Movies - Versus

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	Movies - Versus

Versus is a 2000 Japanese action/horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It has a strong cult following both in Japan and overseas, particularly in the United States. The film is occasionally credited with the alternate title 'The Forest of Resurrection'

The film is noted for its wry sense of humour, mix of both great and poor acting by different characters, numerous nods to other films and a side-plot that is completely irrelevant to the film. It is also praised for its stunning use of choreography to create fights involving martial arts, classical weapons such as katanas, and gunplay. The films soundtrack and cinematography are also highly regarded, though its nuances are often unappreciated by audiences outside of Japan.

It is regarded by enthusiasts of the genre as 'the only and, frankly, best film which manages to mix swords, guns, gangsters, zombies, zombies with guns and swords, zombie gangsters with guns and swords, god-like super-beings, martial arts, assassins, police officers and combinations of all the above into one film set entirely in a forest on a timeline that spans millennia.'

Synopsis

In the film, several Japanese mobsters are dispatched to pick up an escaped convict in a place known as the "Forest of Resurrection," where the dead have recently acquired a somewhat unnerving habit of rising and attempting to slay the living. The convict they are sent to retrieve turns out to have a strange destiny involving repeated reincarnations of himself and several other people throughout history.

The film is very violent, featuring explicit gore make up effects, though its popularity is probably just as much due to the over-the-top action sequences, the occasional hammy acting performance and the strange sense of humor that pervades over most of the movie. The film is also notable for having impressive production values compared to its meagre (US$400,000) budget.

A re-release of the film, titled Ultimate Versus, added several minutes of additional action and even more violence and gore. A sequel, Versus 2, is currently in production and will reunite the original cast and crew.

Trivia

Among the numerous references to other films are the laser target on the protagonists sword at the end (a reference to the laser sight from the 'Predator' films), the cops bullet-dodge attempts (a nod to 'The Matrix') and several gory moments reminiscent of the 'Evil Dead' series - especially those involving the ripped-off hand.

Interestingly, many fans note that the side-plot involving the cops hunting the protagonist serves no purpose for plot. Although the cops do interact with several characters (namely the protagonist, the female 'hunter' and the 'runt' gangster) they have no actual function within the film other than to flesh out the fact that the protagonist is an escaped convict.

The dead body from which Protagonist takes his leather jacket and clothes is intended to be the same character in the forest at the beginning - who is ultimately killed before running into the protagonist in a past life.

None of the characters in the film are named. The protagonist is known only by his serial number - 'KSC2-303', while others are known by their descriptions, nicknames or professions.

Taku Sakaguchi, who plays the main character, injured himself at several points during filming. An extended cut of one scene - in which he knocks a gun into the air, places another in his mouth by the barrel, catches the other gun and shoots a zombie - originally had him cocking the gun in his mouth when he removes it. During this process he broke one of his teeth and, not understanding that it would mean his tooth dying and having to be replaced with a fake, insisted that they just superglue the tooth back together and get on with filming. He also injured himself whilst rolling down a hill in one scene and had numerous cuts from the sword-fights.

The knife fight that occurs between the protagonist and the green-shirted gangster was a particularly dangerous scene to film because the director insisted on using real swords since the fake, plastic swords did not sound correct when moving through the air. Therefore the two actors fought using real swords, at full speed, despite that neither had any martial or stunts training.

Taku Sakaguchi has been quoted as saying that the sword-fight which occurs at the films climax was paticularly frightening for him. This is because they were using heavy metal katanas which, although bluntened, still hurt and neither himself nor his adversary used stunt-men. Neither of the actors had any real experience on how to use the weapons, nor any training in fight scenes or martial arts. The make-up for Taku's character also required him to have his left eye completely covered with both latex, fake blood and a hair-style that covered it. His movements additionally slowed by the weight of the long leather jacket he wore, meant that he receieved 'several close calls and a few bad bruises'

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Movies - Versus

Synopsis

Trivia

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