Tonight, we dive into the legendary Japanese Extended Cut of Johnny Mnemonic (1995), released in Japan under the title JM. This version is a holy grail for fans, as it completely shifts focus to highlight the tragic character of Takahashi (Takeshi Kitano).

If you look closely at the back of this r/LaserDisc jacket, there is a striking photo highlighting the confrontation between Keanu and Takeshi. Right under the obi strip, it literally reads "Keanu Reeves x Takeshi"—as if Kitano is the co-lead and the next most crucial character in the entire movie.

Official production facts about this unique release:

• Longer Runtime: It runs 103 minutes, adding nearly 9 minutes of footage missing from the international cut.
• More Beat Takeshi: Restores emotional and brutal scenes, including Takahashi watching a 3D hologram of his late daughter and executing disobedient henchmen.
• Different Score & Editing: Features unique camera angles and replaces Brad Fiedel's electronic music with an atmospheric score by Mychael Danna and Black Rain.
• Altered Ending: Uses alternative visual cuts in cyberspace and drops the international memory-recovery epilogue.

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! Spin your r/LaserDisc, turn on your CRT, and enjoy 90s cyberpunk history where Takeshi truly steals the show. 🎴

Kubi finally is out in the US. Just appeared unannounced on Netflix in the US, unsure if anywhere else

Tonight, we dive into what is arguably the ultimate holy grail for any true Takeshi Kitano fan: the massive 6-disc Takeshi Kitano Complete Works LD-BOX (北野武監督全集). Released by Bandai Home Video at a premium price of ¥35,000, this heavy, textured box set compiles his first 5 directorial features alongside a legendary bonus disc.

Inside this absolute treasure, you will find:

• Violent Cop (1989)
• Boiling Point (1990)
• A Scene at the Sea (1991)
• Sonatine (1993)
• Getting Any? (1994)
• The World of Takeshi Kitano (1993) — the essential 90-minute NHK documentary and making-of feature, which we previously digitized and shared back during Week 2 and Week 3 of our marathon.

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! Spin your r/LaserDisc, because you can never have too much Kitano on LD. 🎴

Tonight, we dive into what is arguably Takeshi Kitano's ultimate cinematic masterpiece, Hana-Bi (1997). This film brilliantly balances his signature explosive violence with moments of profound, quiet tenderness, earning him the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

This specific Japanese LaserDisc release is an absolute treasure. When you open it up, it includes a massive gatefold replica of one of Kitano's own vibrant paintings that appear throughout the movie.

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! Spin your r/LaserDisc, and let the fireworks begin. 🎆

Tonight, we step away from the chaotic violence of Violent Cop and Boiling Point to look at Kitano’s third directorial effort, A Scene at the Sea (1991). This film marks a monumental shift in his career and serves as the ultimate proof of his range as a visual storyteller.

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! Spin your discs, embrace the quiet, and enjoy the calmest sea. 🌊

Tonight we’re on to Kitano’s second film, Boiling Point (1990). While Violent Cop was a brilliant accident, this is the very first movie entirely written and directed by Kitano himself.

The cryptic Japanese title 3-4x10月 breaks down simply: "3-4x" is the baseball box score from the opening game (where X means a walk-off win), and "10月" (October) was the planned release month. US distributors completely dropped this for the punchier "Boiling Point", while the French went the opposite way, releasing it simply as "Jugatsu".

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone!

If we were watching Terminator 2 tonight, you’d see an Atari Portfolio sitting next to the disc. But tonight is all about Takeshi Kitano's directorial debut, Violent Cop (1989), so instead, we have this incredible vintage Sony Produce word processor.

Sometimes, as a collector, you just want to own a truly iconic piece of an era. Years ago, when I first watched this movie, I didn't even know what a Japanese word processor was. Now, I have both the film and the machine. And just think about it: considering its age, this device still fully works today.

As for the movie, Violent Cop completely redefined Kitano’s career. Before this, Japan knew him only as "Beat Takeshi," a popular TV comedian. His role as Detective Azuma—a silent, rule-breaking, and brutally violent cop waging a war against the yakuza—shocked audiences and birthed a new cinematic genius.

Unlike the poetic, sun-drenched beach scenes of Sonatine, Violent Cop is a gritty, uncompromising, and nihilistic neo-noir that established the raw blueprint for Kitano's signature style.

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! 🎬🇯🇵

Happy Kitano Friday, everyone! 🌊🎬

Today we are diving into Sonatine (1993), arguably one of Takeshi Kitano's absolute masterpieces. This film perfectly captures his signature style — the unforgettable, stark contrast between sudden, gritty yakuza violence and those quiet, beautifully poetic moments of childlike play on the beach. Watching this specific aesthetic on a LaserDisc setup is always a phenomenal experience.

