Kuro no tenshi Vol. 1 (1997)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writer:

Takashi Ishii (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Thriller | Action

Plot:

Ikko, the six year old daughter of a yakuza gang boss witnesses the brutal slaying of her parents and...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Hitwoman | Girls With Guns | Rape | Femme Fatale

Cast

Riona Hazuki	...	Ikko Amaoka
Reiko Takashima	...	Mayo
Jinpachi Nezu	...	Goro Nogi
Kippei Shiina	...	Shinichi Onda
Miyuki Ono	...	Chiaki Amaoka
Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi	...	Zill
Hideo Murota	...	Mitsuru Amaoka
Shingo Tsurumi	...	Narusawa
Ren Osugi	...	Kusakabe
Daisuke Iijima	...	Noburo Yasuda
Noriko Hayami	...	Asami
Reiko Kataoka	...	Kotani
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ruben Arvizu	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Bob Buchholz	...	Nogi (voice: English version) (as Robert Buchholz)
Peter Doyle	...	Onda (voice: English version)
Dorothy Elias-Fahn	...	Ikko (voice: English version) (as Midge Mayes)
Rebecca Forstadt	...	Chiaki (voice: English version)
Wendee Lee	...	Assassin, Kosugi's Companion (voice: English version)
Dave Mallow	...	Don Amaoka, Nogi's Associate, Kasuga (voice: English version)
Nicole Presley	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Philece Sampler	...	Chiaki's Aide (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	Mayo (voice: English version)
Joshua Seth	...	Kosugi's Guard (voice: English version)
Steve Staley	...	Zille (voice: English version)
Doug Stone	...	Yasuda, Mr. Kosugi, Senator (voice: English version)
Dan Woren	...	Mr. Narusawa, Kosugi's Guard (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

The Black Angel

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Germany:18 (DVD rating) | UK:18 (video version) (uncut)

Movie Connections:

Followed by Kuro no tenshi Vol. 2 (1999)

Hong Kong? Phooey! Japan is where it's at!

I don't know why so many people love flashy but empty Hong Kong action movies when there are much darker, more violent and interesting crime and horror movies over in Japan! Quentin Tarantino's brilliant 'Kill Bill' is inspired by much of this stuff, specifically Kinji Fukasaku's amazing 'Battle Royale' and Takashi Miike's mind-blowing 'Ichi The Killer', so I'm hoping that it signals the beginning of a lot more attention from Western audiences on the seemingly endless invention of the more extreme end of the Japanese film industry. The work of Takashi Ishii ('Evil Dead Trap' - as writer only - 'Gonin', 'Freezer') hasn't received as much attention as the more flamboyant and controversial Miike, but in his own way he's just as exciting. And while watching 'The Black Angel' I couldn't help but wonder if it was a favourite of Tarantino's. Babelicious Riona Hazuki plays Ikko who returns from the US to avenge her parents who were killed in front of her when she was a small girl. Mayo, a mysterious and beautiful assassin called The Black Angel (Reiko Takashima) helped her escape from Japan as a child, so now as an adult she borrows that name. Ikko is intent on killing yakuza boss Nogi, the man responsible for the death of her mother and father, only she doesn't realize that Mayo is now Nogi's (reluctant) mistress and that there meeting again is inevitable. 'The Black Angel' is an extremely cool movie. Ishii is a very inventive and original director who constantly surprises the viewer, moving from an unexpected light hearted dance number to a confronting torture sequence. His characters aren't cliched and predictable and you are always on your toes. I highly recommend this movie and his other yakuza thriller 'Gonin', another film which takes a familiar theme and subverts it in fascinating ways. Forget old hat John Woo and Jackie Chan, try the Takashis, Miike and Ishii!