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News & Current Events Mar 25, 2026 at 5:07 PM

Who is Takashi Miike? Japanese cinema’s cult provocateur talks low-budget video filmmaking ahead of new projects with Charli XCX and Lily James

Posted by xanaduuu

https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/69957/1/introduction-takashi-miike-japan-cinema-cult-provocateur
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PeterMahogany Mar 25, 2026 +57
He’s prolific, that’s who.
57
Dogbin005 Mar 25, 2026 +16
Isn't his rule basically that if you've got the script and the money, and he's got the time, he *will* make your movie? Absolute workhorse.
16
SydneyBriarIsAlive Mar 25, 2026 +19
Right? Kinda weird to be giving a primer on who Takashi Miike is, that'd be like an article asking who this John Carpenter fellow is or what's this Martin Scorsese kid up to?
19
cocacola1 Mar 26, 2026 +13
There’s no shame in not knowing who a director is. Primers are useful as introductions and refreshers. He’s prolific, but I can see Japanese films being a blind spot for a lot of people.
13
sixtus_clegane119 Mar 26, 2026 +3
I hope with the movie he’s going back to weird, his more recent films don’t call to me like Gozu, ichi, or the dead or alive series
3
Nidavelir77 Mar 26, 2026 +1
One of the best in his field. People have to watch Audition, Ichi the Killer, Sukiyaki Western Django (feat. Quentin Tarantino) & Imprint.
1
Steamedcarpet Mar 25, 2026 +47
Working at Blockbuster in 2006 I have the cover of Ichi the Killer burnt into my memory.
47
Super_Moose_Rocket Mar 26, 2026 +6
I have the blood bag version of the dvd case. Except all the liquid dried up.
6
nonthreat Mar 26, 2026 +1
First panic attack I ever had as a kid was the >!nipple-slicing!< scene. That’s how I found out that gore doesn’t agree with me. I actually really enjoyed his Audition adaptation, though.
1
SubstantialRiver2565 Mar 25, 2026 +46
kiri kiri kiri
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BewareOfGrom Mar 25, 2026 +16
That scene where the phone rings and the suspiciously man sized sack in the background starts writhing is still one of the scariest things I have seen
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supercleverhandle476 Mar 26, 2026 +4
God damn that movie rattled me.
4
voivod1989 Mar 25, 2026 +33
Has the modern movie buff forgotten? This guy was a god when I was younger. Ichi the killer is my favourite gangster movie. I’m excited to see his take on bad lieutenant.
33
SydneyBriarIsAlive Mar 25, 2026 +3
I'm excited to check out Blazing Fists looks like it has a bit of that Crow Zero energy to it
3
DeathByBamboo Mar 26, 2026 +1
To the average Reddit user, he's ubiquitous, and everyone knows Ichi the Killer. But it's been an entire generation since Ichi the Killer was new. Articles like this are good for the new generation of film buffs.
1
SandysBurner Mar 26, 2026 +1
I was really into Miike like 15 years ago but I have no idea what he's been up to lately.
1
IronSorrows Mar 25, 2026 +10
"Who is Takashi Miike?" is a question I had answered when I watched Visitor Q with absolutely no forewarning of what I was about to see, watching on a laptop in a college hallway, probably on a Tartan Extreme dvd. Arguably one of the more scarring but more appropriate ways to find the answer to that question out
10
MIBlackburn Mar 26, 2026 +1
Getting a Tartan Asia Extreme DVD was a guarantee that you were going to watch something great but prepare for weirdness/violence if you're more of an English language film watcher. I ended up picking a bunch of them back in the 2000s.
1
IronSorrows Mar 26, 2026 +1
Yeah it was almost like a calling that you were about to get fucked up, get a couple of beers, cram around a small TV and watch A Tale Of Two Sisters or Dark Water or something. *Almost* every time, at least - I watched Oldboy and Lady Vengeance and got ready for more fucked up brutality when we put on JSA, and I ended up more emotionally hurt than anything. I think Infernal Affairs may have been released under that label too? I wish I knew where those dvds are now, if any of my friends from that time kept them. I know they got passed around a lot with the obligatory "you GOTTA see this!!" message
1
filmeswole Mar 25, 2026 +16
Ah yes, Takashi Miike. The Japanese director that nobody knows.
16
jeffplaysmoog Mar 25, 2026 +7
I saw Fudoh at the Dryden house here in Rochester, NY in 2004/2005?  Been hooked ever since!
7
xanaduuu Mar 25, 2026 +1
One of his best imo!
1
MIBlackburn Mar 26, 2026 +1
There's a UHD release of it now.
1
GangstaGrillz30 Mar 25, 2026 +4
All I know about him is that I watched "Ichi the Killer" at way too young of an age.
4
SydneyBriarIsAlive Mar 25, 2026 +2
My top 5 Miike films 1. Kuime 2. 13 Assassins 3. Rainy Dog 4. Audition  5. DOA2
2
xanaduuu Mar 25, 2026 +3
1. Ichi the Killer 2. Gozu 3. The Bird People in China 4. Fudoh: The New Generation 5. Audition
3
SydneyBriarIsAlive Mar 25, 2026 +1
Hell yeah Gozu and Bird People rule Still gotta see Fudoh
1
TheTresStateArea Mar 26, 2026 +1
And That one f****** episode of masters of horror.
1
odiin1731 Mar 25, 2026 +2
We already know who he is.
2
ifinallyreallyreddit Mar 26, 2026 +1
If you haven't seen his various game and manga adaptations, do you *really*?
1
thatpj Mar 26, 2026 +1
the goat thats who
1
Majora101 Mar 26, 2026 +1
He voices a version of himself in No More Heroes II and is talked about between missions in the third game
1
theodo Mar 26, 2026 +1
Where should I start with him? I like wild shit, if that matters.
1
ionised Mar 26, 2026 +1
> Who is Takashi Miike? *angry cinephile noises*
1
knight714 Mar 26, 2026 +1
He's made some great stuff, but he's the epitome of quantity over quality
1
appletinicyclone Mar 26, 2026 +1
Who is lily James and charli xcx
1
AsgardianWolves Mar 25, 2026 +1
I forgot about Lily James. After Cinderella I would have bet big-time that she'd become an A-list star.
1
Academy_Fight_Song Mar 26, 2026 +1
I loved Audition, and then foolishly saw Ichi *in the theatre* and that was my LAST Miike film.
1
Jazzlike_Relation705 Mar 25, 2026
Audition, chi, visitor q, 13 assassins. Come on, now.
0
fumphdik Mar 25, 2026 -19
I’m sorry, am I supposed to know any of those names?
-19
ILiveInAColdCave Mar 25, 2026 +7
You're in the movies sub, are you lost?
7
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