fudoh: The
New
Generation

(Jingi naki yab

2
2)

1997

Jingi naki yab 2 Video

Kishiwada
Young Thugs: shnen gurentai:
Film
Innocent Blood
Chikemuri junjhen

Rainy Dog

RAINY DOG

Gokud
kuroshakai

Film

Full Metal
Yakuza

FULL METAL

Full Metal
gokud

Video

The Bird People

in China

Chgoku no
chjin

Film

Andromedia

andromedia

Andoromedia

Film

Blues Harp

BLUES HARP

n/a

Film

Young Thugs:
Nostalgia

Kishiwada
shnen gurentai: Film
Bky

dishon

Film

"Tennen shjo
Man"

TV

1998

1999 Audition

Man, A Natural

Girl

Ley Lines

Nihon
kuroshakai

Film

(Silver:
shirub)

SILVER

Silver: shirub

Video

Dead or Alive

DEAD OR ALIVE

Dead or Alive:
Hanzaisha

Film

Sarariiman
Kintar

Film

Salaryman
Kintaro

White Collar
Worker Kintaro

Man, Next
Natural Girl:
100 Nights In
Yokohama
N-Girls Vs

NEXT Tennen shjo

Man next:

Yokohama
hyaku-ya hen

TV

Vampire

The Making of
'Gemini'

MPD Psycho

The City of
Lost Souls
2000
The City of
Strangers
The Hazard
City

(unknown)

Tsukamoto
TV
Shin'ya ga Ranpo
documentary
suru

"Taj jinkaku
tantei saiko:
Amamiya
Kazuhiko no
kikan"

THE HAZARD CITY Hyry-gai

TV miniseries

Film

The Guys from

Paradise

Tengoku kara
Film
kita otoko-tachi

Dead or Alive
2: Birds
Dead or Alive
2: Runaway

DEAD OR ALIVE 2

Dead or Alive 2:
Film
Tbsha

Kikuchi-j
monogatari:
sakimori-tachi
no uta

2001 (Kikuchi-j
monogatari:
sakimori-tachi
no uta)

Film

(Zuiketsu
Zuiketsu gens:

gens:
Tonkararin yume Film
Tonkararin

densetsu
yume densetsu)

Family

FAMILY

n/a

Film

Visitor Q

Bijit Q

Film

Ichi the Killer

Koroshiya 1

Film

Agitator

Araburu
tamashii-tachi

Film

The Happiness
of the

Katakuris

Katakuri-ke no
kfuku

Film

Dead or Alive:
DEAD OR ALIVE FINAL
Final

n/a

Film

(Onna kunish

ikki)

Onna kunish
ikki

(unknown)

Sabu

SABU

Sabu

Film

Graveyard of
Honor

Shin jingi no
hakaba

Film

Shangri-La

Kin'y hametsu
Nippon:
Tgenky no

hito-bito

Film

Pandra

(unknown)

Pandra

(unknown)

Deadly

Outlaw: Rekka

Violent Fire

Jitsuroku And
Noboru kydden: Rekka

Film

Pto-taimu
tantei

Pto-taimu tantei TV series

2002

2003

The Man In
White

Yurusarezaru
mono

Gozu

GOZU

Gokud kyfu
Film
dai-gekij: Gozu

Yakuza Demon kikoku

Film

Kikoku

Video

Kshnin

Kshnin

TV

One Missed
Call
You've Got a
Call

Chakushin Ari

Film

Zebraman

Zeburman

Film

Pto-taimu
tantei 2

Pto-taimu tantei
TV
2

2004
Box segment in
Three...
2
Extremes

Saam gaang yi

Segment in
feature film

Izo

IZO

Film

Ultraman Max

"Urutoraman
Makkusu"

Select
episodes from
TV tokusatsu
series

The Great
Yokai War

Yokai Daisenso

Film

IZO

2005

2006 Big Bang Love, 46

Juvenile A

46-okunen no koi Film

4.6 Billion Years

Of Love

Waru

WARU

Waru

Film

Imprint episode
Inpurinto ~bokke
from Masters
TV episode
kyote~

of Horror

Waru:
kanketsu-hen

Waru: kanketsuFilm
hen

Sun Scarred

Sukiyaki
Western:
Django

Sukiyaki wesutn
Film
jango

Crows ZERO

ZERO

Kurzu Zero

Film

Zatoichi

Zatichi

Stageplay

Kamisama no
Puzzle

Kamisama no
pazuru

Film

Daimajin

Film

Yattaaman

Film

Taiyo no kizu

Film

2007

2008

Daimajin

(tentative title)

2009 Yatterman

[edit] Actor
2003

Last Life in the Universe

2005

Neighbour No. 13

2006

Hostel

[edit] Producer
2000

The Making of 'Gemini'

2006

Ryu ga Gotoku

[edit] Quotes
"I go to the dentist, not a shrink." (interview with Daniel Robert Epstein[1])
"Me, a 'Master of Horror'? I'm the guy that made 'Salaryman Kintar'!" (Miike about
his movie for the Masters of Horror series)

[edit] Further reading

Mes, Tom. Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike. Godalming: FAB Press,
2003. ISBN 1-903254-21-3
Williams, Tony. "Takashi Miike's Cinema of Outrage." cineACTION 64 (2004):
54-62
"Izo: Takashi Miike's History Lesson." Asian Cinema 16.2 (2005): 85-109.

[edit] References
1. ^ a b c http://suicidegirls.com/words/Takashi+Miike+director+of+Gozu/
2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/arts/television/19horr.html

[edit] External links

Takashi Miike at the Internet Movie Database

Suicide is for the Birds: Takashi Miike's Tales of De-territorializing Flight at
Fantasia 2003 and Beyond
2002 Interview at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film
SuicideGirls interview with Miike by Daniel Robert Epstein
Takashi Miike Films Introduction
Takashi Miike (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
Interview with Takashi Miike by Mark Schilling
Interview on midnighteye.com

Interview with Miike regarding his Yakuza work on 1UP.com

[edit] Bibliography

Black, Art (2003). "Takashi Miike Revisited". Asian Cult Cinema 38 (1st
Quarter): pp.12-17.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Miike"

Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements
since February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since October 2007 | 1960
births | Horror film directors | Japanese film actors | Japanese film directors | Living
people | People from Osaka Prefecture
Views

Article
Discussion
Edit this page
History

Personal tools

Log in / create account

Navigation

Main Page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article

Interaction

About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact Wikipedia
Donate to Wikipedia
Help

Search
Go

Toolbox

Search

What links here

Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Cite this page

Languages

Catal
Deutsch
Espaol
Euskara
Franais

Hrvatski
Italiano
Nederlands

Polski
Portugus
Suomi
Svenska
Trke

This page was last modified 10:15, 30 January 2008.

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
(See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S.
registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers