Versus (film)
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| Versus | |
|---|---|
 DVD box cover for the Versus Director's Cut |
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| Directed by | Ryuhei Kitamura |
| Produced by | Hideo Nishimura |
| Written by | Ryuhei Kitamura Yudai Yamaguchi |
| Starring | Tak Sakaguchi Hideo Sakaki Chieko Misaka Kenji Matsuda |
| Music by | Nobuhiko Morino |
| Cinematography | Takumi Furuya |
| Editing by | Shuichi Kakesu |
| Distributed by | Media Blasters (US) |
| Release date(s) |  October 29, 2000 February 20, 2002 |
| Running time | 119 min / Ultimate Ver. 153 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Versus is a 2000 Japanese action/horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.
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[edit] Synopsis
Several Japanese mobsters are dispatched to pick up an escaped convict in a place known as the "Forest of Resurrection," where the dead have recently become reanimated as zombies. The convict they are sent to retrieve turns out to have a strange destiny involving repeated reincarnations of himself and several other people throughout history.
[edit] Cast
- Tak Sakaguchi as Prisoner KSC2-303
- Hideo Sakaki as The Man
- Chieko Misaka as The Girl
- Kenji Matsuda as Yakuza Leader with butterfly knife
- Yuichiro Arai as Motorcycle-riding yakuza with revolver
- Minoru Matsumoto as Crazy yakuza with amulet
- Kazuhito Ohba as Yakuza with glasses
- Takehiro Katayama as Red-haired assassin
- Ayumi Yoshihara as Long-haired female assassin
- Shôichirô Masumoto as One-handed cop
- Toshiro Kamiaka as Samurai warrior
- Yukihito Tanikado as Cop with Barrett
- Hoshimi Asai as Short-haired female assassin
- Ryosuke Watabe as Yakuza zombie in alligator-skin coat
- Motonari Komiya as Other prisoner
[edit] Voiceovers
English
“Hero”- Lex Lang
“Heroine”- Dorothy Elias-Fahn (credited as Midge Mayes)
“Ponytail/Sidekick”- Crispin Freeman (credited as Mark Percy)
“Glasses”- Dave Mallow
“Jacket”- Paul St. Peter (credited as George C. Cole)
“Suit”- Dave Wittenberg (credited as Dave Levyland)
“Beard”- Derek Stephen Prince (credited as David Umansky)
“Convict”- Dan Woren (credited as Jackson Daniels)
“Kick Ass Girl/ Gun Girl”- Lynn Fischer
“Detective”- Michael McConnohie
“Villain”- Kirk Thornton (credited as Ron Allen)
[edit] Trivia
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- Among the numerous references to other films are the laser target on the protagonists sword at the end (a reference to the laser sight from Predator) and several gory moments reminiscent of The Evil Dead series - especially those involving the ripped-off hand.
- The side-plot involving the cops hunting the protagonist serves no purpose for plot. Although the cops do interact with several characters (namely the protagonist, the female 'fighter' and the 'runt' gangster) they have no actual function within the film other than to flesh out the fact that the protagonist is an escaped convict.
- None of the characters in the film are named. The protagonist is known only by his serial number - 'KSC2-303', while others are known by their descriptions, nicknames or professions.
- The ending leaves an opening for a sequel, which is currently under production.
- 10 cast members from this movie would appear in Alive, also directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.
- Many of the cast and crew of this film went on to produce Battlefield Baseball.
- Hideo Kojima, the producer-director of the Metal Gear series, was an extra in Versus, and a friend of Kitamura. Versus also influenced the swordfighting scenes in Metal Gear Solid 2. Kitamura later directed the cut-scenes for Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid.
- British jazz musician Courtney Pine paid visual homage to Versus on the cover of his 2003 album Devotion.
[edit] External links
- Official Film Website - In Japanese
- Versus at the Internet Movie Database
- ＶＥＲＳＵＳ (Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
Reviews
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