Violent Cop
Encyclopedia
is a 1989
Japanese film
directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano
. It was Kitano's directorial debut, and marked the beginning of his career as a filmmaker.
-type whose single-mindedness leads him to self-destruction. After the suicide of his friend and colleague Iwaki (a vice cop who was involved with drugs), and the kidnapping of his sister by yakuza
gangsters, Azuma breaks all the rules of ethical conduct. He responds to every situation with violence, and resorts to unethical methods if they produce results.
was the film's original director, he stepped down upon falling ill. Kitano took over the position of director. The screenplay was originally written by Hisashi Nozawa
, but upon taking over as director Kitano rewrote the script heavily. Despite his contributions to the screenplay, he was left uncredited as a contributing writer.
The film was originally meant to be a comedy but Kitano wanted to try being a serious actor, therefore he made the movie into a police drama.
's Gnossienne No.1.
Japanese films of 1989
A list of films released in Japan in 1989 .-1989:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
Japanese film
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
. It was Kitano's directorial debut, and marked the beginning of his career as a filmmaker.
Synopsis
Kitano plays sociopathic detective Azuma, a Dirty HarryDirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
-type whose single-mindedness leads him to self-destruction. After the suicide of his friend and colleague Iwaki (a vice cop who was involved with drugs), and the kidnapping of his sister by yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
gangsters, Azuma breaks all the rules of ethical conduct. He responds to every situation with violence, and resorts to unethical methods if they produce results.
Production
Although Kinji FukasakuKinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
was the film's original director, he stepped down upon falling ill. Kitano took over the position of director. The screenplay was originally written by Hisashi Nozawa
Hisashi Nozawa
was a famous Japanese screenwriter and mystery novelist. He won the Kuniko Mukōda Prize in 1998 for his screenplay Nemureru Mori and 結婚前夜 . He also won the Edogawa Rampo Award in 1997 for Hasen no marisu and the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize for New Writers in 2001 for Shinku...
, but upon taking over as director Kitano rewrote the script heavily. Despite his contributions to the screenplay, he was left uncredited as a contributing writer.
The film was originally meant to be a comedy but Kitano wanted to try being a serious actor, therefore he made the movie into a police drama.
Reception
The movie was a financial and critical success in Japan, and also did well in limited release internationally.Soundtrack
The piano theme heard several times during the movie is Erik SatieErik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
's Gnossienne No.1.