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Sonatine - DVD

SKU: 17038171 | Release Date: 7/1/2008

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Format: DVD
Theatrical Release: 1993
Length: 94 minutes
Screen Formats: Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Panorama

Synopsis

Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, comedian, television star, author, and all-around renaissance man Takeshi "Beat" Kitano stars in this unconventional take on the crime drama. Kitano portrays Murakawa, a successful Yakuza officer who has grown weary of the violent life, so much so that he has even considered retirement. Thus, he is not pleased when he is asked to lead a team to help defuse a gang war in Okinawa but agrees when he is assured it will be an easy job. It proves anything but, however, and he soon finds himself in the middle of a complex, bloody conflict. Fearing that he has been set up, Murakawa withdraws to a nearby coastal town. The film takes a trademark Kitano turn at this point, moving away from the standard crime drama plot to focus on what amounts to a gangster's summer vacation, with the killers playing frisbee on the beach and taking dancing lessons. Murakawa even finds a summer romance, falling in love with a local girl who is impressed by his way with a gun. This sunny idyll cannot last forever, however, and soon the realities of the criminal life catch up with them. Seen as a prime example of Kitano's style, Sonatine features a combination of deadpan comedy and unexpectedly romantic lyricism, periodically interrupted by shockingly sudden bursts of violence. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Version Details

Languages/Sound

Japanese

Screen Formats

Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV

Subtitle Languages

Eng

Additional Features

Collectible hand bill with in-depth production notes Director's biography and filmography Audio commentary

Chapters

Disc #1 -- Sonatine
1. Opening [6:52]
2. Killed [10:14]
3. Help [7:47]
4. Encounter [9:38]
5. Okinawa [6:19]
6. Kill [6:15]
7. Beach [10:30]
8. Raining [6:55]
9. Killer [7:22]
10. Lift [7:27]
11. Turf [11:17]
12. Ending [3:24]

Cast

Crew

Producer: Hisao Nabeshima ,Masayuki Mori
Director: Beat Takeshi Kitano
Screenwriter: Beat Takeshi Kitano
Editor: Beat Takeshi Kitano
Sound/Sound Designer: Senji Horiuchi
Executive Producer: Kazuyoshi Okuyama
Producer: Takio Yoshida
Cinematographer: Katsumi Yanagishima
Composer (Music Score): Joe Hisaishi ,Hisaishi Hoe
Production Designer: Sasaki Osamu
Cinematographer: Yanagijima Katsumi

Sonatine: AMG Review
Elbert Ventura , AMG

One of world cinema's most consistently interesting directors, Takeshi Kitano has the uncanny knack of being able to repeat himself without becoming tiresome. The lean and absorbing Sonatine, the filmmaker's fourth feature, bears all the trappings of a typical Kitano gangster flick: an impassive antihero, slapstick comedy, stylish mayhem, and an undercurrent of sadness. Less sentimental than 1998's policier-cum-weepie Fireworks (his most successful movie), Sonatine is nonetheless a strange hybrid, wedging the aimless story of a beach idyll into a straightforward genre picture. With his weathered face and unimposing slouch, Kitano is an unlikely candidate to play a cool antihero. But as with most of his movies, tight-lipped stoicism and coiled viciousness go a long way. Formally, the picture is as strong as anything Kitano has done. The stark and static compositions have cumulative power, creating a meditative mood that's almost alien to the genre. For all its deviations from the generic norm, the movie doesn't really tell us anything new; it's the telling that makes the movie worth watching. Familiar by Kitano's standards, Sonatine never fails to surprise anyway, a testament to the peculiarity of his vision. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

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Sonatine - DVD

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Sonatine - DVD

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Need Help?

Synopsis

Version Details

Cast

Crew

Related Movies

Order Support

Community

Product Support

Credit Cards

Reward Zone® Program

Corporate Info

More Best Buy Sites

Need help? We're available 24/7 at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289)