Hana-bi (1997)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Nishi is a cop whose wife is slowly dying of Leukemia. One of his partners gets shot on the job and...

Plot Keywords:

Leukemia | Guilt | Police | Gangster | Suicide

Awards:

21 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Yoshitaka Nishi (as 'Beat' Takeshi)
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Miyuki, Nishi's wife
Ren Ôsugi	...	Horibe
Susumu Terajima	...	Nakamura
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Tesuka
Hakuryu	...	Yakuza Hitman
Yasuei Yakushiji	...	Criminal
Taro Istumi	...	Kudo
Ken'ichi Yajima	...	Doctor
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Tanaka
Yûko Daike	...	Tanaka's widow
Tsumami Edamame	...	Businessman Throwing Rocks
Yûrei Yanagi	...	Chef #1
Sujitarou Tamabukuro	...	Chef #2
Tokio Seki	...	Old Hick

Also Known As:

Fireworks (International: English title) (USA)
Hana-Bi (UK)
Flores de fuego (Argentina) [es]
Fogo de Artifício (Portugal) [pt]
Fogos de Artifício (Brazil) [pt]
Hana-Bi - Fogos de Artifício (Brazil) [pt]
Hana-Bi - tulikukkia (Finland) [fi]
Hana-bi (Poland) [pl]
Hana-bi - Feuerblume (Germany) [de]
Hana-bi - Fiori di fuoco (Italy) [it]
Hana-bi - Fuochi d'artificio (Italy) [it]
Hana-bi - feux d'artifice (France) [fr]
Hana-bi. Flores de fuego (Spain) [es]
Havai Fisekler (Turkey: Turkish title) (festival title) [tr]
Pyrotehnimata (Greece) [el]
Tüzvirágok (Hungary) [hu]

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | France:U | Czech Republic:12 | Brazil:16 | Austria:16 | Hungary:16 | Israel:16 | South Africa:16 | Ireland:18 | Mexico:B15 | Italy:T | Poland:18 | Iran:18+ | Romania:I.C.-14 | Taiwan:PG-12 | USA:R (cut) | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Australia:MA

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The Japanese title translates into 'Fireworks", but if you look further into the basis of the Japanese character for 'fireworks', you will see that it is composed of two smaller words - 'fire' and 'flower'. And like the linguistic basis of the title, the story and style of "Hana-Bi" is the synthesis of two opposing images, one being an agent of destruction, and the other a symbol of birth and renewal.

Quotes:

Yoshitaka Nishi: Next time, I'll kill you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cure (1997)

A Japanese masterpiece

Kitano's Hana-bi is something quite special, a film where images of violence and beauty are juxtaposed. The violence is deadly, but certainly not gratuitous or pointless. The beauty is the love story, the happiness between a cop and his wife.

There are 3 main stories in the picture, each one given the time it deserves. The film is beautiful to watch, the camera work is slick and amazing.

The direction is faultless and no frame is wasted. The film's images speak out, they are very powerful. The long silences add so much to the film, the director really knew what he was doing.

The screenplay is almost in the shadow of the awe-inspiring images, but does give the picture a deserving foundation!

The performances are 101% perfect, very authentic!

The film's musical score is beautiful, it feels very isolated from the images which only adds to the raw ambience, it's perfect!

This is a Japanese masterpiece, see it in wide-screen!