One Cut of the Dead explained

One Cut of the Dead
Native Name:
Kanji:カメラを止めるな!
Revhep:Kamera o Tomeru na!
L:Don't Stop the Camera!
Director:Shin'ichirō Ueda
Producer:Koji Ichihashi
Screenplay:Shin'ichirō Ueda
Starring:
  • Takayuki Hamatsu
  • Yuzuki Akiyama
  • Kazuaki Nagaya
  • Harumi Syuhama
  • Manabu Hosoi
  • Hiroshi Ichihara
  • Shuntaro Yamazaki
  • Shinichiro Osawa
Music:
  • Nobuhiro Suzuki
  • Kailu Nagai
Cinematography:Tsuyoshi Sone
Editing:Shin'ichirō Ueda
Studio:Enbu Seminar
Distributor:Asmik Ace
Runtime:97 minutes
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Budget: ($25,000)
Gross:

is a 2017 Japanese[1] independent zombie comedy film written and directed by Shin'ichirō Ueda. It follows a team of filmmakers and actors who are tasked with making True Fear, a zombie horror film for live television that must be shot in a single take; the first third of One Cut of the Dead depicts True Fear as a film within the film, before going back in time to show the origins of the project, and its eventual shooting from the perspective of the cast and crew.

Made with a low budget of ($25,000) with a cast of unknown actors, the film opened in Japan in a small theatre for a six-day run. Following its international success at its screening at the Udine Film Festival, the film began getting wider exposure, including a re-release in Japan. It grossed US $27,935,711 in Japan and worldwide, making box office history by earning over a thousand times its budget. The film also received acclaim from critics, who praised its originality, writing and humor.

Plot

In the first section of the film, the cast and crew of a low-budget zombie film called True Fear are shooting at an abandoned water filtration plant. Director Higurashi, desperate for film success due to mounting debts and frustrated at the actors' work, arranges for a blood pentagram to be painted to revive real zombies per the plant's haunted past. The cameraman turns into a zombie and bites assistant director Kasahara, turning him into one as well. Actress Chinatsu, actor Ko, and makeup artist Nao lock the zombies out of the plant. Higurashi insists they continue filming using the real zombies. The sound engineer rushes out of the plant and is infected. Higurashi brings the zombified sound engineer back in for more footage, throwing him at the actors. Nao decapitates the zombified sound engineer and is splattered with zombie blood.

Chinatsu, Ko, and Nao attempt to escape, but Higurashi facilitates an attack by zombified Kasahara while he films. Chinatsu is confronted by the zombies and saved by Ko. They reunite with Nao, who suspects that Chinatsu is infected. Nao attempts to kill Chinatsu and chases her, dispatching the zombies in the process. Chinatsu escapes to a roof, with Nao and Ko following. Offscreen, Ko kills Nao with an axe to save Chinatsu. Chinatsu thinks she is infected and runs away to a building with a pentagram painted on the outside wall. An unidentified zombie approaches Chinatsu and leaves. Chinatsu also exits the building, finding an axe before seeing Ko wandering on the roof. She approaches Ko to find that he has been zombified. Chinatsu confronts zombified Ko in a scene similar to the start of the film, and after being briefly interrupted by a mysteriously revived Nao, Chinatsu decapitates zombified Ko. Higurashi berates Chinatsu for going off script. Chinatsu kills Higurashi, and she ends the first section by standing on the blood pentagram in a trance-like state.

The second section of the film is a flashback involving the personal lives of the fictional cast and crew of a production called One Cut of the Dead, a film-within-the-film of the same title (thus making True Fear a film-within-the-film within another film-within-the-film). Takayuki Higurashi, director of a TV drama starring alcoholic actor Manabu Hosoda, is approached by network executives to direct a low-budget zombie film in one take to launch the new Zombie Channel. He is initially reluctant, but accepts in hopes of reconnecting with his daughter Mao, a horror movie fanatic. Actors cast for One Cut of the Dead include idol Aika Matsumoto as Chinatsu, cynical actor Kazuaki Kamiya as Ko, Shunsuke Yamagoe as the sound engineer, and Hosoda as the cameraman. The One Cut of the Dead movie-within-the-movie is also revealed to be a live show, so no reshoots or delays are possible.

