Product Description

We begin in 1865 when the Shogunate is on its last legs but still capable of punishing its enemies. One is Izo (Kazuya Nakayama) an assassin in the service of Hanpeida (Ryosuke Miki) a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo where his finds himself one with the city's homeless. Here Izo transforms himself into a new improved killing machine his entire soul still enraged by his treatment in his past life. His response to the powers-that-be whose predecessors put him to death is the sword.DVD Features:Available Subtitles: EnglishAvailable Audio Tracks: English (Unknown Format) Japanese (Unknown Format)Interview with director Takashi MiikeMaking of IzoSecrets of IzoOriginal trailersSystem Requirements:Running Time 128 MinsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 631595052886 Manufacturer No: TSDVD-0528

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45508 in DVD
• Brand: Media Blasters
• Released on: 2005-10-11
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .44 pounds
• Running time: 128 minutes

Customer Reviews

You are a Demon

The opening of scene of Izo depicts the title character Okada Izo crucified and calmly waiting for his captors to kill him. They soon comply and execute Izo by driving their spears through his body several times. The scene then quickly changes to a chaotic montage in which images of some of the 20th century's most brutal dictators are flashed across the screen, including Stalin, Hitler, Tojo Hideki, and Benito Mussolini. His spirit unable to rest, Izo rises and begins a path of destruction that leaves no one untouched. It matters not if one is old or young, male or female, Izo will kill anyone in his path. The source of his consternation seems to be a group of aristocrats, including Kitano Takeshi and Matsuda Ryuhei who plays the leader, who rule society from the shadows. Fighting the vengeful souls of samurai he killed in the past, a pistol wielding old man with a voice box, a prostitute, a huge black man in the robes of a Buddhist monk, Bob "The Beast" Sapp," makes his way closer to his goal, but as his bad karma accumulates Izo loses his remaining humanity and quickly morphs into a demon.

Yet, who or what is Izo? Supposedly in order for there to be perfection, all the imperfections of the world must be shed of like a second skin and dissipate into nothingness. However, Izo becomes the personification of this nothingness, a being created entirely of bad karma trapped in a Möbius strip in which time and space are both very fragile where he suffers the torment he brought to others.

Some film viewers seem to think that Izo is an overwrought mess with pedantic aspirations that fail miserably. Some think it achieves its goals while many just enjoy the film's high gore factor. I did not know what to think at first. I quickly grew bored at the beginning of the film when it seemed as if it was going to be nothing more than one blood bath after the other, although I did think some of Izo's enemies were quite creative. However, as the film progressed I became a bit more interested in some underlying themes of the film: man made constructions of love, nation, etc. To me one of the most interesting aspects of the film was the "bard," a middle-aged man with a guitar. As those who have read the Tale of Heike know the oral story of how the Heike, Taira fell to the Genji, Minamoto, clan was told by normally blind biwa playing monks in order to appease the souls of the Heike samurai so they would not return as vengeful spirits. While this "bard" might not be serving this same purpose, the songs he sings are quite chilling and the visuals, such as the girls marching while wearing gasmasks, are quite stunning. Is Izo a good film? That is hard to say, but I believe that it offers different conclusions for different viewers. If one is looking for a confusing bloodbath, you'll find it here. If one is looking for deeper philosophical questions in a miasma of blood and guts, you'll find it here as well, or at least it could aid you in finding these questions within your own being.

I am a spirit seeking vengeance
Wow, another demented head trip by Miike. I'm not exactly sure what I just watched, but I know it was great.
You've got the fierce warrior Izo, who is brutally murdered and then his soul seeks some closure. Or rest. But his spirit is denied at the gates of both heaven and hell. So the soul wanders aimlessly, trapped within himself, feeling eternally restless and bitter. He then embarks on a ruthless rampage of death, destruction, and mayhem that is visually spectacular.
The plot linear structure is intentionally wavering and sporadic, maybe in an attempt to make you also feel lost. There are some amazing action sequences that reminded me of Matrix, Kill Bill, and Ichi the Killer. With this exploration of life after death comes a strong level of surrealism portrayed, which I thought was imaginative and entertaining. I also loved the showdown between Izo and big Bob Sapp, way too cool.
This film is generous with the blood and the swordplay, but it's abstract notions and problems with continuity might not appeal to many viewers. Oh well, may your soul burn in eternal damnation, haha.

You gotta look in between the lines.
Many say that this film is just a completely brutal and totally pointless movie. I disagree with this enormously. Miike would never make a movie that has no theme or hidden message in it. Izo, to me, is a reflection of today's society. Our man, Izo is hardcore and ruthless, and seems to be killing out of the pure joy of it. Do we not in today's world also commit such acts? Maybe not to such an extreme as this movie portrays... but Miike always ALWAYS shows us things exxagerated to the utmost and fullest. I found Izo to actually be very philosophical and actually referenced Buddhism folk-tales from time to time. You gotta look in between the lines. Izo is for the intelligent crowd who knows how to handle sarcasm and large (very large) amounts of violence. I think if you really study Miike's work, you'll find this film satisfactory. And if you don't want to think and just wanna see some repulsive scenes of gore, you can go for this one as well (weirdo).