Agitator Blu Ray Review (Radiance Films)

Agitator (aKa Araburu Tamashii-Tachi, 荒ぶる魂たち, and The Outlaw Souls) is a 2001 crime film directed by Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, First Love, The Great Yokai War: Guardians, Audition, Visitor Q, One Missed Call, 13 Assassins, Bodyguard Kiba franchise, Dead or Alive franchise, Three… Extremes, Masters of Horror, Blade of the Immortal, and Sukiyaki Western Django). It was written by Shigenori Takechi (Graveyard of Honor, Izo, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka, Kikoku, and Blood). It was produced by Fujio Matsushima (Izo, Graveyard of Honor, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka, Full Metal Gokudô, and Ninja She-Devil). A yakuza Shinozaki (played by Takashi Miike from Hostel, Black Rain, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Ichi the Killer: Episode 0, and Another Lonely Hitman) is murdered after violently assaulting a hostess on rival turf. This is what provides the catalyst for a vicious gang war between a number of factions seeking a redistribution of power. Yakuza capo Kunihiko (played by: Masaya Kato from Godzilla, Drive, Samurai Resurrection, Shinjuku Incident, Tokyo: The Last War, and Brother) is caught in this deadly crossfire but he’s loyal to the end to his family which includes his boss Higuchi (played by: Naoto Takenaka from Nowhere Man, Blood Heat, 119, Kamen Rider Ghost, Guinea Pig 4: Devil Woman Doctor, and Tokyo Fist). The backroom maneuvering of the senior figures in the yakuza that are overseen by Mr. Kaito (played by: Hiroki Matsukata from The Rapacious Jailbreaker, 13 Assassins, Kura, Yagyu Clan Conspiracy, Izo, Ichi, and The Shogun Assassins), Mizushima (played by: Masato Ibu from Empire of the Sun, Emperor, Azumi, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, The Ultraman, and Tales of the Bizarre), and Muroi (played by: Kenichi Endo from The Raid 2, Visitor Q, Violent Cop, Family franchise, Crows Zero franchise, and Gozu) that are trying to resolve this chaos. They are juxtaposed against the actions of the street-level mobsters as the two sides head towards an inevitable fatal collision that’s ready to explode at any time!!!! Cult director Takashi Miike is mainly known for his horror and crazy projects but he delivers a violent gangster drama that would appeal to a wider audience. The script follows captain Kunihiko that’s known as the Agitator and he does the dirty work for his boss. The gruesome war between rival Yakuza factions end up causing problems for everyone involved including the loyal capo. Lead actor Masaya Kato is Kunihiko is better than expected here, he runs a gang of ambitious young criminals for his family. He answers to the powers above but he helps run the streets. He wants to protect his inner circle but each day becomes more risky as the competition tries to take over. Naoto Takenaka is great as Kunihiko’s boss Higuchi. He’s well respected and feared by all. He’s even offered to be the number two guy by his rivals when they try to overpower him. He doesn’t want to switch sides and he’s dedicated to his crew. That’s why his soldiers are always loyal to him. Hiroki Matsukata, Masato Ibu, Kenichi Endo, and Taisaku Akino (Izo, Tora-San franchise, Hiroshima, and Kaitô Ruby) are the high level yakuza that are trying to find a proper solution to resolve this bloodshed before no one is left. The rest of the supporting cast includes Takashi Miike, Naoyuki Chiba (Setsunaikamo Shirenai), Mickey Curtis (Izo), Yoshiyuki Daichi (Graveyard of Honor), Eiichi Furui (Fudoh: The New Generation), Hakuryû (Violent Cop), Shinzô Hotta (Ninja Captor), Makoto Inamiya (Wild Zero), Renji Ishibashi (Audition), Yûdai Ishiyama (Female Teacher Hunting), Akiko Kana (Yakuza Ladies), Shigeo Kobayashi (Deadly Outlaw: Rekka), Masanori Machida (Ultraseven), Masaru Matsuda (Bodyguard Kiba), Kazuya Nakayama (Izo), Chikage Natsuyama (Taiyô No Kizu), Daisuke Ryû (Ran), Tenma Shibuya (IP Man), Masahiro Sudô (Ultraman Cosmos), Kôji Tsukamoto (Full Metal Gokudô), Kaoru Sugawara (Ichi the Killer), Hitoshi Ozawa (Boiling Point), Jin Uchiyama (Graveyard of Honor), Hitoshi Yamaguchi (Crows Zero franchise), Toshihiko Tanaka (Love Exposure), Yûta Sone (Zebraman), and Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi (Dead or Alive franchise). In 2001, Takashi Miike directed 6 films which includes Ichi the Killer and this one so he was on fire that year behind the camera. The V-Cinema movement was still going strong and he took advantage of it. Agitator is lower budget but it really doesn’t feel like it at all. Each department did a fantastic job to elevate it to make it look bigger than what it actually was. It’s not a quick shoot em up type of action feature, it’s more of a crime epic like The Godfather. It takes it’s time at 2 hours and 30 minutes so it is a slow burner but it’s never boring. It has a nice balance of violence, gun play, and graphic revenge so it rewards the audience for it’s patience. Agitator is very intriguing, intense, unpredictable, and entertaining. It’s not one of Takashi Miike’s most known efforts but it’s definitely one of his hidden gems that remains underrated, STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Radiance Films! This 1080p (1.85:1) uncensored transfer is from a newer sharper digital restoration supervised by DP Kyoshi Ito. Agitator is an independent production but it looks great for what little they had to make it. This is a huge upgrade compared to it’s past versions. This is the very time that it’s been available in America on home video. It has an Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track on the disc. It personally didn’t bother me but this one desperately needs an English dub someday because I don’t see a whole lot of people willing to spend 150 minutes on something in a different language. The brutality, bullets flying, retribution, and the violence really shines when it comes to the audio. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with author Tom Mes for the original version. He is well informed especially when it comes to the director, he tells some interesting stories and he gives his honest thoughts here. He points out the influence it had on movies that were made later on. He chats about Takashi Miike, the production, V-Cinema, Yakuza genre, festival run, and some of the familiar faces in this. It has the additional rarely seen 3 hour 20 minute “Agitator: Extended Version” that’s split up into 2 parts (1:42:58 and 1:37:26) in standard definition. It actually looks pretty good for only being in SD, it’s definitely in watchable quality. I personally think it works even better being separated into 2 rather than 1 longer full length. It has a brand new little over 24 minute “Interview” with director Takashi Miike. He chats about the writer Shigenori Takechi and his experiences with crime. It had a real influence from the yakuza which helped stand out even more. He goes over the low budget shoot and his overall experience on it. He talks about the cast from it and the characters featured in this. He brings up filming this without proper permission but it making it work regardless. He went with a documentary approach that helped with it’s limited time schedule and a smaller cash flow for funding. It has a “Trailer” for Agitator. This limited edition includes reversible artwork and a 20 page booklet. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!