Hana-bi (Fireworks)

Details

Founded in 2002 as one of the first-ever subscription film services with its DVD-of-the-Month Film Club, Film Movement is now a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. In 2015, Film Movement launched the reissue label Film Movement Classics featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on home video, with an emphasis on films by auteur directors such as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway and Takeshi Kitano.

Feeling responsible for the shattered lives of his loved ones, beleaguered police detective Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows money from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt. The yakuza, however, are not so easily bought off, sending Nishi down a road paved with nihilism and violence. Considered Kitano's first true cinematic masterpiece, HANA-BI demonstrates the auteur's immense talents both in front of and behind the camera.

directed by: Takeshi Kitano
starring: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima
1997 / 103 min / 1.85:1 / Japanese Stereo

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
• Commentary by film writer for Rolling Stone magazine, David Fear
• Making of Hana-Bi Featurette
• Collector's Booklet, featuring essay by film writer, Jasper Sharp
• English subtitles