Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Dead or Alive
DEAD OR ALIVE (Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha) is a movie directed by Takashi Miike in 1999.
A gang of Chinese born young hoodlums eliminates the local yakuzas in order to control the drug market in Tokyo. Detective Jojima is soon the last obstacle for Ryuuichi and his friends. Extremely graphic, DEAD OR ALIVE is definitively a must for fans of Asian action movies.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Dead or Alive
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie Actual chase scenes or violence - 40% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1980's-1999
Crime & Police Story?
Yes
Criminal enemy is...
- Asian crime gangs
If this is a criminal POV story...
- criminals killing each other
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- short/standard straight (man)
Body type
- average (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Japanese
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- muscular (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Japan
City?
Yes
City:
- Dirty, grimy (like New York)
- dangerous
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gory visuals of deaths and torture
Movie makes you feel...
- excited
How many deaths in film?
- 8 or more
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of sex
- seeing breasts
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 (None)
Kind of violence:
- karate chop
- hand to hand
- guns
- knives
Unusual forms of death
- drowned
- perforation--bullets
- perforation--swords/knives
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Japanese
Subtitles?
- Yes
Lot of special effects?
Yes
Kinds of F/X
- exploding vehicles
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Modern rock/pop
