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Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive

Action · Thriller · Crime · 1999

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

Movie details

Dead or Alive

“A daring exercise in ultra-violent extremes.”

1999 Action · Thriller · Crime 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Dead or Alive?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Takashi Miike

Written by

Toshiki Kimura

Riki Takeuchi

Riki Takeuchi

Ryuuichi

Show Aikawa

Show Aikawa

Det. Jojima

Renji Ishibashi

Renji Ishibashi

Aoki

Shingo Tsurumi

Shingo Tsurumi

Chen

Ren Osugi

Ren Osugi

Yan

Kaoru Sugita

Kaoru Sugita

Mrs. Jojima

Dankan

Dankan

Tanaka

Court is in session

Put Dead or Alive on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.