Gozu

See a woman give birth to a full grown man while she's having sex....See a creepy old lady lactate her milk all over the place(Yeesshhh!!!!)See tailor made suits of human bodies with the organs still intact.See a cow-headed demon(creepy as hell!)and other sick and twisted oddities.Besides the shock factor that Miike provides for us he has an underlying message about sex,violence,chaos and a nightmare that takes place in left field some where.The most bizarre and ominous for me are the scenes with the cowman and the poor little yapping puppy that gets stomped on. For whatever reason it had me thinking about the relation we as humans have to animals,along with the relationship we share together living on the same planet.The cow-headed demon(or goat head?) that has always been a symbol of evil in history connects some how with the giving of new life to a dead yakuza boss,born again fully grown along with the killing of a helpless puppy.Where do the human suits come in(shedding of old skin maybe)?Everthing here connects perhaps?Perhaps many would think Miike is only putting this out there for shock factor,but these ideas still have to come from somewhere inside the mind of Takashi Miike.The point is that these images here on the screen mean something.I'm just not sure what.I very much enjoyed this film and appreciate Miike's strangness.A lot of repeated viewing potential here for me to see if there was something else going on I missed that carried some sort of human behavior trait that manifest itself out of our subconsious.

So, as the headline suggests, I love Gozu and find it to be my favorite Takashi Miike film so far. So many others have written about it that I won't bother trying to summarize the plot (which is more or less wide open to interpretation anyway). Suffice it to say I saw it at the theater a couple months back and after it was finished left the cinema utterly DAZED. Which is why the DVD is such a disappointment. As I said, the film itself is awesome BUT for one thing the disc's packaging promises that it's letterboxed. Unfortunately it actually isn't and as, someone who saw it in the theater, I can tell you that the lack of letterboxing really hurts the film at several points- for a perfect (and very early) example, the soon-to-be-infamous-if-it-isn't-already opening "yakuza dog" sequence. Also, chapter stops are nice if, oh, say my phone or doorbell rings while I'm watching the film and I have to stop it (my DVD player will turn off completely if left idle for something like 15 minutes so...); unfortunately there aren't chapter selections either. Geez, was this thing rushed out for Christmas or what?! Some imminently quotable lines in here and the DVD has a couple hilariously vague interviews with Miike ("Gozu is how a child looks at the world..." etc. WHAT?!) but overall this film deserves a lot better and I've never before encountered DVD packaging that was inaccurate like this.

FIRST OF ALL, AMAZON DELIVERED TO ME THE UNRATED DIRECTORS CUT, WHEN THE INFO SAYS THAT IT IS THE 'R' VERSION. AMAZON IS MISTAKEN IN THIS CASE: I DO NOT SEE HOW AN "R" VERSION OF THIS FILM IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT RUINING IT. SECONDLY, BUY THIS ONE FAST FAST FAST! THE PRICE WILL SKYROCKET JUST LIKE WITH "AUDITION". THIS FILM IS NOT FOR MOST PEOPLE. ALTHOUGH IT IS NEARLY WITHOUT THE COMIC GORE THAT MADE "ICHI THE KILLER" SO MUCH FUN, GOZU IS LOADED WITH NIGHTMARE UPON NIGHTMARE OF THE MOST BIZARRE AND CREEPY FREUDIAN IMAGERY, UNSOLVABLE SUDDEN MYSTERIES, AND A STRANGE AFFECTION FOR BODY FLUIDS, AND SOLIDS, TOO. ON THE OTHER SIDE, MIIKE HAS A GREAT TOUCH FOR THE HIGHEST PRODUCTION VALUES: LIGHTING, CAMERA-WORK, EDITING, YOU NAME IT, IT'S THERE. THE PACING IS SLOW, JUST LIKE IN AUDITION, AND IN THE END, THERE ARE NO ANSWERS. IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE, BUT WHO CARES. THIS FILM IS NOT FOR DVD PARTIES; TRY "ICHI" INSTEAD. SPECIAL NOTE: NO ANIMALS ARE ACTUALLY HARMED IN ANY MIIKE FILM: THIS IS NOT "MEN BEHIND THE SUN". MIIKE INSTEAD IS SO GIFTED AT HIS CRAFT THAT WE BELIEVE THAT THE BRUTALITY IS UTTERLY REAL, AND THE EMOTIONAL HOOK IS SET. A BRILLIANT, IF SHOCKING FILM IF YOU CAN TAKE IT.

