Ladies and Gentlemen - it's scandalous this Takashi Miike film has been unavailable for so long in the UK. Arrow Video are making up for that with an edition that has surely been worth the wait.
Front Sleeve:
DEADLY OUTLAW: REKKA
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ‘AUDITION’ AND ‘ICHI THE KILLER’.
Sex, gore, ultra-violence, psychotic Yakuza hitmen, the blackest of humour, Sonny Chiba, a pounding proto-metal soundtrack and gratuitous and inappropriate use of a tire iron and a hand-held rocket launcher – it just has to be a movie from Japan’s most prolific and unpredictable cult filmmaker and master of Asian extreme cinema, Takashi Miike (Sukiyaki Western Django; Ichi The Killer; the Dead Or Alive trilogy; Audition).
Written by Shigenori Takechi (Blood; Izo) and produced by Tsuneo Seto (Blood) – both real-life Yakuza before taking up careers in the movies – Takashi Miike’s Deadly Outlaw: Rekka is an expertly crafted tale of vengeance and betrayal set in Japan’s vicious criminal underworld.
Following the death of his boss, crazed killer Kunisada embarks on a violent quest for revenge, one that takes him on a deadly and surreal road trip as he searches for those responsible for the killing. Driven by madness and a volatile temper, he soon finds himself up against both his enemies and his own Yakuza allies. Pursued by a pair of hitmen, Kunisada is at once the hunter and the hunted, a pawn in a complex game being played out by a cast of double-crossing villains. With his situation spiralling out of control, he realizes that to be the winner will require him to take matters to furthest extreme.
Stylistically inspired by Japanese hard rock pioneers Flower Travellin’ Band’s 1971 album, ‘Satori’, the music of which constitutes the film’s entire soundtrack, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka is a must-see (and must hear) movie for Takashi Miike fans. Featuring a standout lead performance by frequent Miike collaborator Riki Takeuchi (the Dead Or Alive trilogy; the Fudoh trilogy), plus amusing fan-pleasing cameos from the legendary Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill) and Flower Travellin’ Band members Joe Yamanaka and Yuya Ichida, this is pure visual ‘Rock and roll!’
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Arrow Video on 15th November 2010. Special Features include: brand new transfer of the film with new and improved subtitle translation; original trailer; video interview with director Takashi Miike; ‘Deadly Outlaw: Miike’ – Takashi Miike discusses key scenes from the film and working with his collaborators; booklet featuring stills and an essay on the film by Tom Mes, author of ‘Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike’; notes on prog rockers Flower Travellin’ Band, the stars and providers of the soundtrack to the film.
Reverse sleeve:
Arrow:
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka
Amazon:
Deadly Outlaw Rekka [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Riki Takeuchi, Ryôsuke Miki, Sonny Chiba, Takashi Miike: DVD
Play:
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka - DVDs at Play.com (UK)
HMV:
Deadly Outlaw Rekka: Subtitled/Japanese (2010): DVD: hmv.com