Rating: 
Summary: Oh yeah!
Review: All I can say about Takashi Miike is "Thank God!" O.k., I can and will say more about him than that, but those two words will probably sum up your impressions of the man's film work. You groaned in abject horror over the horrific, piano wire denouement of "Audition." You swore off drinking milk and nearly lost your lunch over the warped portrayal of domesticity gone wrong in "Visitor Q." You couldn't do much of anything except sit in open-mouthed awe during the string of grotesque oddities that constituted "Ichi the Killer." And now you're about to embark on an intriguing exploration of the world of the Yakuza in "Dead or Alive." Welcome to the depraved world of Japanese auteur Takashi Miike. Anyone remotely familiar with the peculiar institution of Japanese filmmaking probably knows about this director by now. If not, you're missing out on something quite amazing. I won't say you will understand everything you see in a Miike opus; watching one of his films through western eyes is bound to cause a serious case of severe cultural dissonance. But that doesn't mean you won't have one heck of a time trying to figure it all out.
The first ten or so minutes of "Dead or Alive" slightly misleads the viewer. Through a series of quick cuts, pounding rock music, and extremely violent imagery Miike sets you up for a sit on the edge of your seat thriller. You've got a woman taking a nosedive out of a building, a nauseating encounter in a bathroom, a guy scarfing down bowl after bowl of noodles, exotic dancers gyrating in the background, and a gang gunning down a bunch of mobsters. What does it all mean? It's Miike's way of not just grabbing your attention, but slapping you silly until you simply MUST pay attention. It turns out that Ryuuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his band of merry pranksters bears the responsibility for most of this violence. He's a Japanese guy born in China which, in the social hierarchy of Japan, means he's nothing. That also means he's got nothing to lose by starting a war between the Japanese Yakuza and the Chinese Triads in Yokohama as a means to take over the drug trade. Unfortunately for the gangster, the stoic and meticulous Detective Jojima (Sho Aikawa) is hot on his trail. It's a showdown between two obstinate souls that threatens to turn the streets red with blood.
Miike does an interesting thing after the initial mayhem runs its course; he slows the movie down to a snail's pace. Sandwiched between the slam-bang opening and the insane showdown at the end, "Dead or Alive" focuses on telling the personal stories of these two men. Miike doesn't leave us completely out to dry, of course, as he gives us plenty of disgusting weirdness to tide us over in the meantime. One of the goons in the film gets his kicks by hiring harridans to wallow in a wading pool filled with...well, watch and see. We also meet one of Jojima's informants, a man involved in filming...well, watch and see. Geez, I can't mention any of the over the top cringe elements in "Dead or Alive"! But I can talk about Jojima and Ryuuichi. The police officer's job is his reason for being as he loves to make the streets safer for society, but his family life drifts as a result. He doesn't communicate well with his wife or his offspring. Worse, his daughter is very sick and needs an enormously expensive operation, an operation so pricey that it will force the cop to take desperate measures to save her life. As for Ryuuichi, his existence as a non-Japanese Japanese, so to speak, ensures that he will always live on the fringes of society. His relationship with a smart younger brother interested in school threatens to implode when the boy discovers what Ryuuichi does for a living.
The final scenes of "Dead or Alive" take the film in an entirely different direction that definitely made me smile (check out that car dropping out of the sky), but found me scratching my head in wonderment. Really, folks--you simply won't believe how the movie ends. It's so over the top that it outdoes nearly every other over the top conclusion in cinematic history. How did the conflict suddenly assume global implications? Perhaps Miike is making a statement about good versus evil? Whatever the case, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I thought both of the primary actors (Aikawa and Takeuchi) did a fine job in what is essentially a low budget action flick. It must have been difficult to create sympathetic characters in a film featuring some of the sick stuff we see here, but Miike and his actors accomplish that very thing. Two sequels to this film arrived on the scene shortly after, neither of which I have seen yet. Based on my experiences with the first installment, the other two ought to be massively entertaining.
Surprisingly, you get more than a few extras on the "Dead or Alive" disc. There are the typical trailers for this film and a few others, production notes, and an interview with Miike. I liked this little discussion because we hear the director talk about the popularity of the two leads cast in the film. Apparently, Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi are quite popular in their native Japan. Miike wanted to play on that popularity with the film, not necessarily in a monetary sense (although that was definitely a consideration), but in how the two men played their roles. Takashi Miike makes anywhere from five to ten films a year, as amazing as that sounds, and "Dead or Alive" is one of the best ones I've seen from him. Give it a shot if you've got the stomach for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Violent Search for Belonging...
