| Brother | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Produced by | Masayuki Mori Jeremy Thomas |
| Written by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Starring | Takeshi Kitano Omar Epps Claude Maki |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Editing by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Co., Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | July 20, 2001 |
| Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom Japan |
| Language | English Japanese |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $15,250,594[1] |
Brother is a 2000 film starring, written, directed and edited by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It is also his fifth collaboration with renowned Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. This was also Kitano's first collaboration with designer Yohji Yamamoto.
The French title for the film is Aniki, Mon Frère (lit. Aniki, My Brother).
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Shot in Los Angeles, California, Takeshi Kitano plays Yamamoto, a lone yakuza officer. Defeated in a war with a rival family, his boss killed, he heads to L.A.
As time passes, Yamamoto and his new gang emerge as a powerful force, gradually expanding their turf to an extent that they must confront the Mafia. The Mafia's attacks are ruthless, and soon Yamamoto and his gang are driven into a disastrous situation of no return as they are hunted down one by one.
| Brother | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi | |
| Released | 27 January 2001 |
| Label | Polygram, Silva America |
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.
At the time of its release, Brother was hyped as Kitano's vehicle for breaking into the United States film market. The film has a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [1] Roger Ebert, who has praised all of Kitano's films he has seen, complimented Kitano in his review, but ultimately denounced the film with a rating of two out of four stars, writing that "Brother is a typical Kitano film in many ways, but not one of his best ones."
On his side, Kitano self-admitted in an interview, that he was not fully satisfied with the final result of Brother and that he regretted his "Hollywood" adventure which was supposed to bring him a broader audience with a higher exposure. Therefore, Kitano confessed he had no intention of shooting outside Japan anymore.
The theatrical release of Brother in the US (and, therefore, the corresponding Sony Pictures Classics Region 1 DVD) contains a slightly edited version of the film. Approximately one minute of footage was cut, primarily so the film could attain an "R" rating. Most of the edits were for violence, although several key/memorable scenes were edited for time/clarity.
The uncut version of the film was released in the UK (Region 2) with an 18 rating, and Japan (Region 2J), also with a 18 rating.
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