if you're new to the work of Takeshi Kitano, Zatôichi (2003) is not a bad stepping off point, if only a mildy audacious one, as is his style. based upon the classic series of Blind Swordsman stories and films, this is choice samauri stuff, with Kitano's quirky imagination for violence fueling a clever succession of slow burns and near-instant (but perfectly choreographed) annihilations. that it may open the door for you to Kitano's other works is better yet, and most notably Sonatine (1993), Fireworks (1998), and Dolls (2002). cited as a "Japanese comedian, actor, author, poet, painter, one-time video game designer and film director" (and regarded out of his director's seat as Beat Takeshi) this is a guy whose appetite for artistic mischief appears be both energetic and endless, despite his amusingly stoic veneer.