Philosophy of a Knife poster & wallpaper

Yukari Fujimoto, Yumiko Fujiwara, Svyatoslav Iliyasov

The true history of Japanese Unit 731, from it's beginnings in the 1930's to it's demise in 1945, and the subsequent trials in Khabarovsk, USSR, of many of the Japanese doctors from Unit 731. The fact...( read more  read more... )s are told, and previously unknown evidence is revealed by an eyewitness to these events, former doctor and military translator, Anatoly Protasov. Part documentary and part feature, the story is shown from the perspective of a young Japanese nurse who witnessed many horrors, and a young Japanese officer who is torn between his sincere convictions that he is serving the greater purpose, and the deep sympathy he feels for an imprisoned Russian girl. His life is a living hell as he's compelled to carry out atrocious experiments on the other prisoners, using them as guinea pigs in this shocking tale of mankind's barbarity. Philosophy of a Knife is truly one of the most violent, brutal and harrowing movies ever made.

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62% liked it

208 ratings

Unrated, 4 hrs. 9 min.

Directed by: Andrey Iskanov

Release Date: January 1, 2008

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DVD Release Date: July 8, 2008

Stats: 40 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (40)

  • Hexenkult
    September 25, 2008
    Hexenkult
    Philosophy of a Knife (2008)

    I've been anticipating this film ever since it began production over 4 years ago. This is underground Russisan filmmaker Andrey Iskanov's 4 hour epic docum...( read more)entary/drama/horror movie based on the atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese military Unit 731 on Chinese prisoners in WWII. Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research division. Those into extreme horror/exploitation cinema will of course know that Unit 731 also provided the basis for T.F. Mou's 1988 Chinese sickie MEN BEHIND THE SUN and it's sequels.

    Philosophy of a Knife (2008)

    Apparently Iskanov was arrested and detained for a while by Russian authorities due to the film. Here's a press release from DVD distributor Unearthed films:

    "Russian Horror Director Andrey Iskanov Detained for 5 Days by FSB (formally known as the KGB)

    On June 10th in Khabarovsk, Andrey Iskanov, director of the soon to be released film Philosophy of a Knife, was visited by the Russian Federal Security Service. According to Mr. Iskanov, he was questioned about the research he had conducted into the historical chemical and biological experiments that form the basis for the film, and the whereabouts of the documents and materials he had uncovered on the subject. Iskanov explained that many of the materials had been sent to the USA with the exception of those being utilized in his new film The Tourist. At the request of the security services, he surrendered what materials he had and the FSB left.

    On the following day, the FSB returned to Mr. Iskanov?s residence and proceeded to conduct a search of his property. They confiscated all film, video and computer materials, and Iskanov was arrested and taken to the local military base for questioning. While in detention, he was interrogated about the information he had acquired from Anatoly Protosov, a former military translator for the USSR, and his research into the Russian chemical and biological experiments that had been conducted in the area, as well as the American experiments that had taken place based on information culled from Unit 731 after the trials in Khabarrovsk. Iskanov explained that his research had led him only up to 1956 and no further, especially in regards to the Russian experiments.

    He was detained for 5 days in the military base in a concrete cell without a bathroom and with very little to eat. After the FSB had examined all of his media and other materials, they had Iskanov sign a consent form for the search and seizure of his materials. He was given back some of his property after being released.

    It is not unusual for independent filmmakers to be subjected to a certain amount of harassment, but this certainly seems to be an extreme case. Philosophy of a Knife is more than just a glance at a moment in history that most would rather forget; it is a graphic and detailed account of atrocities committed by government scientists and doctors on innocent civilians. It is because of the work of artists like Andrey Iskanov that such acts are not forgotten, however awful the truth may be."

    Philosophy of a Knife (2008)
  • jssdvl
    November 21, 2009
    jssdvl
    Can't wait to see it. Reality surpasses anything fiction can create, and this seems to be a perfect example of that.
  • LickTheABCs
    August 9, 2009
    LickTheABCs
    Truly a cure for insomnia. Look, I get it. I'm "hip". It's brutal. Woohoo. A woman's teeth are being ripped out one by one, um.. what else you got for me? I'm sorry but If I sit through 4 hours of a flick I better be rewarded with AT LEAST a shot of somebody throwing a ring into ...( read more)a Volcano. If you took out the meaningless 3 and a half hours of pointless exterior shots of snow falling, you're left with a 70 minute flick. Now THAT film I might like.. Now, I'll get to the gore because that is truly the reason, I'm guessing, most people are going to rent this. Just don't. First, It IS in black-and-white. Even though it's reasoning is to blend the documentary footage and the special effects, it's still used to soften the blow of gore. The actual effects range from mediocre to annoyingly bad. The reason I say "annoyingly" bad is this.. Andrey Iskanov clearly forgot he was directing a film and thought he was directing a Nine Inch Nails video. Look, I understand doing effects on a no-budget film is hard, but take pride in the effects you DO have, don't try to mask them by speeding up the camera and going in for a super-duper close up so we lose direction, lose interest and frankly it just looks bad. So, in the end, Andrey Iskanov wanted to make a 4 hour film where many, many people get tortured. Well, you can add one more person to that list: me.
  • primal13
    February 1, 2009
    primal13
    Very, very, very disturbing.
    An extreme raw approach to the brutal side of human nature.

    "If, for whatever reason, we should sense the fascination of death, it wouldn't be easy to leave it's circle. More than that, by thinking of death, we are constantly circling rou

    ...( read more)nd it, approaching it."
    Akutagawa
  • girlgamerffxi
    January 3, 2009
    girlgamerffxi
    This movie is fucking brutal to say the least. I tried to watch it because I thought it was going to be actually educational as most documentary's are that was not the case here. This is based on actual events but all the events are recreated and fake. I only lasted about 2 hours...( read more) then turned it off not because of the subject matter but because 4 hours is to long for me to be sitting if I'm not entertained.
  • hopper
    October 22, 2008
    hopper
    it's shocking, brutal, disturbing. a perfect example of human nature's barbabric side. i was disturbed, and i like watching disturbing content,
  • columbiatch
    August 16, 2008
    columbiatch
    this looks like the most fucked up movie ever.
  • g1pp4l
    July 17, 2008
    g1pp4l
    Maybe I'll watch it at Sitges.
  • blondemafiagirl
    July 14, 2008
    blondemafiagirl
    looks like one sick ass film.....i have to see it!

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