The third section of the film depicts the chaotic shooting of One Cut of the Dead from behind the scenes. The actors cast as director and makeup artist could not make filming, forcing Takayuki and his wife Harumi to step in to fill their respective roles. During the shooting, Takayuki overacts his first scene by physically accosting Matsumoto. Hosoda passes out drunk and later vomits. Yamagoe's diarrhea leads to his character leaving the plant off-script. Dealing with these forces Takayuki and the other actors to start to improvise and make small talk. The main cameraman suffers a back injury and has to be replaced. Harumi goes off-script and attacks various real cast and crew during the scene of Nao chasing Chinatsu, forcing Takayuki to choke her out and later forcibly remove her from interrupting the ending scene between Chinatsu and Ko after she abruptly wakes up. The zombie who did not attack Chinatsu turns out to be a crew member giving instructions. The camera crane accidentally gets broken, forcing the real cast and crew to form a human pyramid in order to mimic a crane shot for the final shot, with Mao having to hold the camera standing atop Takayuki's shoulders. The faux-crane shot is successful, and the real cast and crew are elated at the successful filming.

The final credits are shown over footage of the real-life filming by the One Cut of the Dead crew, including the faux-crane shot being taken from the top of a stepladder.

Cast

Production

Filmmaker Shin'ichirō Ueda directed, edited, and wrote the script for One Cut of the Dead. Ueda, an independent filmmaker, had previously made several short films.[2] For the film, he stated that One Cut of the Dead was partially inspired by Ryoichi Wada's stage play, Ghost in the Box, which Ueda had seen five years prior.[3] Wada, a playwright and theater director, had presented Ghost in the Box from 2011 to 2014.[4]

To make his film, Ueda worked with the Enbu Seminar drama school in Tokyo. Enbu Seminar not only produced the film, but also hosted the acting workshops that Ueda used to help cast its actors, most of them unknowns. According to actress Yuzuki Akiyama, the workshop lasted for two months.[5] She had previously worked with Ueda on his 2011 short film, Dreaming Novelist.[6]

Filming for One Cut of the Dead took place over the course of eight days in June 2017. It was shot at an abandoned water filtration plant in Mito, Ibaraki. Akiyama described the filming process as "very enjoyable but also pretty exhausting", due to the pressure to get a long take right. The long take in particular, a 37-minute-long continuous shot of the zombie film, took six takes.

One Cut of the Dead was made for (approximately $25,000 at the time), and was partially crowdfunded.[7] After the eight days of shooting, it took four months for Ueda to edit the film.

Release

Producer and Enbu Seminar president Koji Ichihashi said that the initial target for the film to break even was 5,000 admissions.[8] One Cut of the Dead opened in Japan in an 84-seat Tokyo art house theater with an initial theatrical run of six days. The film began garnering international attention after it became the runner-up in the audience vote at the Udine Far East Film Festival.[9] Of the films screening at Udine, it received a standing ovation and the Audience Award at the Udine Far East Film Festival in year 2018.

After receiving positive reviews outside of Japan, the film was released in three cinemas in Tokyo in June with discounts for an audience in zombie costumes to help the film gain attention. Asmik Ace stepped in to co-distribute the film, giving it a wider release in July. It was showing at around 200 screens in Japan by March 2018 where it had officially grossed .

Reception

Box office

In Japan, the film sold 2,149,449 tickets and grossed in 136 days.[10] It became the seventh highest-grossing domestic film of 2018, grossing at the Japanese box office.[11] [12] It made box office history by earning over a thousand times its budget.[13]

Overseas, the film grossed NT$53million in Taiwan,[14] in Hong Kong,[15] $154,123 in South Korea,[16] $52,406 in the United States and Canada, and $2,903 in Iceland,[17] for a worldwide total of .

