Brother (2000 film)
| Brother | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Produced by | |
| Written by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Edited by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Co., Ltd. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country |
|
| Language |
Japanese English |
| Box office | $15.2 million[1] |
Brother is a 2000 American-British-Japanese film starring, written, directed, and edited by Takeshi Kitano.[2]
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.
References
- ↑ "Brother". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
- ↑ The New York Times
- ↑ "Joe Hisaishi – Brother (Music From The Motion Picture)". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Joe Hisaishi - Brother [Original Soundtrack]". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
- ↑ "Blood Brother". The Guardian. 2001-03-15. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
- ↑ "Beat Takeshi's BROTHER chop chopped for U.S. Distribution". Ain't It Cool News. 2001-08-02. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
- ↑ "Brother". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger (2001-07-27). "Brother". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
External links
- Brother at the Internet Movie Database
- Brother at Rotten Tomatoes
- Brother at AllMovie
- Brother at Box Office Mojo
- Official website