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Fireworks Actors: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto Director: Takeshi Kitano Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 99 minutes Studio: New Yorker Films Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2000-07-11 Buy from Amazon |
 "I think it's about time."I think this movie says a lot of things about what death is. Sometimes someone is killed because of the bad things they've done and sometimes out of mercy. But this movie is'nt about violence as much as people have been saying. The cover says "a masterpiece in violence" I wouldn't care if Takeshi himself wrote that I would disagree. It's more a masterpiece in guilt, compassion, and a person who doesnt have any patience for those trying to ruin his life. It's really a lot deeper than anything I've said but if you like sincere acting and a really good story that you'll always remember watch it. That Beat Takeshi He makea mea cry.  "Masterpiece ruined by atrocious transfer"It is imperative that you avoid this disastrous release. Takeshi Kitano's masterpiece is completely ruined by an appaling transfer. The sound and extras are good but the transfer wrecks what would otherwise be a fine DVD release. Again, I urge you to avoid this disgusting release. "..."Hana-Bi is a sometimes quirky, but wholely, achingly, sad movie. It is NOT "a masterpiece in violence" as one of the fluff quotes on the cover indicates. While there are occasional bursts of violence, they're quick and to the point, and, more than anything, used as character development; emotionally, the tone is constant and subdued, happily sad, and anyhing but violent. Stylistically, Hana-Bi sort of mashes up its timline, so that parts of scenes that have already happned, but havn't been shown yet, parts of scenes that havn't happened yet are spliced into the present, which serves the story and the tone well. Visually it ranges from fantastic to plain. My biggest complaint would be about the soundtrack, which is slightly cheesy, somewhat beautiful, approprate to the movie, but overused enough that at points it gets annoying (although the overuse makes room for a good effect). Of course, this stuff mostly isn't important enough to the movie that it could possibly degrade it. Hana-Bi is something you must see. However, the DVD release is pretty {bad}(really... what self respecting movie fan would consider hard coded subtitles "enchanced"?), which makes me want to recommend a rental rather than immediate purchase, unless a better release is made (pray) or you can get your hands on a decent region 2 import (I think the japanese dvd has english subtitles... of course it also costs 50 dollars...).  "a powerful movie that took a few tries"It's hard for me not to think of movies like Boiling Point and Violent Cop while watching this. Takeshi (Beat) Kitano made quite a switch from Takeshi's Castle to the heavy drama of these movies, but perhaps it was too heavy at first. Violent Cop is, in the end, an unrealized movie that doesn't really manage to control its range of emotional tension, violence and humanity. Boiling Point does better, but perhaps is a little too bleak (this from a guy who loves violent movies). In Fireworks, though, Kitano gets it all right. The violence is stark, Kitano is a bubbling, quiet and stoic while really letting you know what's on his mind, and this film, believe it or not, is bursting with hope--though it's never really acknowledged by the characters themselves. "beautiful film, flawed subtitles"Most of the other viewer reviews say exactly what I would like to say about this film - that it is uncompromising in it's beauty. Alternately brooding, slow, but with occasional outbursts of violence and motion, the images in this film have stayed with me for a very long time. Very Minor Spoiler Warning: My only objection to this DVD is in the subtitles. I studied a little Japanese in high school, just basics, but the last line of the film is "gomen nasai," which means "sorry," not "Thank you for everything," as the subtitles show. Why did the translator feel it necessary to put something other than what the character had said? That little, "I'm sorry," was one of the most poignant statements of the entire film. I really hope that Criterion will pick this film up - otherwise, I hope that in the future, New Yorker will stop trying to rewrite the world's masterpieces as they come into America. I think that we're smart enough to take the real. |