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 100% approval rating based on 97 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Brainy and bloody in equal measure, One Cut of the Dead reanimates the moribund zombie genre with a refreshing blend of formal daring and clever satire."[18] Metacritic reports an 86 out of 100 score, based on 14 reviews.[19]

Writing for Variety, Richard Kuipers declared the film to be a "marvelously inventive horror-comedy [that] breathes new life into the zombie genre", and attributed its success to "its irresistibly bouncy spirit [...] it positively sparkles with the infectious "C'mon everyone, let's put on a show!" enthusiasm that’s served the movies so well since the days of Andy Hardy". Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter found the film to be "a breezy and often laugh-out-loud hilarious zombie comedy", noting that although the film "sags in the second act as it sets up the third, it's not so much that it loses all the steam it generated out of the gate". David Ehrlich of IndieWire opined that the film was "so heartfelt and hilarious that it's easy to forgive the contrivances that hold it together, and to overlook how transparently Ueda reverse-engineers most of his best gags. Seemingly unimportant details in the film's sluggish middle section blossom into killer jokes some 30 minutes later".[20]

Alleged plagiarism

In August 2018, Ryoichi Wada gave an interview where he stated that One Cut of the Dead was an adaptation of Ghost in the Box, and that he was consulting with his legal representatives.[21] The month before, Wada had remarked on social media that he enjoyed the film. Ueda acknowledged that Ghost in the Box was an inspiration for his film, but denied that he plagiarized the play.[22] Both Ueda and Wada eventually came to an agreement, crediting Wada and acknowledging Ghost in the Box in One Cut of the Dead's credits.

Awards

AwardCategoryNomineeResult
43rd Hochi Film Awards[23] Best Picture One Cut of the Dead
Special Award
Best Director Shinichiro Ueda
Best New Artist
31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards[24] Best FilmOne Cut of the Dead
Yūjirō Ishihara Award
Best DirectorShinichiro Ueda
40th Yokohama Film Festival[25] Special Jury PrizeOne Cut of the Dead
73rd Mainichi Film Awards[26] Best DirectorShinichiro Ueda
Best Screenplay
61st Blue Ribbon Awards[27] Best FilmOne Cut of the Dead
Best DirectorShinichiro Ueda
28th Tokyo Sports Film Awards[28] Best FilmOne Cut of the Dead
Best DirectorShinichiro Ueda
Best ActorTakayuki Hamatsu
Best Supporting ActressHarumi Shuhama
Best Newcomer
42nd Japan Academy Prize[29] Picture of the YearOne Cut of the Dead
Best DirectorShinichiro Ueda
Best ActorTakayuki Hamatsu
Best ScreenplayShinichiro Ueda
Best Music Nobuhiro Suzuki, Shōma Itō, and Kyle Nagai
Best Cinematography Takeshi Sone
Best Sound Recording Kōkichi Komoda
Best Film EditingShinichiro Ueda
13th Asian Film AwardsBest New Director Shinichiro Ueda

Sequels

One Cut of the Dead Spin-Off: In Hollywood (カメラを止めるな!スピンオフ ハリウッド大作戦!, Kamera o Tomeru na! Supin-ofu: Hariuddo daisakusen!, transl. "Don't Stop the Camera! Spin-Off : World-Wide") is a 59-minute feature that was made in 2019 for TV in Japan. Instead of Takayuki Higurashi, this film is about how his daughter Mao Higurashi makes a film just like he did in One Cut of the Dead.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, Ueda decided to create a short film One Cut of the Dead Mission: Remote [30] (カメラを止めるな!リモート大作戦!, Kamera o Tomeru na! Rimōto dai sakusen!, transl. "Don't Stop the Camera! Remote Operation!") that would act as a sequel to One Cut of the Dead. The filmmaker wanted to create something that would lighten the mood during the pandemic, stating, "I started to wonder if there was anything positive I could do to try to put a smile on people’s faces through some light form of entertainment." After contacting the actors to confirm they would be able to reprise their role, Ueda wrote the script in one night, and gave the actors instructions via video conference. The actors were instructed to take selfie footage while in-character, then send the footage to the director via a smartphone messaging app. In addition, Ueda asked people on social media to upload video of themselves dancing to include in the movie.[31]

The overall production of One Cut of the Dead Mission: Remote took place in around a month. It was uploaded to YouTube for people to watch for free on 1 May 2020.

