Izo (2004)
2004 film by Takashi Miike
- Released
- 2004
- Country
- Japan
- Language
- Japanese
- Genre
- Jidaigeki (period dramas)
- Director
- Takashi Miike
- Screenplay
- Shigenori Takechi
- Music
- Kōji Endō
- Editing
- Yasushi Shimamura
- Starring
- Takeshi Kitano, Bob Sapp, Kaori Momoi, Ryūhei Matsuda, Masumi Okada, Yuya Uchida, Hiroshi Katsuno, Hiroyuki Nagato
- Running time
- 128 minutes
- Production company
- KSS
IZO is a 2004 Japanese surrealist period horror film directed by Takashi Miike. The main character of the film is Izo Okada (1832–1865), the historical samurai and assassin in 19th-century Japan who was tortured and executed by beheading in Tosa.
Izo appeared previously in Hideo Gosha's Hitokiri (1969), then played by Shintaro Katsu. However, Miike's portrayal of the character (or rather his spirit) transcends reality (and time and space) and is more of a surrealist exposé of Izo's exceedingly bloody yet philosophical encounters in an afterlife heavy on symbolism, occasionally interrupted by stock footage of World War II accompanied by acid-folk singer Kazuki Tomokawa on guitar. Kazuya Nakayama plays Izo and the many characters he encounters on his journey include figures played by Takeshi Kitano and Bob Sapp.
Cast
- Takeshi Kitano
- Bob Sapp
- Kaori Momoi
- Ryūhei Matsuda
- Masumi Okada
- Yuya Uchida
- Hiroshi Katsuno
- Hiroyuki Nagato
- Kazuki Tomokawa
- Ken Ogata
- Masato
- Renji Ishibashi
- Susumu Terajima
- Hiroki Matsukata
- Takeshi Caesar
- Mickey Curtis
More films directed by Takashi Miike
- Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage 1994
- Bodyguard Kiba: Apocalypse of Carnage 2 1995
- 13 Assassins 2010
- Ninja Kids!!! 2011
- First Love 2019
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1676155 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.