Dead End Run
Encyclopedia
Dead End Run is a 2003 film
directed by Japanese
cult film
director
Sogo Ishii
, notable for Ishii's trademark flashy visual style.
The film has little plot to speak of, but is instead divided into three short episodes, each of which opens with a man desperately running away before being trapped in a dead end, where something out-of-the-ordinary occurs. The episodes include a musical number, a Mexican stand-off and a police pursuit.
However, the woman comes back to life, and sings and dances with the man in the style of a musical film
, telling him how they were fated to meet and how tragic it is that their love has to be so short. Once again she dies, and while the man grieves over her body, his pursuer appears and shoots him. The man's and woman's bodies lie next to each other on the tarmac.
The second episode also begins with a fleeing man who gets trapped in a dead end, where he becomes involved in a protracted Mexican stand-off with another man. The scene is intercut with a similar stand-off involving two different armed men in the same location. Both stand-offs end with the two protagonists laughing at their predicament and entering a friendly embrace, before trying to shoot the other man. All the men receive gunshot wounds and die, their bodies falling in positions similar to the couple in the first episode of the film.
The third episode starts with three police officers chasing a suspect. The suspect flees to the top of a tall building, where a young woman is sitting. The edge of the roof is, in effect, a dead end. The suspect takes the woman hostage. After a stand-off, she manages to take the suspect's gun, and to everyone's surprise points it at her own head, threatening suicide. When the suspect tries to knock the gun out of her hand, they fall together from the roof. Although they expect to die, they actually land in a lorry
carrying a cargo of feathers. The episode ends with the couple lying together in a similar physical position to the couples in the previous episodes, except that this time both characters are still alive.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Sogo Ishii
Sogo Ishii
', formerly is a Japanese filmmaker known for his striking visuals and sometimes outlandish subject matter.Ishii was born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and is a graduate of Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Nihon University College of Art....
, notable for Ishii's trademark flashy visual style.
The film has little plot to speak of, but is instead divided into three short episodes, each of which opens with a man desperately running away before being trapped in a dead end, where something out-of-the-ordinary occurs. The episodes include a musical number, a Mexican stand-off and a police pursuit.
Plot
The first episode begins with an extended scene showing a man desperately running through an urban landscape, before coming to a dead end in a dark backstreet ally. When he hears approaching footsteps, he attacks his presumed pursuer with a metal bar. He is shocked to find that he has instead killed a young woman.However, the woman comes back to life, and sings and dances with the man in the style of a musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, telling him how they were fated to meet and how tragic it is that their love has to be so short. Once again she dies, and while the man grieves over her body, his pursuer appears and shoots him. The man's and woman's bodies lie next to each other on the tarmac.
The second episode also begins with a fleeing man who gets trapped in a dead end, where he becomes involved in a protracted Mexican stand-off with another man. The scene is intercut with a similar stand-off involving two different armed men in the same location. Both stand-offs end with the two protagonists laughing at their predicament and entering a friendly embrace, before trying to shoot the other man. All the men receive gunshot wounds and die, their bodies falling in positions similar to the couple in the first episode of the film.
The third episode starts with three police officers chasing a suspect. The suspect flees to the top of a tall building, where a young woman is sitting. The edge of the roof is, in effect, a dead end. The suspect takes the woman hostage. After a stand-off, she manages to take the suspect's gun, and to everyone's surprise points it at her own head, threatening suicide. When the suspect tries to knock the gun out of her hand, they fall together from the roof. Although they expect to die, they actually land in a lorry
Lorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
carrying a cargo of feathers. The episode ends with the couple lying together in a similar physical position to the couples in the previous episodes, except that this time both characters are still alive.