Takeshi Kitano Collection

Six films from Japanese director, writer and actor, Takeshi Kitano. In 'Violent Cop' (1989), 'Beat' Takeshi (Kitano) is a renegade cop of the Dirty Harry genre. He gets into some nasty situations with drug cartels, and one merciless yazuka kidnaps his sister. However, Beat is not scared to confront a hairy situation head on. 'Boiling Point' (1990) is a nihilistic comedy-drama about Masaki (Masahiko Ono), an incompetent baseball player who accidentally crosses the local yakuza and travels to Okinawa to buy guns with which to defend himself. Once there he inadvertently hooks up with former gangster Uehara (Kitano) who harbours his own reasons for wanting revenge on the gangsters. Together they plough headlong into a violent clash with the mob. In 'A Scene at the Sea' (1991), Shigeru (Kuroudo Maki) and Takako (Hiroko Oshima) are a young couple who both have hearing impairments. Their lives are dramatically changed when Shigeru finds an old surfboard and becomes determined to learn the sport. 'Sonatine' (1993) is an original and elegaic take on the yakuza genre. Murakawa (Kitano) is a powerful and trusted gangster who is persuaded to travel to Okinawa to help clear up a dispute between rival gangs. The task proves anything but easy, and as bloody conflict erupts around him, Murakawa realises that he has been set up, and decides to retreat to a secret seaside hideaway, where he and his friends kill time and play games as they wait for their enemies to arrive. 'Getting Any?' (1995) is a slapstick comedy about Asao (Dankan), a middle-aged man obsessed with the idea of having wild, unbridled sex in a car. From robbing banks to becoming an invisible man, Asao will do anything he can to fulfill his dream of 'auto' erotica! Finally, in 'Kids Return' (1996), Masuru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando) are childhood friends who team up in the schoolyard to extort money from others. As they progress to adulthood, Masuru becomes a member of the local yakuza gang, while Shinji shows talent as a boxer. Pursuing separate paths in life, the two friends gradually grow apart, but how will they get by without each other?