Versus (2000 film)

Versus
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanjiヴァーサス
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnVāsasu
Directed byRyuhei Kitamura
Written byRyuhei Kitamura
Yūdai Yamaguchi
Produced byKeishiro Shin
StarringTak Sakaguchi
Hideo Sakaki
Chieko Misaka
Kenji Matsuda
CinematographyTakumi Furuya
Edited byShuichi Kakesu
Music byNobuhiko Morino
Production
companies
Napalm Films
Wevco Production
Distributed byDistant Horizon
Release date
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget$10,000[2]

Versus (ヴァーサス, Vāsasu) is a 2000 Japanese zombie action film directed and co-written by Ryuhei Kitamura. The film was an independent co–production between Kitamura's company Napalm Films and Wevco Production in association with KSS and Suplex.[3] In the film, a nameless prisoner, a nameless female and her Yakuza abductors fend off zombies in a forest that resurrects the dead while the Yakuza's mysterious leader attempts to open a supernatural gate hidden within the forest and seize its dark power.

The film was originally intended as a sequel to Kitamura's short film Down to Hell but was re-developed as a new film. Principal photography was originally intended to last 3 weeks but was extended to 7 months due to weather and financial issues.

Versus premiered at the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival on October 29, 2000. In 2004, an expanded edition titled Ultimate Versus was released that featured 10 minutes of new footage and improved music, effects, titles, and edits.

  1. ^ "Versus (2000)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference midnighteye1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cook, Tommy (October 7, 2014). "Ryûhei Kitamura Reveals the Arduous Three-Year Journey to Bring Lupin the Third to the Big Screen". Collider. Retrieved June 27, 2015.