Pistol Opera poster & wallpaper

Haruko Kato, Kan Hanae, Kenji Sawada

A killer (Makiko Esumi) known as Stray Cat is the No. 3 assassin in Japan's professional killer guild. Contacted by the guild and ordered to kill No. 1, Stray Cat knows that if she succeeds, she'll be...( read more  read more... )come the guild's reigning assassin -- and so begins a dangerous mission that can end with only one victor. Told in director Seijun Suzuki's trademark style, Pistol Opera blends fractured narrative with lurid and heavily stylized action sequences.

Flixster Users

50% liked it

1,891 ratings

Critics

79% liked it

19 critics

Unrated, 112 min.

Directed by: Seijun Suzuki

Release Date: October 27, 2001

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DVD Release Date: June 24, 2003

 

Stats: 105 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (105)

  • DrBenway
    April 6, 2009
    DrBenway
    In what seems to be intended as a fun, avant-garde romp, "Pistol Opera" is made up of sometimes nonsensical but lighthearted scenes featuring shootings and stabbings galore. This is Seijun Suzuki's followup to his 1967 film "Branded to Kill," a stylish film said to have been an ...( read more)inspiration to the likes of John Woo and Quentin Tarantino. Be that as it may, this film is no Pulp Fiction. It's meant for avant-garde buffs only.

    In the acting department, Esumi Makiko as the deadly Miyuki Minazuki, a.k.a. Killer #3, is wonderful. She plays her role convincingly, providing the emotional depth of someone who could die at any moment. A tough film to digest at first, it's perhaps the Japanese equivalent to a David Lynch film. Suggestive and original, it's a film that's in its' own creative world. I could liken it to watching a stage performance or play, but perhaps a little too pretentious for its' own good at times. Either way, if you're in the mood for something interesting, check it out.
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  • threefolddado
    May 15, 2007
    threefolddado
    Might be better with hallucinogens.
  • phantopp
    September 19, 2009
    phantopp
    This is easily the worst, most confusing movie I've seen in quite some time.

    "Miyuki Minazuki" (Makiko Esumi), known professionally as "Stray Cat", is part of the Assassin's Guild, and ranked #3 in it.

    She is given the job to kill the top assassin in the guild, known as "Hu...( read more)ndred Eyes", and takes it.

    This movie is very hard to follow, especially if you must use subtitles if you can't find a dubbed version.

    The acting is horrible. Many times, the actors are overly dramatic, and act as if they should be on stage. There is a lot of rambling monologues that are quite confusing. None of the actors had any chemistry and appeared to be forced to work together on screen.

    As for the camera work, it's not perfect. There are some shots with pans that are too dramatic and make no sense. Other shots are real good, and help with the story on a visual level.

    For the subject of the story, there is very little violence and no blood in this movie. There is even little gun play in the film. Violence is kept to a minimum as well.

    The soundtrack is forgettable. It reminded me of music heard in movies from the 1970's. I didn't feel that the music helped enhance the scenes at all.

    There are some interesting visuals in this movie. At times I felt as if I was watching a stage play. A few times, the camera work helped enhance the scenes, but most of the time the shots were real typical.

    This movie lacked the ability to keep my attention through out. I caught myself looking away from my computer screen numerous times because I was completely bored with the movie. I watched this movie on Hulu, and got even more confused when my screen saver popped up.

    It was a hard movie to follow, especially since I had to read English subtitles. I really had a hard time following what was going on in this movie because my attention was focused on the bottom of the screen. It may have been the translation, but the dialog was pretty confusing at times, and I couldn't understand what was going on.

    Unless you are into this type of movie, I have to say skip it. It isn't for every one.
  • Al4687
    August 29, 2009
    Al4687
    I found it to be liken some kind o' "alice in wonderland" type o' trip through the experience o' an assassin that was bound by the principles o' loyalty. Quite the fine viewing for an individual seekin' something slightly deviant from the run o' the mill.
  • Homerisagod
    April 30, 2009
    Homerisagod
    this Japanese film is one of the weirdest films I've seen in years!
  • jmlanlo
    April 10, 2009
    jmlanlo
    Suzuki vieillit, son cinéma évolue, mais son talent demeure.
  • djkynky1
    April 5, 2009
    djkynky1
    Looks good, hopefully it will get a dvd release over here.
  • jmgarciaaix
    September 21, 2008
    jmgarciaaix
    This is the biggest piece of shit from Japan cinema I've ever seen. Had hopes reading the back and the cover was deceiving.

    "Surreal and avant-garde" really means shitty, with no budget and ridiculously weird for the simple sake of being weird. Pompous, pretentious waste of cell...( read more)uloid that goes down like salmonella-ridden sushi.

    Girl in black and Girl in white...aha!, a bad imitation of Spy vs. Spy. Girl in black is the "No.3 killer in the yakuza underground" (yawwwwnnn.....). The Yakuza obviously don't pay well since she had bad boots stolen from a Cindy Lauper video. Girl in white is not exactly a fashion goddess either. Love the lesbian innuendo that is so arousing...in a way that you imagine having sex with a sausage grinder...painful to experience and overall undesirable.

    To put the wasabi on this crappy rotten nagiri roll...it is shot like a play!...and theatre simply sucks. The sole reason that I put up with watching this giant-squid-size piece of 'Lynchian-san' bullcrap is that I was brain dead already and found it difficult to press the eject button.

    Avoid...really avoid, and ask your video place to remove from the shelves!
  • joydark82
    September 15, 2008
    joydark82
    Il film che ha ispirato Kill Bill. Suzuki si evolve andando al di là del cinema di genere e facendo un abile remake di se stesso. Una storia di sicari dove è evidenziata al meglio la visionarietà giapponese.
  • Bancho
    March 7, 2008
    Bancho
    I don't know. I just don't know.

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