Remake

A French-language remake titled Final Cut, directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring Romain Duris and Bérénice Bejo, began its production in April 2021.[32] It was shown as the opening film at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.[33]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kerr. Elizabeth. 20 March 2018. 'One Cut of the Dead': Film Review. 22 October 2018. The Hollywood Reporter. 22 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113416/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/one-cut-dead-film-review-filmart-2018-1095805. live.
  2. Web site: Hernon. Matthew. 2020-05-08. 'One Cut of the Dead' director Shinichiro Ueda brings teleworking to Japan's film industry. 2020-07-05. The Japan Times. en-US.
  3. Web site: Blair. Gavin J.. 2018-08-21. The $27,000 Zombie Film That Refuses to Die at the Japanese Box Office. 2020-07-05. The Hollywood Reporter. en. 9 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031707/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/one-cut-dead-zombie-movie-becomes-a-big-hit-japan-1136288. live.
  4. Web site: Frater. Patrick. 2019-03-20. Japanese Sleeper Hit 'One Cut of the Dead' Heads for English Remake (EXCLUSIVE). 2020-07-05. Variety. en. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108021630/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/japan-sleeper-hit-one-cut-of-the-dead-english-remake-1203167733/. live.
  5. Web site: Sahani. Alaka. 2019-01-16. A Cut Above the Rest. 2020-07-05. The Indian Express. en. 5 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705211631/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/a-cut-above-the-rest-japanese-movie-one-cut-from-the-dead-5540397/. live.
  6. Web site: Hernon. Matthew. 2019-01-11. "One Cut of the Dead" Star Yuzuki Akiyama on the Movie's Surprise Mega-Success. 2020-07-05. Tokyo Weekender. en-US. 6 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200706173701/https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2019/01/one-cut-of-the-dead-star-yuzuki-akiyama-on-the-movies-surprise-mega-success/. live.
  7. Web site: Schilling. Mark. 2018-05-31. Japan Debates the Ethics of Making Films on the Cheap. 2020-07-05. Variety. en. 6 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200706025231/https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/japan-ethics-of-making-cheap-films-1202825001/. live.
  8. Web site: Schilling. Mark. 2018-10-23. 'One Cut of the Dead' Passes 2 Million Admissions Mark. 2020-07-05. Variety. en. 5 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705222622/https://variety.com/2018/film/news/one-cut-of-the-dead-box-office-1202989390/. live.
  9. Web site: Film Review: 'One Cut of the Dead'. Variety. Kuipers. Richard. 22 October 2018. 5 May 2018. 22 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113426/https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/one-cut-of-the-dead-review-1202800409/. live.
  10. Web site: 『カメ止め』30億円突破、サラダパンとタイア. 8 November 2018. Bunka Tsūshin. 4 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220304075557/https://www.bunkatsushin.com/news/article.aspx?id=153011. live.
  11. Web site: 2018 . Eiren . . 2 March 2019 . 25 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190325215257/http://www.eiren.org/boxoffice_e/index.html . live .
  12. News: Pineda . Rafael Antonio . Top 10 Grossing Domestic Japanese, Foreign Films of 2018 Listed . 13 May 2020 . . 2018-12-31 . en . 19 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190619170903/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-12-31/top-10-grossing-domestic-japanese-foreign-films-of-2018-listed/.141496 . live .
  13. News: Nguyen . Hanh . 'One Cut of the Dead': A Bootleg of the Japanese Zombie Comedy Mysteriously Appeared on Amazon . 2 March 2019 . . 31 December 2018 . 26 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211026101608/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/amazon-one-cut-of-the-dead-zombie-bootleg-movie-pirated-1202031415/ . live .
  14. Web site: 一屍到底-票房收入 . Dorama . 2 March 2019 . 6 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044544/http://dorama.info/drama/pfd_boxoffice.php?num=23633 . live .
  15. Web site: One Cut of the Dead (2018) . EntGroup . 2 March 2019 . 4 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220304075556/http://english.entgroup.cn/681417/ . live .
  16. Web site: One Cut of the Dead - Financial Information South Korea . . 2 March 2019 . 6 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044456/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kamera-o-tomeru-na-(Japan)-(2018)/South-Korea . live .
