Versus (Director's Cut)

They just do. They hold these films dear so they treat them in a way that isn’t just a pleasure to watch but gives you the opportunity to see the work that was put into them that you couldn’t in lower resolutions.If anyone from Arrow is reading this, yes, Kitamura is fun before he comes to the US: please also do Heat After Dark, Aragami, and Azumi!

Who knew macho posturing and dumb tough guy dialogue could be so much damn fun?! Versus is a movie that I had been hearing about for what seems like forever. The gore, the violence, the overall coolness... you know what? Everybody was right about this too, I SHOULD have seen it a long time ago! There's over 125 reviews on here so it probably isn't real necessary to go into the plot much (or even write the review at all, but...), although I will say that Versus is the type of flick that's plot could be categorized as either deep and hard to comprehend OR flat out non-existent... you decide! You see though, the beauty of a movie like this is that the plot just doesn't really matter much because ultimately it's used for the sole purpose of shifting the movie from one bad_ss action set piece to another, in all of their sword swinging, gun wielding, heart eating, zombie slaying, eyeball losing, awesomeness! You might not always know exactly what's going on, but you'll be so glued to the action and mayhem on the screen that you won't care much either. Tons of quirky and memorable characters, crazy stylish camera work and direction, and Tak Sakaguchi as the pinnacle of cool in the leading role all add up to one of the most entertaining cinematic spectacles I've ever seen (and I've seen some spectacles in my day). Obviously this won't work for everybody... I mean, if 2 hours of near straight action (including gun-toting zombies!)only occasionally broken up by riveting dialogue like characters telling each other to "shut the hell up" while a camera spins around 360 degrees over and over again sounds repetitive, then yeah, you may want to steer clear (although that is an exaggeration... only mildly though!). Versus is truly an experience to behold as a low-budget and genre-blending instant cult masterpiece, that even if you don't like (but really, what's not to like?)... I guarantee you won't forget!

Loved this movie since the first time I saw it on dvd. Great combination of martial arts action and zombie gore mayhem. Been waiting for a blu-ray release and had to pick this up. I don't have any major complaints like other people about the color in this release. When I re watched it, I didn't notice anything major. My only minor complaint about this movie is the run time is a bit long, about 20 minutes could have been trimmed so there are definitely pacing issues. Overall it still holds up great all this time and I love introducing this movie to my friends and love martial arts and horror movies.

I debated for a bit how many stars to rate this. I decided on four because this Special Edition of Versus comes with some nice extra features, and makes it much more worth buying that the R-rated version. It's certainly more a "guy" movie than it is for girls, but women who are into extreme Asian movies will like this.The synposis on the back of the box is a pretty good summary of the movie as a whole: Prisoner KSC2-303 finds himself encountering yakuza and their kidnapped victim, a girl with a powerful sixth sense. In the Forest of Ressurrection, the dead come back to life and ruthlessly prey on the living. KSC2-303 will soon come face-to-face with events of the past that have everything to do with the ultimate face-off at the end of the movie.This movie is rather hard to spoil, as there isn't much of a detailed plot to spoil. Most of the two hours of the film are consecutive battles of every kind: gunfights, sword fights, zombie fights, human-zombie fights, etc. The movie is incredibly gory, but because everything is over-stylized, the action choreographed for various effects, it's not necessarily bothersome (at least, for me it wasn't.) I rather enjoyed all the action, especially as my main reason for seeing this movie was just to see more of lead actor Tak Sakaguchi. Tak's martial arts and top notch, but his acting may need a little work. Versus was also Tak's first big movie, so he's improved since then. His character is the typical anti-hero hero, or as he called it in the interviews, the "dark hero." He kill without reason if he seems to feel like, but still makes an effort to protect the girl.Other interesting characters are the yakuza leader, played by Kenji Masuda. Just borderlining on being psycho, the character is animated and really doesn't hold back. There is also a rather cowardly and frantic yakuza member played by Minoru Matsumoto, who carries a traditional Japanese charm that he clings to throughout the movie. The intial yakuza members that you meet have a little more depth to them then characters that arrive later.There various suspensions of reality throughout, and logic isn't anywhere to be found. Despite shooting their guns enough times to drain a storehouse of ammo dry, you only ever really see them reload once. (One yakuza member has a six-shooter revolver that definately had more than six shots in it.) Various long-dead zombies suddenly animate only when the yakuza suddenly remember they had buried victims there in prior visits.However, the main point of this movie is not plot, script, or deep themes. This movie was made to be heavy on action and fight scenes. Director Ryuhei Kitamura says he was influences by early 80s actions movies; he frequently mentions Mad Max 2 and Commando, among others. So if you're a fan of that kind of action, you'll enjoy Versus. There is a little humor dotted throughout, so it's not just a straight-faced gun-blood-sword free for all. There is a plot-twist at the very end that should be an interesting starter to the upcoming Versus 2. (Yes, there is going to be a sequel, due out in 2007)Overall, it's a good film for some serious action and fight scenes. The extra features make the Special Edition a little more worth the money. (An R-rated cut version is available through Wal-Mart, but apart from the movie itself, don't look for anything extra on that.) There are some detailed interviews with Kitamura, and an interesting behind-the-scenes views, including interviews with Tak Sakaguchi and the other actors. There are some on the-set bits, including interesting facts that include Tak breaking a tooth and 3 ribs. (Poor guy) There's also a short mini-movie focusing on the two cops who are chasing Prisoner KSC2-303, but otherwise, they don't make any significant contribution to the story, but are good for some gruesome comic relief.

