Violent Cop

Let's hear it for truth in advertising: Takeshi Kitano's 1989 directorial debut is, indeed, about a violent cop. Impassive as ever, Kitano plays the title role: steely-eyed, quick-tempered flatfoot Azuma. There's a superficial drug-smuggling plot, involving both police corruption and the abduction of Azuma's sister, but it exists only to provide a suitable context for a lot of authoritative ass-kicking. The character calls to mind the eponymous lawmen of Bad Lieutenant and Dirty Harry, but where Harvey Keitel's cop was an anguished, tormented addict and Clint Eastwood's a self-righteous avenging angel, Azuma is little more than a garden-variety thug. At bottom, it's simply the tale of a guy who shoots/kicks/punches first and asks questions if/when the suspect regains consciousness, featuring none of the psychological complexity of Kitano's later work (Fireworks and the forthcoming Kikujiro), though it's just as formally rigorous. In a way, it occupies a strange no-film's-land: too simplistic to qualify as art, too austere to really work as exploitative trash. Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Oct. 18, 2016—Film Movement, 103 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray and latest appearance on DVD, 1989's Violent Cop sports a fine transfer and extras including a “That Man is Dangerous: The Birth of Takeshi Kitano” featurette (21 min.), a booklet, and trailers. Bottom line: fans will appreciate this Blu-ray edition of Kitano's directorial debut.]