Man, is this a great picture? I bought this DVD and got interested because of the many Takashi Miikes movie reviews I had read and after watching the incredible Visitor Q. I really have an open mind in terms of surreal movies and violence, expecting this to happen because its a Takashi movie. And as surreal as it is, the story is short but told and shown in such a slow pace that sometimes it tends to become somewhat ..i dont want to say it, but a little bit boring (hence the 4 stars)... that, until you get to the last 30 minutes...boy was I in for a surprise. Youll be left with the feeling of "what the hell did i just watched?!" and thats how I start to watch it over and over again, up to almost 10 times. Everytime i see it I find something new (you must pay attention to the little details) but anyhow, Takashi leaves the ending open for your own explanation (in a sort of David Lynch way) you must come up to with you own conclusions; Ive had like 10 conclusions in my mind already, but leaving the same esence in all of them. Also, the special features include various interviews with Takashi and the theme song, which I think its great, and which I use to scare my brother when hes sleeping at night, He and i will never forget "Gozu...gozu...gozu". Buy it, watch it and get your own conclusions. A masterpiece.

As strange and twisted as this movie is, it manages to be completely surreal, and at times subtle. it was a crazy experience to say the least. The second full-length Takashi Miike movie ive seen, "Ichi The Killer" being the only other. i was surprised with the overall package here. theres only one scene you could really constitute as violence, and even that is pretty hilarious in its own way. this one is out there, even for Miike. i dont want to list too much of the oddities, as thats already been done very heavily (reading them took some of the fun out of this movie for me) ill just say ive seen ichi 3 times and imprint twice, and his movie had me scratching my head in awe and confusion many times. things start off looking like a yakuza film, but the tide turns fast as the main character is charged with killing his superior.. and best friend. early into the movie his friend disappears out of nowhere, and thus begins the search.. and an excellent journey into what may be another realm (nothing is really explained, which may put off some viewers, but i think it all just added to the intrique) good camera work(some scenes are excellently atmospheric) lots of good laughs, although you may wander why your laughing, and a story that'll keep you guessing long after the credits(i still am) you'll have the best experience with this movie if you just go ahead and watch it. dont read the spoilers in many reviews on here, i cant imagine how great this would've been if i hadnt known what was going to happen. any fan of Takashi or generally strange cinema - buy this now!

If you're a fan of David Lynch movies or if you enjoy surrealist horror films -- then you really have to see this. The characters are strange and illogical, and intentionally so. The landscape, music, and atmosphere are all fascinating and chilling at the same time. I really really wish there were more movies like this! I haven't seen many other Miike films, so if you're coming over from Ichi the Killer or Audition I can say it's disturbing but not always in a gorey way. Maybe you COULD say the whole film has a somewhat similar vibe to the scenes in Audition when that lady is in her apartment (maybe not as chilling).

i don't know if i like it, but its unique...

An insane movie in every sense - both visually and psychologically baffling. From what I've heard, this movie was Takashi Miike's love letter to David Lynch movies. It's hard to categorize this film - it has elements of suspense, horror, comedy and action. I would recommend this to anyone into Japanese cinema or Takashi Miike's movies. A must-see, as they say.

This is definitely something different. A great unsettling movie in the same vein as what David Lynch could have delivered.

Takashi Miike ist nicht nur bekannt als einer der visionärsten Filmeschaffenden unserer Zeit, er ist auch bekannt für einige reichlich eigenartige Filme. GOZU ist solch ein Film und vielleicht sogar einer von Miikes seltsamsten Werken. Dabei sollte man gar nicht erst in der Erwartungshaltung an den Film herantreten, eine typische Yakuza-Geschichte zu erleben. GOZU ist ein filmgewordener Albtraum, bei dem der Wahnsinn aus jeder Szene gekrochen kommt. Natürlich ist GOZU, wie die meisten von Miikes Werken, nichts für zartbesaitete. Gerade die Geburts-Szene ist überaus drastisch anzuschauen. Doch wer sich auf diesen Film einlässt, wird es nicht bereuen. GOZU ist witzig, unterhaltsam, seltsam, steckt voller denkwürdiger Momente und ist vor allem eines: Wahnsinnig!

Similar to an acid trip I hypothetically took once this movie challenges your senses. If your the type of person who if offended easily, If Cultural taboo bothers you, If your averse to stylistic things you won't understand the first time around... You really won't like this film. I've seen a few Miike movies, Ichi the Killer which is a standard of his, Audition, and visitor Q... So I'm not very versed with his work. I'm slowly working on that but I have at least seen enough that I at least knew coming in that this movie would not work within the confines of normal. It didn't disappoint, This movie was a descent into a realm of a twisted reality, which could have been a dream. You kind of feel like your watching an R rated version of Alice in Wonderland.. Where or where has this Yakuza ended up? The uncomfortable atmosphere which Miilke is a genius with instilling is present throughout most of the movie. Things may seem normal... but you know that things are anything but. It's a great film, a great Miike film. But it definitely is not for everyone.

ein absolutes Highlight des japanischen yakuza-films. wer filme von terentino oder rodriguez mag ist da genau richtig . ein Roadmovie der extraklasse

Absolutely nuts but definitely worth the watch if you like Asian cinema.