Ichi the Killer
“Love really hurts.”
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
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Part of Ichi Collection
3 films
Cast
26 people
Tadanobu Asano
Kakihara
Known for
Shōgun
Thor: The Dark World
Nao Omori
Ichi
Known for
First Love
From Up on Poppy Hill
Shinya Tsukamoto
Jijii
Known for
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Silence
Sabu
Kaneko
Known for
Shinjuku Triad Society
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
Paulyn Sun
Karen
Known for
In the Mood for Love
The Accidental Spy
Susumu Terajima
Suzuki
Known for
When Marnie Was There
Fireworks
Shun Sugata
Takayama
Known for
Tokyo Vice
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear
Toru Tezuka
Fujiwara
Known for
Shin Godzilla
Shin Kamen Rider
Yoshiki Arizono
Nakazawa
Known for
Electric Dragon 80000V
The Happiness of the Katakuris
Kiyohiko Shibukawa
Ryu Long
Known for
Tokyo Vampire Hotel
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Satoshi Niizuma
Inoue
Known for
Fudoh: The New Generation
Suzuki Matsuo
Jirô / Saburô
Known for
FLCL
Sanctuary
Takashi Miike Director · Sakichi Sato Screenplay Hideo Yamamoto Author
Worldwide gross $81K · Budget $1.4M · United States release May 19, 2003
Box office
Budget
$1,400,010
Worldwide gross
$80,631
Gross vs. budget
0.1×
Production
Omega Project
Production
Omega Micott
Production
Excell Film Agentur
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
殺し屋1
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Cantonese · English · Japanese
Release dates
Canada · September 14, 2001
Premiere · Toronto International Film Festival
Japan · December 22, 2001
Theatrical
United States · May 19, 2003
Limited theatrical
France
October 19, 2006 · Physical · DVD
February 5, 2025 · Theatrical
February 18, 2025 · Physical · Blu-Ray & 4K UHD
Germany
April 12, 2002 · Limited theatrical
Ireland
May 30, 2003 · Limited theatrical
Netherlands
July 25, 2002 · Theatrical
November 22, 2007 · Physical · DVD
Poland
June 14, 2025 · Premiere · WTF Fest
Spain
October 4, 2002 · Premiere · Sitges Film Festival
November 2, 2002 · Premiere · Semana de Cine Fantástico y de Terror de San Sebastián
January 19, 2005 · Physical
Switzerland
July 5, 2002 · Digital
United Kingdom
November 13, 2001 · Premiere · BFI London Film Festival
May 30, 2003 · Theatrical
October 31, 2021 · Limited theatrical · UNCUT Version | BFI Japan: 100 Years of Japanese Cinema season
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Some details come from TheTVDB.