Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Dead or Alive Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 3, 2017

Note: This film is available as part of the Dead or Alive Trilogy.

For those unfamiliar with Takashi Miike, perhaps taking a cue from St. Thomas Aquinas’ famous quote about belief could be of some aid. Aquinas wrote, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” Taking that formulation as a foundation, one might amend it slightly to say “For those who have seen a Miike film, no explanation is necessary. For those who haven’t, no explanation is possible.” As I mentioned in the relatively recent reviews of Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy, this provocateur’s filmography is extremely varied, as well as extremely numerous. Somewhat similarly to the Black Society Trilogy, a trifecta in name only (more or less), Miike’s Dead or Alive Trilogy offers only some relatively tangential linking elements (including its stars, again like Black Society Trilogy) while serving up Miike’s typically hyperbolic take on various underworld activities. In a way Miike tends to remind me at times of Quentin Tarantino, for he’s an artist with an obvious understanding of structure and film technique who nonetheless is more apt than not to throw caution to the wind and dispense with traditional methods of exposition and especially presentation in an effort to kind of virtually shake the audience into either submission or, perhaps, outright revulsion. Those with squeamish sensibilities are therefore probably best advised to approach Miike’s work with extreme caution, though those with a certain amount of fortitude will discover a filmmaker of such unusual talents that one way or the other his productions are unforgettable.

Just the first few minutes of Dead or Alive are a virtual whirlwind of imagery and visceral introductions of various characters. The first image Miike offers in what can only be described as a hallucinogenic montage is of a naked woman falling from a highrise, which is followed by a patently odd aggregation of snippets of scenes which include everything from a guy snorting an unbelievably long line of cocaine (off of what looks like a model runway, no less) to another guy meeting his fate while involved in some gay activity in a restroom (evidently a Miike “favorite”, at least as evidenced by a similar scene in Black Society Trilogy) to a carnival show featuring a knife thrower (who, not so coincidentally, has already been shown to be one of the many hitmen marauding through the film). By the time this relentlessly energetic opening sequence has ended, or at least calmed down enough for audience members to catch their collective breaths, many will have come to the inescapable conclusion that, in the words of another famous philosopher, “resistance is futile”.

At least somewhat similarly to a tangential but important plot point in Miike’s Shinjuku Triad Society, the clash between Japanese and Chinese cultures plays out in the background of Dead or Alive, again by allusion if not that much overt referencing. Ryuuchi (Riki Takeuchi) is a yakuza of Chinese descent who is attempting to overtake an already crime ridden area, part of what has led to the mayhem and murders seen in the bizarre opening scene. Japanese cop Jojima (Show Aikawa) is determined that truth, justice and the Japanese way will triumph. And that’s basically the entire set up the film, which hardly comes close to describing both some of the frenetic (and some will say patently offensive) imagery that Miike conjures up, as well as absolutely outré story elements that are in fact probably incapable of being adequately described.

While some interstitial elements include such “unusual” moments as some bad guys “preparing” a dog to have sex with a woman, probably the single most gonzo scene in the film is at the end, where the traditional showdown between nemeses turns out to have metaphysical implications that are, well, mind boggling. A lot of newsprint and/or bandwidth has been devoted to the wild and wacky ending of Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly, and in a way Dead or Alive’s finale plays as something of a companion piece to Mike Hammer staring into a glowing nuclear briefcase.

Dead or Alive Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dead or Alive is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. I get just a little suspicious when the usually incredibly informative Arrow insert booklets don't offer very much in the way of detail about the provenance of an individual transfer, as is the case with all three of the films in this set. Arrow simply states that "Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive 2: Birds and Dead or Alive: Final are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (note: which turns out to be incorrect) with 2.0 stereo sound." Dead or Alive has a somewhat variable image quality from a number of standpoints, including overall clarity, detail levels, palette and grain structure, as well as occasional compression hurdles (elements it shares with the second film in this set). Some of the palette looks nicely suffused, offering deep reds when blood sprays across the frame (and often on the camera lens). But at other times there's a rather odd blue tone to things that skews flesh tones weirdly and gives everything a perhaps appropriately drugged out appearance. The palette also has moments of looking faded or at least on the drab side, especially in some of the location work outside. There are occasional signs of what looks like artificial sharpening, something that may also account for a somewhat spiky looking grain field at times. Some of the darkest scenes exhibit crush, with elements like black suits basically becoming one with shadowy backgrounds. All of this said, everything is perfectly watchable if not optimal.

Dead or Alive Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dead or Alive's LPCM 2.0 track has sufficient force and bombast to entertain easily, and Miike's typically overheated sound design helps make the film a whirlwind of sonic activity, at least at times. Dialogue, effects and score are all mixed at appropriate levels and the track suffers from no damage or really from any age related issues.

Dead or Alive Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• DOA US Trailer (1080i; 1:42)


• DOA Japanese Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 1:19)


• DOA Commentary features Miike biographer Tom Mes.

Dead or Alive Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Just keep that Thomas Aquinas aphorism in mind as you begin watching Dead or Alive, for in some ways this is one inexplicable film. It's my personal favorite of the three in this set (which may be damning with faint praise, given some of the oddities on display in the sequels), but I'm not sure newcomers to this director will know quite what to make of this very peculiar and provocative enterprise. Technical merits have some issues on the video side of things, but for Miike fans at least, Dead or Alive comes Recommended.