| Philosophy of a Knife | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Andrey Iskanov [ru] |
| Written by | Andrey Iskanov |
| Produced by | Andrey Iskanov |
| Starring | Yukari Fujimoto Yumiko Fujiwara Svyatoslav Iliyasov Manoush |
| Cinematography | Andrey Iskanov |
| Edited by | Andrey Iskanov |
| Music by | Alexander Shevchenko |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | TLA Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 247 minutes |
| Countries | Russia United States |
| Languages | English Russian |
Philosophy of a Knife is a 2008documentaryexploitation horror film written, produced, shot, edited, and directed byAndrey Iskanov [ru]. It covers the Japanese Army'sUnit 731, mixing archival footage, interviews, and extremely graphic reenactments of experiments.[1]
The film is four hours long and is presented in two parts (Part one andPart two). It was shot in black and white and in English. The interviews are shot in color and have English subtitles.
DuringWorld War II in China, a Japanese covert division known asUnit 731 conducts gruesome experiments on humans in its research for biological and chemical warfare.
Philosophy of a Knife was shown at the 2008Sitges Film Festival.[2]TLA Releasing andUnearthed Films released the unrated film on DVD in July 2008.
The film featuresManoush and Cyanide Savior's song "Dead Before Born" as well as a song by A. Shevchenko, "Forgive Me", with Manoush speaking the introduction to the track. It also includes anoriginal score by Shevchenko.A selection of tracks named Choice Cuts fromPhilosophy of a Knife has been released as a limited edition double vinyl, plus a bonus CD by Spikerot Records in 2018.
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The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre hasPhilosophy of a Knife listed as the fifth most disturbing film it has covered, and stated that while it was interesting and intense "I was reminded ofGibson'sPassion in that the movie takes an ambitious and difficult subject, then spends most of its time focusing only on gore".[3]
Rob Hunter of theFilm School Rejects called it a "crappy exploitation film" and "pseudo-documentary" that could only be worth watching "if all of Iskanov's footage was edited out, and just the documentary footage coupled with the dry, British, informative narration were left".[4] A 0 out of 5 was given byDread Central's Scott A. Johnson, who concluded, "As a reviewer, one tries to find a few positive things to say about each film. Congratulations are in order forPhilosophy of a Knife in that it succeeded in being the crappiest pile of masturbatory, art-house wannabe, pedantic and mean-spirited shit I've ever had the displeasure of watching".[5]