Can someone explain Takashi Miike to me?

[Khephra]

He's my newest fixation.

[Khephra]

1. Am I actually on the edge of a wave?

Look up his work, if you haven't heard of it.

[Tummler]

3. Only recently have his movies been distributed in the U.S.

For a while, the U.S.-based Miike fan had to order DVDs from the U.K., Hong Kong, or Japan.

Things are finally changing, but we're still lacking a lot of his movies on NTSC Region 1 DVD. I'm sure he'll gain more of a following over the next few years.

Of course, distribution of all Asian films (with the exception of anime) is for shit in the U.S.

[Tummler]

2. Which are your favorites?

I love the insanely over-the-top ones: Ichi, Visitor Q, Audition. Neutral on Happiness of the Katakuris. Was bored by City of Lost Souls and all three Dead or Alive movies. There are a few others I want to see, like Graveyard of Honor and Full Metal Yakuza (his version of Robocop).

If you like Miike, you should definitely check out the old '60s films of Seijun Suzuki. There are two Suzuki DVDs released by Criterion. It's as if David Lynch were doing Japanese crime films. Totally off-the-wall.

[Tummler]

4. One more good thing about Miike

As if distribution of Asian films in the U.S. weren't bad enough, studios like Miramax/Disney will:

* buy up the U.S. distribution and remake rights for an Asian film
* sit on the rights for years while Harvey Weinstein pounds his pud
* harass websites that import the foreign DVD editions
* and finally -- years later -- release the movie in a butchered and re-dubbed form (e.g., with a rap soundtrack and missing 30 minutes).

With Miike, his films are so messed up that Miramax/Disney simply won't touch 'em. So even though the U.S. is 2-3 years behind the curve on Miike, at least we get uncut, non-MiramAXed DVDs!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I enjoyed The Happiness of the Katakuris

especially since Kenji Sawada, the actor who played the father, was the David Bowie of Japan back in the 1970s when I was a student there. You'll notice that he does his own singing. (He was maybe fifty pounds lighter then, too.)

I couldn't handle Audition, though, especially after they got out the razor blades. I turned off the TV (I was watching it on the Sundance Channel.)

Actually, Miike is not that unusual for Japan. There's a whole genre of weird movies with S&M overtones.

Actually, I find it hard to imagine anything being too weird for the Japanese entertainment industry.