Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Tsubaki S

  
  More than just "a cool intro and a cool ending" DOA is surprisingly a very mature and well told story with interesting characters that manage to keep you engaged the whole time. Add that a whole bunch of crazy ideas from the always fertile mind of Miike, two of the coolest… More
  More than just "a cool intro and a cool ending" DOA is surprisingly a very mature and well told story with interesting characters that manage to keep you engaged the whole time. Add that a whole bunch of crazy ideas from the always fertile mind of Miike, two of the coolest actors to ever walk the planet, and you have yourself a cult classic in the best sense possible.

• Bruce B

  
  This one is put out by Kino Video, they have nothing but awesome movies, get there catalog. Why is it that Asian Cinema blows away US Cinema. Guess it like the cars. The shoot'em up scenes are incrediable.None compare. The whole movie is a blast. But wouldn't let the kiddies… More
  This one is put out by Kino Video, they have nothing but awesome movies, get there catalog. Why is it that Asian Cinema blows away US Cinema. Guess it like the cars. The shoot'em up scenes are incrediable.None compare. The whole movie is a blast. But wouldn't let the kiddies watch this one, as you would have lots of explaining to do. Their's more to fido then meets the eye, watch the movie and you will catch my drift. Its going into my Kino Collectiion.

• Cassandra M

  
  Watch out, this one is not for the squeamish AND those without a sense of humour. The first five minutes are the biggest roller coaster ride I've experienced in a long, long while and left me breathless. What follows is a mix of heroic bloodshed, Yakuza-flics and manga in the… More
  Watch out, this one is not for the squeamish AND those without a sense of humour. The first five minutes are the biggest roller coaster ride I've experienced in a long, long while and left me breathless. What follows is a mix of heroic bloodshed, Yakuza-flics and manga in the flesh. The ending left me laughing way into my eighth drink. Not as creepy as his Audition, but way more fun.

• Lady D

  
  This film had me completely lost, my concentration completely went and it never picked back up. I?m usually open-minded toward Takashi Miike?s content in films but this one really takes it over the line of vulgarity on at least 3 occasions. A war between Yakusa and Triads, is… More
  This film had me completely lost, my concentration completely went and it never picked back up. I?m usually open-minded toward Takashi Miike?s content in films but this one really takes it over the line of vulgarity on at least 3 occasions. A war between Yakusa and Triads, is pretty much all I could tell you that happened as a storyline. The stars given, are purely because I made it to the end of the film.

• Luke B

  
  The first 10 minutes, is a fast, action packed, heavily edited montage of an incredibly long line of coke being sniffed, a poll dancer, a man having his throat cut while making love to another man and a clown chucking knives at a man in leather underwear while spinning round really… More
  The first 10 minutes, is a fast, action packed, heavily edited montage of an incredibly long line of coke being sniffed, a poll dancer, a man having his throat cut while making love to another man and a clown chucking knives at a man in leather underwear while spinning round really fast. It feels like a trailer for the most action packed movie ever. The film then turns into a cat and mouse, cop and gangster film. Being a Miike film, 'Dead or ALive' certainly does push reality out of one window and brings in pure cinematic OTT action. A few gangsters take out an entire gang with guns that don't run out of ammo. It is a simply exhilarating scene, especially for an adrenaline rush. Miike adds in some cringe worthy moments, a man deep fries his own hand, a couple of men get a dog to have sex with a woman, and another woman is drowned in her own biological waste after being raped a number of times. It doesn't sound pleasant, but it quite restrained for a Miike film. It never glorifies these extreme moments, and they go well in such a corrupt society.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  Another shining example of why Miike is one of the best and most exciting directors working today. The first 10 minutes of this film is a fast paced celebration of sex, drugs and violence and also features arguably one of the best 'over the top' endings ever. In between… More
  Another shining example of why Miike is one of the best and most exciting directors working today. The first 10 minutes of this film is a fast paced celebration of sex, drugs and violence and also features arguably one of the best 'over the top' endings ever. In between you'll find a fairly standard yakuza crime thriller, albeit with Miike's distinct sense of dark humour and mean spirited provocation. Definently recommended for fans of Ichi the Killer.

• Anthony V

  
  How well you like this depends on how well you handle surrealism and shock cinema.

• Christopher B

  
  Along with the intense beginning and the insane climax, this is a very well told yakuza tale with 2 very charasmatic leads. This is a film that everyone should see if they are even casually interested in Miike.

• Wu C

  
  Proly the best opening to a movie I've ever seen.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings