Izo

2004 film by Takashi Miike

21 August 2004 (2004-08-21) (Japan)

Running time

128 minutesLanguagesJapanese
English

IZO is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike. The main character of the film is Izo Okada (1832–1865), the historical samurai and assassin in 19th-century Japan who was tortured and executed by beheading in Tosa.

Izo appeared previously in Hideo Gosha's Hitokiri (1969), then played by Shintaro Katsu. However, Miike's portrayal of the character (or rather his spirit) transcends reality (and time and space) and is more of a surrealist exposé of Izo's exceedingly bloody yet philosophical encounters in an afterlife heavy on symbolism, occasionally interrupted by stock footage of World War II accompanied by acid-folk singer Kazuki Tomokawa on guitar. Kazuya Nakayama plays Izo and the many characters he encounters on his journey include figures played by Takeshi Kitano and Bob Sapp.

Cast

Kazuya Nakayama - Okada Izo
Kaori Momoi -
Ryuhei Matsuda -
Ryôsuke Miki - Hampeita Takechi
Yuya Uchida - Spirit
Masumi Okada - Politician
Hiroki Matsukata -
Hiroshi Katsuno - Samurai
Masato - Samurai
Bob Sapp - Monk
Takeshi Caesar - Samurai
Takeshi Kitano - The Prime Minister
Daijiro Harada - Judge
Renji Ishibashi - Samurai
Mickey Curtis - Monk
Kazuki Tomokawa -
Taisaku Akino
Hiroyuki Nagato - Elder
Susumu Terajima -
Saburō Shinoda
Ken Ogata -
Joe Yamanaka -

Awards

Izo was awarded the best Special Effects prize at the Sitges Film Festival (Spanish international festival specializing in fantasy and horror films).^[1]

External links

Izo at IMDb
ＩＺＯ (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 21 July 2007.

Reviews

dinaMiike – review and interpretation
Cultflicks – review
d+kaz
Midnight Eye
Martin Tsai (reprinted from WestEnder)
Nippon Cinema Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine

See also

Hitokiri at IMDb

References

^ "Izo". cultflicks.net. Retrieved 16 September 2008.

Takashi Miike

Films

1990s	Eyecatch Junction (1991) Lady Hunter: Prelude to Murder (1991) A Human Murder Weapon (1992) Bodyguard Kiba (1993) Shinjuku Outlaw (1994) Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage (1994) Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage 2 (1995) Osaka Tough Guys (1995) Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Ambition Without Honor (1996) Peanuts (1996) The Way to Fight (1996) Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Ambition Without Honor 2 (1997) Young Thugs: Innocent Blood (1997) Rainy Dog (1997) Full Metal Yakuza (1997) The Bird People in China (1998) Andromedia (1998) Blues Harp (1998) Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) Ley Lines (1999) Silver (1999) Audition (1999) Dead or Alive (1999) Salaryman Kintaro (1999)
2000s	The City of Lost Souls (2000) The Guys from Paradise (2000) Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000) Family (2001) Family 2 (2001) Visitor Q (2001) Ichi the Killer (2001) Agitator (2001) The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Dead or Alive: Final (2002) Kumamoto Stories (2002) Sabu (2002) Graveyard of Honor (2002) Shangri-La (2002) Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002) The Man in White (2003) Gozu (2003) Yakuza Demon (2003) One Missed Call (2003) Zebraman (2004) Izo (2004) Three... Extremes ("Box" segment, 2004) The Great Yokai War (2005) Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (2006) Waru (2006) Waru: kanketsu-hen (2006) Sun Scarred (2006) Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Crows Zero (2007) Like a Dragon (2007) Detective Story (2007) God's Puzzle (2008) Yatterman (2009) Crows Zero 2 (2009)
2010s	Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) 13 Assassins (2010) Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) Ninja Kids!!! (2011) Ace Attorney (2012) For Love's Sake (2012) Lesson of the Evil (2012) Shield of Straw (2013) The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013) Over Your Dead Body (2014) As the Gods Will (2014) The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015) Yakuza Apocalypse (2015) Terra Formars (2016) The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio (2016) Blade of the Immortal (2017) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I (2017) Laplace's Witch (2018) First Love (2019)
2020s	The Great Yokai War: Guardians (2021) The Mole Song: Final (2021)