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Released by: Magnolia Releasing
Released on: January 31, 2012.
Director: Takashi Kitano
Cast: Takashi Kitano, Ryo Kase,
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
Takashi Kitano's most recent directorial effort, 2010's Outrage (released by Magnolia Films in North America as Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza) sees the director return to the traditional Yakuza and crime film genres that made him famous starting with his directorial debut, 1989's Violent Cop. Kitano would prove to be a master of the film with films like Sonatine, Fireworks and Brother before spreading his wings a bit and working on completely different pictures like 2003's Zatoichi revamp. Always versatile even when working in a specific genre, Kitano has never been one to compromise. His films are almost always interesting and intelligent and often both violent and poetic - this latest effort is no exception.
In the film, Kitano plays a gangster named Otomo, a high ranking officer in the Ikemoto gang lead by Kan'nai (Soichiro Kitamura), who is in charge not just of the Ikemoto gang but who is actually the 'godfather' of sorts in the Japanese underworld. He's none too happy when he finds out that Ikemoto (Jun Kunimura) has become allied himself with a rival gang boss named Murase (Renji Ishibashi) to sell drugs on the streets of Tokyo. As such, a power struggle of sorts ensues, with Otomo and his crew proving their loyalty to Kan'nai by setting a trap of sorts for Murase and his thugs. The trap works but things get ugly when Otomo and his men take things too far - Murase and his men don't take kindly to this and make it a point of pride to get revenge against Otomo and the Ikemoto gang. A series of double crosses and plot twists takes the film to its inevitably bleak conclusion where loyalty winds up meaningless and bullets speak louder than any sort of criminal code or sense of honor.
Kitano once again takes us on a trip through the nasty side of the Japanese underworld, taking films like Kinji Fukasaku's seventies Yakuza films and using that influence to tread some different ground. As he has in other films, Kitano once again states in no uncertain terms that the code of honor that exists between these men will inevitably mean nothing when it all hits the fan, something he demonstrates extremely well in the film's last twenty minutes or so. While the picture is slow to start, it does build rather well and if it lacks the intensity of some of his earlier pictures, there are some very effective moments of shocking violence that come at you almost out of nowhere and slap you outside the head. You've got to give Kitano credit for coming up with some impressive murder set pieces this time around as well, as they not only provide a good bit of splatter but actually manage to further the plot nicely too.
Performance wise, all involved do good work here. Kitano himself plays the tough, grizzled and battle-worn Yakuza well. He's good in parts like this and he knows it, his Otomo played with a fair bit of obvious cynicism and his knack for completely unrestrained anger and frighteningly unhinged violence works as well here as it has in any of his other pictures.
The picture lacks some of the more cerebral qualities that have made past Kitano crime films as interesting as they are and sometimes feels a little more generic than you might hope for if you're familiar with those past efforts. There are moments where the storyline feels a bit phoned in, almost as if Kitano is doing what he feels he has to and not what he wants to, but the good outweighs the bad. The film is very well acted and beautifully shot, making it maybe a lesser entry in his filmography but still very much a film worth seeing. If the imdb is to be trusted, at the time of this writing, Kitano has already started work on a sequel due out later this year.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Outrage looks great in this AVC encoded 2.35.1 1080p high definition transfer. Detail is crisp and sharp without looking artificially sharpened and there are no problems at all with any print damage, dirt or debris. Skin tones look lifelike and accurate and color reproduction looks spot on. Black levels are nice and deep and shadow detail is excellent. Texture is impressive and while close up shots not surprisingly benefit from this the most, even medium and long distance shots like the ones that take place along the coast near the film's finale offers up lots to take in, from the details in the grass and sand to the brick used in the house. Magnolia has done a great job here, the film looks excellent.
The only audio option provided is a Japanese language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, but that's nothing to complain about. Dialogue is strong, well balanced and consistently clear while gunshots pack a real punch when the sporadic violence erupts throughout the film. Surround activity won't bombard you but you'll definitely notice it when it kicks in, which is quite often. Optional subtitles are provided in English, French and Spanish.
The extras on this U.S. release mirror those found on the Hong Kong release from Panorama. Here you'll find a few featurettes, the first of which is the thirty-eight minute long Making Of Outrage documentary that includes some interesting behind the scenes footage of Kitano and company at work. The fourteen minute Roundtable Discussion of the film offers up some insight into its themes and ideas courtesy of those who made it while Premiere Q&A segment lets the cast and crew field questions on the film for roughly twenty-five minutes. Nineteen minutes of Cast Interviews are also found on the disc, and while they cover some of the same ground as the other featurettes, they're a bit more structured and as such a bit more preferable. Rounding out the extras is ten minutes worth of footage from the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (where it was panned), the U.S. trailer for the film, the international trailer for the film, and trailers for a few other unrelated Magnolia properties available on DVD and Blu-ray. Menus and chapter stops are also included.
The Final Word:
Outrage isn't Kitano's best work but it is a nice return to form for the man who made his name with hardboiled Yakuza films and will definitely satiate those who have wanted for some time now to see him return to the genre. Overall the picture is stylish, slick, sporadically and effectively violent and probably more important than those qualities it's well written and very well acted. It takes some time to get going but once it does, Yakuza film fans will enjoy it and Magnolia's Blu-ray release offers up the film with some decent extras and in awesome condition. Kitano fans already know they need this one.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
