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Brother Actors: Takeshi Kitano, Kuroudo Maki Director: Takeshi Kitano Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen, Closed-captioned, Dolby Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 113 minutes Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-01-02 Buy from Amazon |
 "Obtuse synthetic nonsense II"Seriously, the first review with this title nailed it. I saw a different Takeshi Kitano movie a few years back which was much more stylistically interesting (can't remember the name, but it was a Japanese film), so I know he's capable of making an interesting film. This isn't it. This film is a terrible waste of time. "Horrible Treatment by Sony Pictures"Kitano's "BrotherEgets eaten and spit out by Sony Pictures US. Not exactly a masterpiece, or the best movie he has done, but it gave a great insight into the Yakuza lifestyle rarely known outside of Japan. But on this DVD, the lackluster treatment of this movie is unforgivable. If some of the story was a little on the unexplained side, maybe it's because the US version is 30 minutes shorter than the Japanese original. Most of the Japanese sequences were cut, so Americans won't have to read too many subtitles. Great move(?). The DTS audio option was thrown out for some reason, thinking people who might like this movie will not have a DTS decoder. Sony, get with the times! The biggest problem I had with this DVD was that there were no English subtitles! It is listed as `English SubtitlesEbut in fact, it's English Closed Captions, so even when they are speaking English, the captions appear. Luckily I understand both languages, but for anyone else, they would be a headache to sit through. Extras are very minimal, only trailers for completely unrelated Chinese movies? For a list price so high, it just seems smarter to get the fully loaded Region 2 Japanese release. Believe me the story makes a LOT more sense. Also, the character that Tetsuya Watari plays is such a minor role in the US version, it was a shame that his name appears in the credits. If you want to check out a role where he actually is part of the MOVIE, get `Tokyo DrifterE(Criterion Collection). You'll be a lot happier with that film.  "A Stunning Gangster Movie--and a Breath of Fresh Air"As introspective as it is violent, "Brother" manages to do what few Hollywood gangster films can--entertain and make you think. To call the plot Shakespearean almost seems an insult, as its sensibilities are so obviously Japanese, with the emphasis not on the action but on the effects of it, but careful observers may see strains of "Macbeth" and "Richard III" in this very grown-up feature (with a little Sergio Leone thrown in). Director and star Takeshi Kitano follows the last days of a disgraced Yakuza in America, whose brilliant but brutal rise to power in modern L.A. is matched only by the intensity of his loyalty to his friends and half-brother. Omar Epps is a likable presence as one of those friends, and the many familiar Japanese-American faces--including veteran James Shigeta--blends ably with the mostly Japanese cast. But it is Kitano that delivers the goods, wisely choosing to underplay Yamamoto as a pillar of quiet strength rather than allow him to become broad-based caricature. In fact, the understated tone of the film is what gives it so much style and intensity; few American films would be bold enough to focus less on the shoot 'em ups and more on the aftermath or to raise the issue of black-on-Asian racism in a gangster movie. That the story ends up pretty much where you expect it to is less a flaw than the culmination of a satisfying slow burn, making this gem a must-see. "Kitano - Master Japanese Director - Not his best movie"Takeshi Kitano is a respected Japanese film director. His films are brutal dramas of life in the Japanese mafia, not action thrillers, but slowly paced and carefully constructed commentary on the meaning of violence, honor, and even love. He uses long stretches of silence, and shots in which very little movement takes place. These serve to give the film a pensive atmosphere, and contrast with bursts of violence coming out of nowhere, with no warning and no stylistic embellishment. Kitano stabs a man with the exact same level of intensity as he turns on a light switch. Gunfights in Kitano's movies are often nothing more than two combatants standing in a room firing bullet after bullet into each other until only the one with the most willpower is left standing. The standard Kitano "hero" is doomed from the start, as are basically all the other characters. The background of mafia violence is not the focus of the film, but is used to intensify its message. Kitano's philosophy is that in order to show the greatest of one thing, you must show it's opposite. In order to show the greatest love, and the greatest peace, one must show the strongest hatred and violence. The experience of watching one of his films is unique. They are quite powerful, unlike anything else being made today. That said, 'Brother' is not as good as most Kitano films. It doesn't seem to have that much original to say. What is does do well is transplant perfectly Kitano's style from Japan to the United States. As a fan I enjoyed the film and am sure other Kitano fans will as well. Newcomers to Kitano's films may expect this to be an action movie. They will be disappointed. This movie needs to be watched and judged it for what it is, a piece of art first and entertainment second.  "O "Brother", Are Thou "Art"?"This is the city. Los Angeles, California. Swimming pools, movie stars, and Yakuza hitmen fighting for control of the streets with Chicano druglords and African-American gangstas. Just another typical day in sunny SoCal, according to Japanese cult director "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, in his first U.S.-released film. Kitano directs himself as the "marked" Yakuza who flees to the States, hooks up with his "adopted" brother (a low-level L.A. drug dealer) and his pals, then becomes Crimelord of Los Angeles in what appears to be a period of only a month or two. Action fans will probably be somewhat sated just by the sheer number of killings (I stopped counting after the first 2 dozen) yet turned off by the deliberate pacing and long, static takes. Arthouse fans will admire the deft cinematic touches and hip music score, but will probably find the frequent shootings and self-mutilations a bit overboard. Kitano the actor (an acquired taste) is in top form; Kitano the director seems less confident than usual, as if he was deliberately "dumbing down" for U.S. audiences (and can anyone who has viewed a Vin Diesel movie blame him?). Best enjoyed if you don't think about it too much; genre fans might detect similarities to the existential 60's Yakuza cult classic "Tokyo Drifter". |
