The Black Angel

Starring: Reiko Takashima, Riona Hazuki Director: Takashi Ishii Original UK Premiere: 1997 Dvd Release: 25th February, 2002 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding Subtitled In: English

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DVD Extras: The Black Angel is presented on disc in widescreen, while the moody, atmospheric score is done full justice by the Dolby Digital soundtrack. The only special features are filmographies & biographies, production stills & the theatrical trailer.

Takashi Ishis visually stylish The Black Angel is a fascinating cross between Japanese gangster film & Jacobean revenge tragedy. Sent away to the US after the slaughter of her parents by rivals led by her half-sister Chaiko, Ikko returns determined to reclaim her yakuza kingdom. Ikko is obsessed with childish memories of Mayo the hitwoman, the original Black Angel, entrusted with getting her out of the country. The intervening 14 years have been hard on Mayo, being the Black Angel is tough on the nerves, & she is hired to kill Ikko, not realising they have met before.

This is a tragic film in which three strong women are destined to destroy each other through the trickery of male betrayal; from the beginning, as a child is smuggled away & a mother told the infant is dead, it is clear that we are in a land of myth, with no happy endings. A night time Tokyo of bright lights & dark shadows, of dead-end corridors & escalators that lead you only to your death, is provided as a moody backdrop. Takashis inventive set pieces of mood & action include a shootout in a strip club set to Verdis Requiem.

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