In Hana-bi, a tough cop leaves the force to seek revenge on the gangsters who crippled his partner.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

Hana-bi is Kitano's best film yet, and won the prestigious Gold Lion award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

On the live-action front there is the latest from Takeshi Kitano, whose police thriller Hana-Bi won the Golden Lion in 1997.

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Hana-bi creeps around us and gets under our skin.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG

It has been a grand year for Japanese films, and they don't come much grander than Hana-bi, a poetic, violent masterpiece from Kitano "Beat" Takeshi, and Princess Mononoke, a superb animation by Miyazaki Hayao.

CNN: OT ONLY DID HONG