Review: Dead or Alive is an extremely violent and disturbing film by Takashi Miike who also directed the challenging Audition (2000) and alarming family drama Visitor Q (2001). In this film Miike tells a story about a gang of young reject Chinese immigrants who are "lost" in a foreign society. Under the leadership of Ryuichi, the gang attempts to regain their position in society by creating their own place, which becomes a dark area in the criminal world. In their search for belonging, they openly display their insolence for authorities and the Yakuza, since they cross paths. This leads the gang members onto a bizarre and sadistic path. Dead or Alive is definitely not a film for everyone; however, underneath the gross and ugly there is a distinct message in regards to society. This message enhances the cinematic experience, but there are several cinematic infractions besides the brutality that hurt the overall cinematic experience.
Rating: 
Summary: out of control
Review: Dead or Alive is very over the top. A decent, uproarious send up of Japanese gangsta' films with MANY surprises. One of the best yet weirdest endings of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute ending for Yakuza bore-fest
Review: Don't get me wrong, I really like Miike and would recommend Audition or Visitor Q any time but I fell asleep about halfway through this. I've probably watched too many of these "es muy macho" Yakuza films over the last year which has made me very sensitive to the cliche's of this genre. There are two good scenes in this movie that take place in the final 10 minutes, the car bomb and the destruction of the earth but otherwise you would do better to buy a Beat Takeshi film.
Rating:
Summary: My first Takashi Miike film!
Review: First off, I'm hooked. If this is any indication as to what a Takashi Miike film is like then I can't wait to see more. Intense characters, gay sex, female nudity, an enema, lots of drugs, bloody shoot outs, a man in a chicken suit and what might be the most unexpected ending of all time. All served up by a guy whose directed 62 films in 13 years!
From what I could gather a small group of thugs wage war on the bigger drug cartels in an attempt to take over the drugs imported from Taiwan. Two cops get caught in the middle and it's murder, death, kill all over the joint until one of the cops is killed and the one remaining cop has something happen to him towards the end that really pisses him off. You've got to see it for yourself. It's insane.
My only complaint would be the middle of the movie starts to drag a little. There should have been at least one more action scene to keep the energy flowing. Other than that I loved it and can't wait to see part 2.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated
Review: I can't believe I wasted a free Blockbuster movie rental coupon on this P.O.S. The 2 stars is for the cool beginning, what happens to the cops family, and the ending. Everything in between isn't that great. Very little dialogue, and poor character building. Rent/buy it if you don't care about dialogue, and whether or not the good/bad guys die or not.
This would've been a lot better if it were a short film of the "highlights".
Rating:
Summary: DOA Is what you expect from Takashi Miike
Review: I had recently ordered the package of DOA and Ichi The Killer, both unedited/unrated. I was very pleased with DOA, and it has earned its spot in my DVD collection.The acting, plot twists, filmwork... all of it ties in well. Although contrary to what others have said in their reveiws, I was not as taken by the ending as others seem to. I enjoyed the movie itself more than the last few minutes. Overall, this DVD delivers. The quality is great, the subtitles are accurate, and the short interview with Miike is a plesant surprise. I recomend Miike fans, and even people who do not know of his film making, both purchase this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: DOA Is what you expect from Takashi Miike
Review: I had recently ordered the package of DOA and Ichi The Killer, both unedited/unrated. I was very pleased with DOA, and it has earned its spot in my DVD collection. The acting, plot twists, filmwork... all of it ties in well. Although contrary to what others have said in their reveiws, I was not as taken by the ending as others seem to. I enjoyed the movie itself more than the last few minutes. Overall, this DVD delivers. The quality is great, the subtitles are accurate, and the short interview with Miike is a plesant surprise. I recomend Miike fans, and even people who do not know of his film making, both purchase this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Oh yea!!
Review: I happened to catch this gem of a flick in a small Portland, Or. theater on a whim in 2002. I've been looking it to own ever since. This movie takes every cliche and element of asian cinema and blows it up. The beginning of fast paced, very brutal and very stylish. The overall story is very tragic, noble and honorable. Then comes the ending...very unexpected and one of the best I've ever seen. I can't say what happens but there is no way it can ever be beat.
Rating:
Summary: Wannabe Takeshi Kitano
Review: I thought Takashi Miike was the bomb after watching AUDITION and FUDOH. However, this effort seemed like regurgitated Tarantino and parody of his better works. Kitano seems like a strong influence but Miike lacks the poetic filmaking style in such works as SONATINE, FIREWORKS. Dead or Alive was a big disappointment.
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