Who's ready for a real Takashi Miike treat? Ventura Distribution and the American Cinematheque present Takashi Miike's gangster epic City of Lost Souls in an impressively cool looking and sounding presentation pressed onto one of those shiny magical silver discs. Love him or hate him Miike is here and hopefully here to stay. Making some of the most unbelievably off the wall films we've ever had the opportunity to lay our eyes on City of Lost Souls is no exception to this Miike rule. This is an undeniably cool flick, let's check it out.

Mario, a reckless drug dealer returns to Japan from Brazil to rescue his gorgeous girlfriend Kei who is in the process of being deported. In an unbelievably energetic action sequence, Mario helps to pilot a helicopter to stop the bus that is transporting Kei. The two escape only to be harassed by Ko, a merciless Chinese Yakuza who also happens to be Kei's ex-lover. Mario and Kei purchase fake passports and plan an escape to a far away land. After an unorthodox wedding and an odd visit to Mario's ex-lover Lucia and the young blind orphan she looks after named Carla, the two are almost on their way.

To help fund their escape Kei and Mario bust up a Yakuza drug transaction, but instead of winding up with the money, they're left with a suitcase of cocaine and even more Yakuza on their trail. When the ship they were meant to stowaway on sinks(!) before they ever get on it, the two are left with a new challenge to face. How the heck are they gonna get out of dodge? It's not gonna be easy, and we're ultimately led to a finale that includes guns, swords and a little blind girl in peril.

It may all sound kind of plain jane-ish or like standard action fare, but if you know the slightest thing about Miike, you'll know that's certainly not the case, not in the least. Miike is all about execution and presentation and in City of Lost Souls, Miike does not disappoint The action is extremely spectacular, and unbelievable at the same time. We've got scenes of a couple leaping from a helicopter landing unharmed ultimately causing a vicious explosion. You'll see a pee from the point of view of a toilet(!) and a computer generated cockfight that really needs to be seen to be believed! The action is fast and frenetic all the while Miike manages to inject a cruel wink of black humor to keep the viewer at ease (well sorta at ease). City of Lost Souls is intense, but Miike never let's us forget for a minute that it's only a movie, only a movie, only a movie. It ain't realism here folks, it's pure fun.

The beauty of City of Lost Souls (like many a Miike flick) is in his tongue in cheek presentation. City of Lost Souls plays off almost like a twisted fairy tale and retains an almost nightmarish dreamlike quality. Miike's visions are intense and like many of his flicks City of Lost Souls is full of poetic imagery. It's almost as if Miike doesn't need any dialogue to propel the story, in that respect, he's a true visual storyteller. Much like Miike's previous film, Dead or Alive...City of Lost Souls is full of quick cuts and fast paced edits. Miike makes excellent use of sets, including an underground cave used as a Yakuza lair and an almost comic book like cockfighting ring.

The violence is certainly intense, but mixed right in there are moments of true violent beauty. Miike transitions easily from a cruel and violent gunshot blast to a head (neatly presented as well) right down to the most unique way you've ever seen someone receive a tattoo. There is a moment of vicious brutality towards Kei that is eerily reminiscent of the gut-wrenching beating Alabama receives in True Romance, but we cheer her on when she unapologetically sprays vodka through a lighter setting someone's head completely on fire.

City of Lost Souls is presented in an anmorphic widescren transfer that is quite stunning to say the least. There is absolutely no evidence of print damage to be found. No grain, no scratches, no specs or film dirt, this is an exceptionally clean solid transfer. Colors are quite solid throughout and all around I'd have to say that this transfer literally knocked my socks off. There is no evidence of pixelation or artifacting either.

Audio is presented in a Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 mix with nice readable (yellow) English subtitles. The 5.1 track is extremely aggressive with ample use of the surrounds. There are plenty of wild directional effects and I was definitely fooled more than once by sounds that I could have sworn were real (was that a cock fight in my apartment?). There is absolutely no audio distortion, dialogue is crisp and clear. This is truly a top-notch audio and video presentation.

Extras include a behind the scenes segment that runs an all to brief 6-minutes. It may be brief, but it's still very cool. Just 6-minutes of some random on set footage of Miike at work, very nice. Other extras include 7 trailers some of which are for City of Lost Souls as well as Miike's Audition and Happiness of the Katakuris. There's also a neat interactive game called Escape From Tokyo in which you need to answer questions and defend yourself in a fight using your DVD player remote control. Extras are rounded off with a Miike filmography and well-written liner notes encased in a cool see through light blue keep case DVD box.

I've seen quite a few Miike films to date and have enjoyed every single one of them. I'm not ashamed to admit that this was the first time I had the pleasure of checking out City of Lost Souls. I'm also not ashamed to say that I truly enjoyed the hell out of this flick. Cool action, good-looking stars and the undeniable Miike charm that I really dig in a flick. This is a first class presentation all the way, truly a remarkable DVD. If you're looking for something a little gritty, a little funny and completely not the norm, this one comes highly recommended.