last night was my first viewing of the 1989 directorial debut of Takeshi Kitano, "Violent Cop". another film where I can't explain why it's taken me so goddamn long to watch it, as Takeshi Kitano was one of the first actors and directors from Japan I became aware of way back in my freshman year of high school. Great fucking movie though. The pace is surprisingly slow, the direction is almost documentary-esque. There's none of the hyperstylized editing of Miike or Tsukamoto, it's all very matter of fact. the last 30 minutes of the movie really fucking kill, especially the final showdown. the visuals and pace remind me of the calm parts of John Woo's best films, mixed with the nihilism of '60s and '70s Yakuza films. excellent stuff.