"Actor: Ittoku Kishibe"

• The Sting of Death (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (29/01/2024) from £15.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In the aftermath of World War II, a writer's love affair with another woman drives his wife mad with distrust. Realising his errors, he tries all he can to save her from literally losing her mind. Kohei Oguri's haunting adaptation of the novel by Toshio Shimao is shot in a hyperreal style that is equal parts painterly and unflinching. Featuring striking set design, powerful lead performances and a vivid evocation of small-town life in postwar Japan, The Sting of Death won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival while stars Ittoku Kishibe and Keiko Matsuzaka won numerous awards for their powerful performances. Radiance Films is proud to present this remarkable film on Blu-ray for the first time in the world. Product Features LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Documentary on the Japanese film renaissance of the 1990s featuring interviews with Kohei Oguri, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kaneto Shindo and others (Hubert Niogret, 52 mins) Interview with film scholar Hideki Maeda (2023) Trailer Newly translated English subtitles Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters Limited edition booklet featuring a newly translated interview with director Kohei Oguri Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

• Violent Cop | DVD | (27/12/2001) from £9.94   |  Saving you £0.05 (0.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Violent Cop ("Sono otoko kyobo ni tsuki") is the first film directed by Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, the Japanese star who began as a stand-up comedian on television. It's a Dirty Harry-type tale of a cop whose overly muscular methods are disapproved of by his superiors. When his partner is killed by the local Mr Big, Azuma (Kitano) goes into action, along with a new sidekick he initiates into the ways of the world. Dismissed from the force, Azuma carries on his one-man campaign, despite his sister's being forcibly drugged and raped by the gang. The violence is graphic, but what's most engaging about the film is Kitano's acting. He's an unlikely hero with his bow-legged walk and the face of a punch-drunk boxer, but his low-key style, a counterpart to the explosive violence, is always cool and it's easy to see why he's such a cult figure.--Ed Buscombe

• Vital | DVD | (20/02/2006) from £11.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (25.02%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Hiroshi Takagi (Asano) is a young man who has just regained consciousness having slipped into a coma following the horrible car accident which claimed the life of his girlfriend Ryoko. Takagi awakes with no memory of any sort: not of the accident not of his family not of his girlfriend. His parents both doctors take him home where he discovers a box full of old medical textbooks and fascinated he subsequently enrolls in medical school. Still Takagi is a shell of a man; he show

• Survive Style 5+ | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  As the title implies, there are five main story lines that seem, in the beginning, to exist in parallel universes.

• Takeshi Kitano Collection: Violent Cop, Boilingpoint, A Scene At The Sea, Sonatine, Getting Any?, Kids Return | DVD | (06/10/2008) from £68.83   |  Saving you £-18.84 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Violent Cop: Japanese superstar Beat Takeshi Kitano makes his directorial debut in this critically acclaimed action film in which he also stars as Azuma an urban cop at the end of his rope. Not above using violent tactics in order to punish the lawless Azuma's daily routine involves a new partner and a mentally challenged sister. When his violent ways cause the death of a friend his short fuse comes dangerously close to reaching its' end... Boiling Point: When Masaki a gas station attendant and local baseball player incurs the wrath of the local yakuza the notorious Japanese criminal organization he heads to Okinawa to buy a gun so he can stand up for himself. While there he is joined in his quest for revenge by a former gangster (Kitano) who seemingly has his own reasons for revenge. Violence escalates until the mild-mannered Masaki takes an oil truck from his gas station and drives it straight into yakuza headquaters... A Scene At The Sea: Kitano relates a touching story about a deaf-mute garbage collector who takes a passion in surfing. His mute girlfriend accompanies him and even though he is hindered at every point he never lets this dampen his passion. The couple does not exchange a single word throughout the entire film Kitano embracing the power of silence and love that transcends words. Sonatine: Takeshi is Murakawa an established and ruthless Yakuza sent outside his usual turf to intervene in a gang war on the tropical island of Okinawa. Things go badly wrong and he and his gang get caught in the crossfire. Forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway they kill time and fool around on the beach but then their enemies start picking them off one by one. Murakawa decides to go on the offensive for a final and breathtaking showdown... Getting Any?: Middle-aged Asao's sole goal in life is to have sex but in order to achieve his dream he is thrown from one wacky situation to the next. From robbing banks to becoming invisible to transforming into a super-sized fly monster Asao will do anything to get any! Kids Return: Two old friends revisit their old schoolyard to remember the times they shared together at school before they left and found their own ways in life one as a boxer and one as part of a local gang. They have done well but revisiting their memories reminds them of their undisciplined ways.