Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89
Kamikaze '89

Film Movement Classics

Kamikaze '89

$16.79
$16.79
$41.98
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Edition Type: Limited Edition Slipcover

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This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

Details

This special limited edition embossed and spot gloss slipcover (designed by Adam Juresko) is limited to 2,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

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.

In his final acting role, legendary auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder (clad in an iconic leopard skin suit) stars as hardboiled detective Jansen. In a neon-drenched futuristic dystopia ruled by a multimedia conglomerate called The Combine, Jansen is sent on a labyrinthine investigation when their headquarters is threatened with mass destruction by a phantom bomber. This essential cult classic features an hypnotic electronic score by Tangerine Dream's Edward Froese as well as gleefully mind-bending production design.

directed by: Wolf Gremm
starring: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gunther Kaufmann
1982 / 106 min / 1.66:1 / German DTS-HD MA 2.0

Additional info:

  • Region Free Blu-ray
  • New 4K Restoration
  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder: The LAST YEAR documentary by Wolf Gremm
  • Commentary by producer Regina Ziegler
  • John Cassevetes KAMIKAZE '89 TV spots
  • New essays by Nick Pinkerton and Samuel B. Prime
  • English subtitles

 

Overall rating: 4.6567163 / 5 from 67 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Kamikaze '89, a limited edition slipcover for a Film Movement Classics release, is praised for its fantastic quality and amazing looks. While opinions on the narrative and film vary, many customers find the movie incredible and the picture quality outstanding.

Summary topics

  • Product Quality: 12%
  • Movie Experience: 20%
  • Film Experience: 24%
  • Product Appearance: 10%

Review topics: ["colors","quality","looks","service","style","set","movie","film","release","narrative","slipcover","artwork","gem","role","crime","thriller","slip","edition","atmosphere","entry","features","flick","world","satire","story","documentary","transfer"].

Review highlights

  • "Great quality release and an intriguing film." — Petri E.
  • "The picture quality looks fantastic and the slipcover is very nice." — Akash K.
  • "This edition looks really good; the colors really pop while the grit and grain are preserved for dystopic integrity." — Isaac W.

Reviews

Fassbinder

"Very cool entry into the legend of Fassbinder and a cool release overall, great artwork and extras and this film is a doozy. For fans of cool weird films. Usual great service from VS"

— Ben C. (4/5)

Dressed to Perfection

"Not that this isn't a great movie, cuz it is, but quite frankly this one is worth watching for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's outfit alone! Talk about timeless style icons! Oh my!"

— Anders A. (5/5)

RIP Fassbinder the King

"Must see for Fassbinder fans. A movie that defies description other than to say it rules. The artwork capturing both Fassbinder's wretched physical state and insane outfit is top notch."

— Jon B. (5/5)

Fassbinder as a cop in a leopard print suit

"If you like Fassbinder, maybe you'll like this weird one. Great release, oozes with style."

— Alex C. (5/5)

Kamikaze '89

"Somewhat unexpectedly based on a Per Wahlöö novel."

— Oliver B. (5/5)

Refrain from unnecessary thoughts

"I knew the name Fassbinder because it appears on a bunch of Criterion stuff, so it's kinda funny that the first work of his I've seen features him in front of the camera and going full Disco Elysium Harry Du Bois-mode, decked out in an animal print suit, secretly drinking, friendless and tasteless but with an impeccable mystery solving track record. It's early 80s Germany imagining scifi late-80s Germany, so you'd think they wouldn't imagine riotous differences between the future and the era they were living in. But the film swings for the fences: cops dress like ice cream parlor employees or new wave punks; alcohol is banned; cops hang out in clubs that have features like a boxing ring you can roller skate in; there's only one media company and they air television programs like a marathon laughing competition. . ."

— Michael V. (5/5)

German Blade Runner

"Movie: This movie was consistently compelling to watch, and there are so many great visuals, including the costumes, sets, and props. The tone doesn't go over the top enough to _really_ land for me, and I was also only _whelmed_ by the detective/intrigue aspect. However, it was overall solid, and I'm eager to dig into the supplementary material to get more context. Extras: The radio spots are fun enough. The documentary is a bit slow (and in German so be ready for more subtitles). Book: Two decent essays, although one is quite short. Packaging: Striking pink cover, and the slipcover also looks great."

— Gideon M. (4/5)

Amazing

"A good cyberpunk thriller satire with a surprise turn by Fassbinder."

— Joao J. (4/5)

Aesthetic hallucination

"Kamikaze 1989 shows the future as the 1980s imagined it—but never achieved. Wolf Gremm creates a lurid, hyper-stylized world of neon light, media noise, and total control, where entertainment has become the ultimate form of power. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in his final role, embodies this collapse with heavy breathing, weary arrogance, and a strange, decadent grace. As the leopard-suited police inspector, he moves through the film like a man who already knows the game is rigged—and plays it anyway, out of defiance or boredom. He is both a relic and a prophet, at once grotesque and magnetic. The film is not a realistic vision of the future but an aesthetic hallucination: the 1980s as pure pose, an overblown dream of glamour, control, and self-display. A future that never was—but perhaps the truest image of what that decade secretly wished to be."

— Christian B. (5/5)

Fassbinder!!

"If you're familiar with Fassbinder, you might enjoy this entry in his portfolio. It's definitely different. It was released the year he passed away at 37, and also is one he didn't direct. I found it quite fun, though. There are some excellent special features, and the slipcover is top-notch. I'm stoked to have it in my collection."

— Ben. Z. (5/5)

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