Good movies de Action

Ryuhei Kitamura lo si ama o lo si odia visto il suo stile assolutamente personale e, da parte mia, sono uno dei suoi estimatori. La trama è praticamente non narrata se non con flashback e minimi accenni, quindi è facile perdersi. In definitiva però è talmente esile e funzionale all'azione che la si dimentica, per quanto bizzarro possa essere. Tak Sakaguchi e Hideo Sasaki sono davvero monumentali nell'interpretare scene d'azione davvero indiavolate e i comprimari non sono da meno. Non male le interviste allo stesso Kitamura e agli attori e colaboratori: ben definiscono los tile e carattere del regista e il suo modo di affrontare la regia. Sicuramente la parte migliore del dvd. Un vero peccato che la versione qui descritta non sia "Ultimate Versus", versione potenziata e ritoccata dallo stesso Kitamura, con scene aggiuntive, minime chiarificazioni per la trama e piccolo apporto di cgi. Ma il vero problema è l'aspetto video: l'immagine è di una pixellosità invereconda, roba che in alcuni momenti si fa fatica a capire cosa ci sia su schermo. Davvero un peccato che sia l'unica versione italiana disponibile. Solo per collezionisti che ne vogliono una versione doppiata in italiano ma consiglio di ripiegare su versioni estere. Da evitare, purtroppo, questa terribile edizione.

L'édition ultime pour les fans du film le plus dingue sortit en 2000 en France en VHS ds les Vidéoclubs !Des Yakuza qui se bastonnent contre des Zombies qui utilisent des flingues ?! (sérieux) Ou contre des démons qui viennent du Japon Féodal dans une forêt assez spécial.Mais dont le réal devenue une super star, exilé depuis au state pour réalisé une adaptation de Clive Barker (Hellraisser : Grang Prix Avoriaz 88 !!!)Le 1er Véritable film 100% Action que j'ai vue de ma vie, 2h de bastons, de Kung Fu, de Gunfight, de morts vivants, de blague a 2 Balles, de meuf au dialogue débiles, et puis pleins d'autres trucs, mais surtout la découverte d'un Tak Sakaguchi anicien voyou (ayant bien taté de la baston) ds son 1er film.Et au passage est devenue une véritable icône au Japon pendant plusieurs années, un record pour les personnes célèbres au Japon !Mais pour Infos Tak a tjrs la super classe ds son pay natal !PS : Sinon le film en normal + en VO version longue remasterisé (avec des scènes en + quoi !), des Documentaires, des courts métrages et encores des bonus sans compter les bandes annonces !

Ich mag Kitamuras Werke. Die Schnitte sind schnell, die Filme krank, die Effekte heftig und die Story spannend umgesetzt. Wunderschön inszenierte Kämpfe, charismatische Besetzung.Nachdem vor kurzem DOWNRANGE rauskam, hatt ich spontan wieder Lust auf nen Kitamura Splatter. VERSUS ist ein sehr action und martial arts lastiger Horrorthriller, da geht's richtig gut ab. Aber Achtung nur in der uncut Version. Was mir hier allerdings nicht gefällt, ist dass die Kamera manchmal Sehr wackelt! Macht aber nix, denn VERSUS ist blutiger als jedes Schlachtfeld!! Es ist ein wahres Massaker was jedem Gorehound gefallen wird. Apropos : die Effekte sind für das niedrige budget allererste Sahne und wirklich knallhart anzuschauen. Die Story ist Müll aber die Umsetzung ist super genial. Es gab auch den ein oder anderen (un)freiwilligen Gag.

The movie came right on time like it was supposed to so props to that, I used to own this movie (not the Ultimate version just the Directors Cut) but I got robbed and it was stolen along with a bunch of other movies. I have been slowly re-buying all the films that were stolen, Versus is by far the best Asian action flick I've ever seen. Is it ridiculous? YEP! And your not supposed to take the movie seriously once you let your imagination fly the movie becomes the most wild ride ever.The cinematography is not the best but the movie is an independent film from the late 90s so the clarity is not the best and when the new scenes get thrown in you can tell four years have past because the camera quality is far superior than that of the original film. Things like that don't really bother me but I know for others it's a huge nit pick. Get this movie if you love violence, guns,swords and Zombies.....who use guns and swords!!!