  17. Web site: One Cut of the Dead . . October 2019 . 13 May 2020 . 27 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727202204/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt7914416/ . live .
  18. Web site: One Cut of the Dead (Kamera o tomeru na!) (2017). Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. en. 29 October 2021. 30 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240530232910/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/one_cut_of_the_dead. live.
  19. Web site: One Cut of the Dead (Kamera o tomeru na!) (2017). Metacritic. CBS Interactive. en. 28 March 2020. 5 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605093025/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/one-cut-of-the-dead. live.
  20. Web site: 'One Cut of the Dead' Review: The Best Zombie Comedy Since 'Shaun of the Dead' — Fantasia 2018. Indiewire. David. Ehrlich. 3 August 2018. 22 October 2018. 7 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180807032936/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/one-cut-of-the-dead-review-zombie-comedy-fantasia-fest-1201990760/. live.
  21. Web site: Schilling. Mark. 2018-08-23. Zombie Comedy 'One Cut of the Dead' Attracts Crowds and Controversy. 2020-07-05. Variety. en. 5 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705230118/https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/japan-zombie-comedy-one-cut-of-the-dead-crowds-and-controversy-1202915106/. live.
  22. Web site: Schilling. Mark. 2018-12-19. As two rule breakers gave the Japanese film world hope in 2018, elsewhere eyes turned to China. 2020-07-05. The Japan Times. en-US. 31 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201031163448/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/12/19/films/two-rule-breakers-gave-japanese-film-world-hope-2018-elsewhere-eyes-turned-china/. live.
  23. Web site: 「カメ止め」報知映画賞の特別賞に、上田慎一郎をキャストが祝福. 21 December 2018. Natalie. 4 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220304075602/https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/312678. live.
  24. Web site: 「カメラを止めるな!」石原裕次郎賞受賞記念特集. 21 December 2018. Nikkan Sports. 18 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318224114/https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/201808120000383.html. live.
  25. Web site: 『第40回ヨコハマ映画祭 2018年日本映画個人賞. 21 December 2018. Yokohama eigasai. 10 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230210134131/http://yokohama-eigasai.o.oo7.jp/40-2018/40_2018_shou.html. live.
  26. Web site: 柄本佑&安藤サクラ、主演賞を"夫婦独占" 『第73回 毎日映画コンクール』. 23 January 2019. Oricon. 4 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220304075644/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2128013/full/. live.
  27. Web site: ブルーリボン賞決定 舘ひろし、門脇麦らが受賞 作品賞は「カメ止め」 受賞者作品一覧. 21 January 2019. Sports Hōchi. 21 January 2019. 21 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064719/https://www.hochi.co.jp/entertainment/20190120-OHT1T50235.html. live.
  28. Web site: たけしが選ぶ東スポ映画大賞で「万引き家族」4冠!新人賞はしゅはまはるみ. 31 January 2019. Natalie. 1 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211201203258/https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/317974. live.
  29. Web site: 【日本アカデミー賞全リスト】「万引き家族」最多8冠!孤狼の血、カメ止めにも栄誉. 3 March 2019. Natalie. 4 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220304075558/https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/322211. live.
  30. Web site: One Cut of the Dead Mission: Remote A japanese short film completely made remotely!! - YouTube. 2021-02-16. www.youtube.com.
  31. Web site: Sato. Misuzu. 2020-06-02. 'One Cut of the Dead' sequel captures climate of coronavirus. 2020-07-05. The Asahi Shimbun. en. 6 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200706190344/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13394151. live.
  32. News: Goodfellow. Melanie. 30 April 2021. Michel Hazanavicius' 'Final Cut' begins shoot in Paris, Bérénice Bejo joins cast (exclusive). Screen Daily. 30 April 2021. 30 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210430081846/https://www.screendaily.com/news/michel-hazanavicius-final-cut-begins-shoot-in-paris-berenice-bejo-joins-cast-exclusive/5159280.article. live.
  33. News: fr. Coupez !, l'hommage de Michel Hazanavicius aux forçats des tournages. 17 May 2022. 28 May 2022. 28 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220528082905/https://www.festival-cannes.com/fr/festival/actualites/articles/coupez-lhommage-de-michel-hazanavicius-aux-forcats-des-tournages. live. .