Magnet Releasing dropped the trailer for Takashi Miike’s adaptation of the popular manga and anime Blade of the Immortal this morning, and it most definitely kicks all sorts of ass. It’s Miike’s 100th film, and it looks like the bizarre cinema maestro hasn’t necessarily lost his touch. Come for the arm-slicing, stay for the fantastic visuals and the hilariously misguided subtitles. We’ve attached the Red Band trailer for you because we’re all adults here, so if you’re at work, go back to work! You have a job to be doing.
Check it:
Miike’s one of Japan’s truly iconoclastic filmmakers, and the breadth of his oeuvre means that he’s had enough time to experiment with all forms of cinematic storytelling. Sure, he’s known for being a gorehound (Ichi the Killer) and being the best ever at the torture porn genre (Audition), but he’s got a fantastic sense of humor (The Happiness of the Katakuris), a real eye for the western (Sukiyaki Western Django), and the ability to show significant restraint when the work demands it whether it’s for Kurosawa-style pacing (13 Assassins) or content tame enough for families (Ninja Kids!!!).
Hell, he’s even releasing another adaptation this year, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and that hasn’t stopped him yet. He’s only 57, too, so hopefully there’ll be plenty of work to come as well. Blade of the Immortal definitely looks cool, and it’s awesome to see Miike working on such a stylistically exaggerated story, and realizing its world. Who knows, it might even make us check out the manga.
Here’s a synopsis from the video description:
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Blade of the Immortal will premiere on these shores at Fantastic Fest later in September before it hits theaters on November 3.
