Hana-bi (Fireworks)

Directed by Takeshi Kitano
Film Movement Classics
1997
103 Minutes
Japan
Japanese
Romance, Drama, Asian, Classics
Not Rated
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DVD
$34.95

Feeling responsible for the shattered lives of his loved ones, beleaguered police detective Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows money from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt. The yakuza, however, are not so easily bought off, sending Nishi down a road paved with nihilism and violence. Considered Kitano's first true cinematic masterpiece, HANA-BI demonstrates the auteur's immense talents both in front of and behind the camera.

Cast

  • Takeshi Kitano
  • Kayoko Kishimoto
  • Ren Osugi
  • Susumu Terajima
DVD Features

Commentary by film writer for Rolling Stone magazine, David Fear
Making of Hana-Bi Featurette
Collector's Booklet, featuring essay by film writer, Jasper Sharp

Sound: Stereo 2.0

Discs: 1

  • Highest Rating
    "[A] masterpiece…brutal and tender…As writer, director, and star, Kitano creates a beautifully abstract, intricately structured meditation on personal obligation, considering the strong grip that a life of violence has on those who’ve lived it."
    Noel Murray, The Los Angeles Times
  • Highest Rating
    "... an exceptional piece of filmmaking, a drama that blurs the line between the ultra-violent cop movie genre and weepy but moving melodrama, and does it very convincingly."
    Jeff Vice, Deseret News
  • Highest Rating
    "One of [Kitano’s] best and most powerful...."
    Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Awards & Recognition

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