Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike (三池 崇史, Miike Takashi, born August 24, 1960) is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from

Miike achieved notoriety for depicting shocking scenes of extreme violence and sexual perversions. Many of his films contain graphic and lurid bloodshed, often portrayed in an over-the-top, cartoonish manner. Much of his work depicts the activities of criminals (especially yakuza) or concern themselves with gaijin, non-Japanese or foreigners living in Japan. He is known for his dark sense of humor and for pushing the boundaries of censorship as far as they will go.

Miike has directed films in a range of genres. He has created lighthearted children's films (Ninja Kids!!!, The Great Yokai War), period pieces (Sabu), a road movie (The Bird People in China), a teen drama (Andromedia), a farcical musical-comedy-horror (The Happiness of the Katakuris), video game adaptations (Like a Dragon, Ace Attorney) and character-driven crime dramas (Ley Lines and Agitator).

While Miike often creates films that are less accessible and target arthouse audiences and fans of extreme cinema, such as Izo and the "Box" segment in Three... Extremes, he has created several mainstream and commercial titles such as the horror film One Missed Call and the fantasy drama The Great Yokai War.

Miike has cited Starship Troopers as his favorite film.^[7] He expressed admiration for directors Akira Kurosawa,^[8] Hideo Gosha,^[8][9] David Lynch,^[10] David Cronenberg,^[10] and Paul Verhoeven.^[10]

Controversies

Several of Miike's films have been subject to scrutiny due to heavy violence. His 2001 horror film Ichi the Killer, adapted from a manga of the same name and starring Tadanobu Asano as a sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer, was highly controversial; during its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2001, the audience received "barf bags" emblazoned with the film's logo as a promotional gimmick.^[11] The British Board of Film Classification refused to allow the release of the film uncut in the United Kingdom, citing its extreme levels of sexual violence towards women; the film required 3 minutes and 15 seconds of mandated cuts to be allowed release.^[12] In Hong Kong, 16 minutes and 59 seconds of footage were cut.^{[13][unreliable source?]} Ichi the Killer was also banned outright in Norway, Germany and Malaysia.^[14]

In 2005, Miike was invited to direct an episode of the