Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host.
Susumu Terajima is a Japanese actor. Though he has played a wide range of characters, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of yakuza figures, most notably in the films of Takeshi Kitano.
Dolls is a 2002 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano. A highly stylized art film, Dolls is part of Kitano's non-crime film oeuvre, like 1991's A Scene at the Sea, and unlike most of his other films, he does not act in it. The film has been praised for its cinematography and features costumes by Yohji Yamamoto.
Violent Cop is a 1989 Japanese neo-noir action thriller film directed by Takeshi Kitano, written by Kitano and Hisashi Nozawa, and starring Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Hakuryu, Ken Yoshizawa, and Ittoku Kishibe. It follows Azuma, a Japanese police detective known for his rough and unprofessional conduct, after he is assigned to investigate drug trafficking by the yakuza. It was Kitano's directorial debut, and marked the beginning of his career as a filmmaker.
Sonatine is a 1993 Japanese yakuza film directed, written and edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the film. It won numerous awards and became one of Kitano's most successful and praised films, garnering him a sizable international fan base.
Getting Any? is a 1995 Japanese film, written, directed, edited, and starring Takeshi Kitano. Yatteru (やってる) is the colloquial form for yatteiru (やっている), yatteru coming from the Japanese verb yaru, which is an informal word meaning 'to do', and has become slang for sexual intercourse. The film is a sex comedy. It showed Beat Takeshi, originally a very popular manzai performer, returning to his comedic roots. The movie features an Airplane!-like assemblage of comedic scenes centering on a Walter Mitty-type character whose obsession is to have sex.
Kids Return is a 1996 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Takeshi Kitano. The film was made directly after Kitano recovered from a motorcycle wreck that left one side of his body paralyzed. After undergoing extensive surgery and physical therapy, he quickly went about making Kids Return amidst speculation that he might never be able to work again. The movie is about two high school dropouts, Masaru and Shinji, who try to find a direction and meaning in their lives—one by becoming a yakuza lieutenant, the other by becoming a boxer.
Hana-bi, released in the United States as Fireworks, is a 1997 Japanese crime drama film written, directed and edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in it. The film's score was composed by Joe Hisaishi in his fourth collaboration with Kitano.
Kikujiro is a 1999 Japanese road drama film written, directed and co-edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the film with Yusuke Sekiguchi. Its score was composed by Joe Hisaishi. The film was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Brother is a 2000 crime film starring, written, directed, and edited by Takeshi Kitano. The film premiered on September 7, 2000 at the Venice Film Festival. The plot centers on a mature yakuza gangster who has to flee to America, where he unites forces with his little brother and his brother’s gang in Los Angeles.
Ren Osugi, born Takashi Osugi was a Japanese actor. For his work in Cure, Hana-bi and other films, Osugi was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1999 Yokohama Film Festival. He often worked alongside Takeshi Kitano and Susumu Terajima. In the DVD commentary to the MPD Psycho television series, director Takashi Miike said that he admired Osugi's experience to shift quickly from comic and imbecilic to authoritative and earnest. He died of heart failure at the age of 66 on February 21, 2018.
Akihiro Maruyama, better known by his stage name Akihiro Miwa, is a Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, author and drag queen.
Yakuza film is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, Japanese organized crime syndicates. In the silent film era, depictions of bakuto as sympathetic Robin Hood-like characters were common.
Zatoichi is a 2003 Japanese jidaigeki action film, directed, written, co-edited by and starring Takeshi Kitano in his eleventh directorial venture. Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman, with Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, and Akira Emoto in supporting roles.
Boiling Point, known in Japan as San tai Yon ekkusu Jugatsu, is a 1990 Japanese crime film written and directed by Takeshi Kitano, who also co-stars under his stage name Beat Takeshi. It was Kitano's second film as a director and first film as a screenwriter. Boiling Point is seen as an important first step in his development as an editor and as a director.
Glory to the Filmmaker! is a 2007 Japanese film written, directed, edited by the film's lead star Takeshi Kitano. It is the second film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, following Takeshis', and concluding with Achilles and the Tortoise.
Achilles and the Tortoise is a 2008 Japanese film written, directed and edited by Takeshi Kitano. The film is the third and final part of Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, starting with Takeshis' and continuing with Glory to the Filmmaker!
Outrage is a 2010 Japanese yakuza film written, directed, co-edited and starring Takeshi Kitano. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. It is followed by Beyond Outrage (2012) and Outrage Coda (2017).
Outrage Coda is a 2017 Japanese yakuza film directed by Takeshi Kitano and starring Kitano himself. It was released in Japan on 7 October 2017. It is a sequel to Kitano's 2012 film, Beyond Outrage, and completes Kitano's Outrage trilogy started in 2010. It received its premiere when it was screened out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival.
Last of the Wolves is a 2021 Japanese crime yakuza thriller film directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, starring Tori Matsuzaka and Ryohei Suzuki. It is a sequel to the 2018 film The Blood of Wolves.
