Dead or Alive

"A daring exercise in ultra-violent extremes."

1999 1h 45m JA

😐

6.4

MID

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 182●49Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 8,673

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

“A daring exercise in ultra-violent extremes.”

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Cast

Riki Takeuchi
Ryuuichi
Show Aikawa
Det. Jojima
Renji Ishibashi
Aoki
Shingo Tsurumi
Chen
Ren Osugi
Yan
Kaoru Sugita
Mrs. Jojima
Dankan
Tanaka
Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi
Hoshiyama

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Toshiki Kimura
Languages: Mandarin, Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dead or Alive Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Riki Takeuchi and Show Aikawa and Renji Ishibashi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Hideo Yamamoto behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Yasushi Shimamura cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Mandarin, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, Japanese.
4Part of the "Dead or Alive Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Riki Takeuchi and Show Aikawa and Renji Ishibashi carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A daring exercise in ultra-violent extremes.".
10IMDB entry: tt0221111 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 10 different titles around the world.