P.S. The link to Part 2 of the "Takeshi Kitano World" documentary (all about the making of Sonatine) is in the comments below! Definitely check it out if you want a rare behind-the-scenes look. 👇

Hey everyone!

For this week, I digitized another rare LaserDisc — a 1993 documentary called "北野武の世界" (The World of Takeshi Kitano).

Just a quick heads-up: this release is mostly a deep dive into the making of Sonatine (1993). It features rare behind-the-scenes footage from the Okinawa beach set and interviews with Kitano about his editing style. I highly recommend watching the movie first, as this video is packed with spoilers.

I’ll leave the link to the digitized video in the comments below. For those who have watched Sonatine a million times like me — this is an absolute must-watch. Let me know what you think, and see you next Friday!

Hey everyone,

I became a fan of Takeshi Kitano back in the late 90s, when a local TV channel broadcasted Asian cinema late at night. After just a few movies, I became a huge admirer of his work.

In mid-2006, I randomly bought my first few Japanese LaserDiscs. I liked the format so much that I started looking for what else I could buy to my taste, and immediately thought of Takeshi. That's when I accidentally discovered that one of my favorite movies, Kids Return (1996), had a 2-disc edition, with a making-of documentary on the second disc. Needless to say, I bought it immediately, because back then, this bonus footage was absolutely nowhere else to be found.

When I first started collecting Kitano on LaserDisc, I rashly promised myself to collect everything ever released with him on LD. How foolish I was. I had no idea how massive his filmography actually is. Nevertheless, my collection keeps growing, and I decided to share these releases to find some like-minded enthusiasts.

Looking at the calendar, the numbers look quite interesting:

• 1996 — The movie is released.
• 2006 — I buy the LaserDisc.
• 2016 — History remains silent on what I was doing this year.
• 2026 — Here we are today, and I am writing this post.

To this day, I use this specific disc as a prime example of why LaserDiscs are still relevant. There is still a ton of unique, exclusive content completely locked on this dead format. Apparently, this making-of footage might be available on a newer Blu-ray release, but I can't verify that.

As of right now, the only version available in the public domain (on YouTube) is twice as short as the one on my LaserDisc. It was a French release with terrible video quality and hardcoded French subtitles.

That is exactly why I decided to digitize my original disc and upload the full, uncut 20-minute video for everyone to see.

I don't want to dump my whole collection all at once, so I will just post one disc every Friday.

I’ll leave the link to the digitized video with fixed subtitles in the comments below. Let me know what you think!

Informative about the craft and the symbolism in his works. Kitano is definitely one of the greatest directors of Japan.

Joe Hisashi reusing melody

I've been thinking of Hana-Bi a lot recently, so I made an edit to pay tribute to one of my favorite films ever. Thought this subreddit might appreciate it!

Made this tribute edit to Takeshi Kitano awhile back. Thought this sub might enjoy it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us2FSOTuNug

I just got JP versions of Violent Cop, Boiling Point, Hana-Bi, Outrage, Outrage Beyond, and Outrage Coda in the mail today.

Now I have the full set of English-subtitled JP Blu-rays. I hope there's a rerelease of Kubi with subtitles in the future. And I'm not sure if there's anything for Broken Rage yet.

Saw this in a newsagents today, hopefully the link works. It's a very thick glossy magazine about Japanese culture, has Takeshi Kitano on cover and an interview with him.

Has anyone noticed that the release of the Sonatine soundtrack is somewhat different from the music in the film? Almost every track sounds different in the film, and unfortunately I think I prefer the film versions. Some music is missing. For example, the music playing at the bar before and after the shootout. It's definitely a Hisaishi piece, but it's not on the soundtrack. I'm going to do some more digging, and maybe even look into extracting the music from the film itself.

Heya folks.

Long time Kitano fan, and got super excited when I saw a triple Blu-Ray pack with Sonatine, Violent Cop and Boiling Point, but then saw it's Region B only sadly. When I did more looking, nearly everything I found was some Chinese knockoff and purportedly low quality.
So if anyone can recommend some good official legal copies available for films for North American please lemme know!

Thanks kindly

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/amazon-prime-video-2025-ueberblick,3426895.html

Hello. I'm looking for a movie where kitano is a kind of a hobo who teaches the art of ramen to a woman owning a shitty restaurant. I saw it one night on tv but never found the title.

Thank you guys