Brother (2000 film)
Brother | |
---|---|
Directed by | Takeshi Kitano |
Produced by | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
Written by | Takeshi Kitano |
Starring | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
Edited by | Takeshi Kitano |
Distributed by | Shochiku Co., Ltd. |
Release dates
|
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Running time
|
114 minutes |
Country | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
Language | Japanese English |
Box office | $15.2 million[1] |
Brother is a 2000 film starring, written, directed, and edited by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano.[2]
Contents
Plot
Takeshi Kitano plays Yamamoto, a lone yakuza officer. Defeated in a war with a rival family, his boss killed, he heads to Los Angeles, California.
As time passes, Yamamoto and his new gang emerge as a powerful force, gradually expanding their turf to an extent that they must confront the Mafia. The Mafia's attacks are ruthless, and soon Yamamoto and his gang are driven into a disastrous situation of no return as they are hunted down one by one.
Cast
- Beat Takeshi as Yamamoto, also referred to as Aniki (meaning elder brother)
- Omar Epps as Denny
- Tetsuya Watari as Jinseikai Boss
- Claude Maki as Ken
- Masaya Kato as Shirase, the "boss of Little Tokyo"
- Susumu Terajima as Kato, Yamamoto's lieutenant
- Royale Watkins as Jay
- Lombardo Boyar as Mo
- Ren Osugi as Harada
- Ryo Ishibashi as Ishihara
- James Shigeta as Sugimoto
- Tatyana Ali as Latifa
- Makoto Otake as Chief of police
- Kouen Okumura as Hanaoka
- Naomasa Musaka as Hisamatsu
- Rino Katase as Night club Madame
- Joy Nakagawa as Marina, Yamamoto's girlfriend
- Amaury Nolasco as Victor
- Tuesday Knight as Prostitute
Soundtrack
Brother | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi | |
Released | 27 January 2001 |
Genre | Stage & screen |
Length | 49:39 |
Label | Polygram, Silva America, Milan Records[3] |
Producer | Joe Hisaishi |
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Drifter... in LAX" | Joe Hisaishi | 4:22 |
2. | "Solitude" | Duke Ellington / Joe Hisaishi | 3:34 |
3. | "Tattoo" | Joe Hisaishi | 0:56 |
4. | "Death Spiral" | Joe Hisaishi | 1:04 |
5. | "Party - One Year Later" | Joe Hisaishi | 4:26 |
6. | "On the Shore" | Joe Hisaishi | 1:21 |
7. | "Blood Brother" | Joe Hisaishi | 3:37 |
8. | "Raging Men" | Joe Hisaishi | 1:19 |
9. | "Beyond the Control" | Joe Hisaishi | 1:25 |
10. | "Wipe Out" | Joe Hisaishi | 5:26 |
11. | "Liberation from the Death" | Joe Hisaishi | 3:52 |
12. | "I Love You... Aniki" | Joe Hisaishi | 4:37 |
13. | "Ballade" | Coleman Hawkins / Joe Hisaishi / Charlie Parker | 1:53 |
14. | "BROTHER" | Dean Dinning / Randy Guss / Joe Hisaishi / Todd Nichols / Glen Phillips | 4:32 |
15. | "BROTHER - Remix Version" | Dean Dinning / Randy Guss / Joe Hisaishi / Todd Nichols / Glen Phillips | 4:15 |
Total length:
|
49:39 |
Production
Impressed with Europeans' interest in yakuza, Kitano wrote what he described as an old-fashioned yakuza film. To greater contrast the character against more familiar elements, he set it in a foreign country, choosing Los Angeles as a place-holder. When producer Jeremy Thomas asked Kitano if he was interested in foreign productions, Kitano told him about the script. Thomas promised him complete creative control, which Kitano said he got. Commenting on the differing styles of filmmaking, Kitano said that American productions are more focused on the business side and are less sentimental. Kitano cited their strong pride in their professionalism as positive aspect.[5]
Release
Several scenes were censored for the U.S. release.[6]
Reception
At the time of its release, Brother was hyped as Kitano's vehicle for breaking into the United States film market. The film has a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 73 reviews.[7] Roger Ebert, who has praised all of Kitano's films he has seen, complimented Kitano in his review but ultimately rated the film two out of four stars, writing that "Brother is a typical Kitano film in many ways, but not one of his best ones."[8]
On his side, Kitano stated in an interview that he was not fully satisfied with the final result of Brother and that he regretted his "Hollywood" adventure which was supposed to bring him a broader audience with a higher exposure. Kitano said he had no intention of shooting outside Japan again.[this quote needs a citation]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The New York Times
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Brother at IMDb
- Brother at Rotten Tomatoes
- Brother at AllMovie
- Brother at Box Office Mojo
- Official website
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- 2001 films
- Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 2000 films
- 2000s crime thriller films
- Japanese films
- Japanese crime films
- Japanese-language films
- English-language films
- Heroic bloodshed films
- Shochiku films
- Yakuza films
- Films directed by Takeshi Kitano
- Films set in the United States
- Films produced by Jeremy Thomas