Violent Cop (1989)

Japanese superstar "Beat" Takeshi Kitano was best known as a comedian and talk-show host when he was cast as brutal police detective Azuma in Violent Cop, but the career-changing twist occurred when the original director dropped out and Kitano took the helm. Half a dozen pictures later, Kitano has carved out one of the most idiosyncratic careers in Japanese cinema, and it all springs from this edgy, explosive crime classic. Azuma is a cop who plays by his own rules: He batters suspects, beats confessions from criminals, and plants evidence. He's a vigilante force the department quietly supports as long as he gets results, but when a volatile drug case results in the death of a colleague, the hair-trigger cop goes rogue as he matches wits with an equally impulsive assassin. Kitano's big teddy bear eyes and soft features maintain a calm, almost bemused expression even in his most violent moments: a Zen "Dirty" Harry with a deadpan sense of humor. For a first-time director, Kitano displays astonishing cinematic control, creating a style of long takes and serene tranquility shattered by startling explosions of gunfire and abrupt blows. It's a violent world in which adolescents attack beggars and grade-school kids pelt bystanders with garbage and insults, but Kitano also shows a tender, caring side ultimately swallowed by the unleashed anger. Ironic, grim, and focused to a mesmerizing intensity, Violent Cop is one of the great Japanese crime films and a brilliant debut. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

 Violent Cop
Beat Takeshi stars as a cop named Azuma who goes about his job in a very violent way. When a fellow cop is killed, Azuma looks to settle things himself.

Like a lot of Japanese movies, the story moves kind of slow. It's always deadly serious and sometimes people will just stare eachother down for a minute or two. But if you look away for a second, somebody will be getting beaten down and there may be need to rewind. While the the movie has a slow pace, I didn't find it boring one bit. I really like Beat Takeshi's style and I will have to seek out more movies from him. He is a bad dude.

I was thinking about giving this just 3 stars, but Beat Takeshi is too cool.

3.5/5

The DVD from Fox Lorber Films has slghtly above average picture quality.
April 7, 2007

 Much more than a typical cop action flick
This movie started out looking like a cross between Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon, where excess force is justified in policework. Somewhere along the way, without being explicitly told, the viewer realizes that rather than glorifying violence, the movie subtly condemns it. This changes the movie from your typical violent cop flick to a real work of art.

My only complaint on the movie was that some of the subtitles were oversimplified or mistranslated. (I know very little Japanese, and if there were mistakes I could catch, I only wonder about those that I didn't catch) They were not bad enough to reduce the overall value of a fantastic movie. April 18, 2005

 another dose of realism
One of T. Kitano's first films come to life on DVD. worth the buy? Definitely! The more I learn about Takeshi Kitano, the more engrossed I become in his films. Always incredibly real and passionate, whether in comedy, action or drama. Maker of such flicks as "Kikujiro" , "Hana-Bi" and the latest box office smash "Zatoichi". It's interesting to learn what Takeshi has done after his amazingly popular "Takeshi's Castle" competitive comedy on Japanese TV. This is probably the most interesting and dare I say best directors of this era. This black comedy / action movie was later remade into a Hollywood Cult movie "Bad Lieutenant", starring Harvey Kietel.

Action - 5/5
Realism - 5/5
Good Ending - 2/5
Acting - 4/5
Funny Bits - 3/5
Feeling a little shocked before the movies finishes? - 5/5

Total - 5/5 March 22, 2005

 Grittier Than Some, More Contemplative Than Most
Perhaps not the best of Takeshi Kitano's movies (I have to admit to preference for Hana-Bi on many levels) but this is by far the grittiest of Takeshi's work. In his directorial debut, famous Japanese television comedian Takeshi Kitano (more commonly known as `Beat' Takeshi) plays Azuma, a brutal but honorable cop who runs out of patience - a Dirty Harry of sorts. Azuma's stifling daily routine necessitates him dealing with - among other things - a naive new partner as well as taking care of, mentally challenged sister. Azuma reaches his breaking point when a fellow cop is killed and drug dealers take prisoner his sister. It is time to take matters in his own hands and Azuma begins taking a different approach - vengeful course that crescendo in a shocking finale. AS mentioned previously, Violent Cop is a startling first feature from Kitano, who replaced director Kinji Fukasaku. First and foremost a television comedian, Kitano allegedly reworked the script to better suit his dark mis-en-scene visualization of the film. This turn of events serves an absorbing introduction to his one of its kind directorial style. Kitano intermixes scenes of intense violence with beautifully contemplative shots - as is evidenced in Hana-Bi aka Fireworks and Boiling Point (both also available on Amazon.com). Notches above in the yakuza genre by adding a contemplative twist, Kitano's films are signposts in 20th century Japanese cinema.

Miguel Llora December 26, 2004

 Quiet (When the Guns Are Silent) Brilliance
Takeshi Kitano plays Azuma, a cop dirtier than Harry ("Dirty Harry") as he's decided that the world truly has descended into anarchy -- an anarchy the results of law or its lack of true enforcement. Taking justice into his own hands (literally), Azuma achieves results but (inevitably) not without a cost of his own.

VIOLENT COP is a picture of quiet brilliance, and the intelligence is found largely in moments of silence -- Azuma walking down the street, Azuma staring emotionlessly at a criminal before administering his own form of punishment, Azuma walking several paces ahead or behind of whomever he's with. Once the weapons are drawn, even these moments are captured with tremendous subtlety but plenty of blood.

The film cleverly gives Azuma an adversary -- a tight-lipped assassin -- who is as violent as he is, and, once the killer offs one of Azuma's oldest colleagues, a clashing of polar opposites is inevitable ... and well worth the 103 minute wait. December 8, 2003

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