Takeshi Kitano’s acting debut was in an uncredited role as a gang member in the 1969 Japanese drama film ‘Go, Go Second Time Virgin’. He later formed the ‘manzai’ style comedy duo ‘Two Beat’ with his friend Kaneko Kyoshi under the stage name ‘Beat Takeshi’ and achieved success with their television debut in ‘LOL Panic! 60 Minutes per Body’ (1975). They eventually became regulars on the ‘Owaradai Shugo’ (1978-80) program, which was followed by more regular programs including ‘THE MANZAI’ (1980-1982), which put them at the center of the ‘manzai boom’. In 1981, they moved to the variety show ‘Oretachi Hyoukinzoku’, which quickly surpassed other similar programs in viewership. Kitano, who gathered a group of faithful followers called the “Takeshi Corps” during his appearance on show, gradually started several independent variety programs with the group such as ‘Super Jockey’ (1983–1999), ‘Waratte Pon!’ (1983), ‘Sports Taisho’ (1985–1990), and ‘Genki TV’ (1985–1996). However, he is best recognized for hosting the game show ‘Takeshi's Castle’ (1986–1989), featuring difficult but comical physical challenges for players, as it became a cult hit around the world.
In the early 1980s, Takeshi Kitano branched out to acting on television and in films, with his first major role being a tough POW camp sergeant in his first English-language film, Nagisa Oshima's World War II drama ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’ (1983). While he was “devastated and humiliated” to witness the audience bursting into laughter when his serious character appeared on-screen, he vowed to stick to serious and dark roles in films. In fact, even though he was supposed to play a renegade police officer in Kinji Fukasaku’s crime comedy film ‘Violent Cop’ (1989), he rewrote the script and turned it into a gritty and violent cop/yakuza film when he suddenly got the opportunity to direct it after the original director dropped out. In 1990, he directed and wrote the screenplay for the crime film ‘Boiling Point’, which was also marked by his dark humor. He retained his trademark deadpan approach in his next film, ‘A Scene at the Sea’ (1991), but instead of gangsters or cops, it featured a deaf garbage collector who becomes obsessed with surfing after finding a broken surfboard. The film, which marked the start of his lasting collaboration with celebrated composer Joe Hisaishi, was received with critical acclaim and won the ‘Best Film’ honor at the prestigious ‘Blue Ribbon Awards’. He again returned to darker themes in his next film, ‘Sonatine’ (1993), in which he played an aging yakuza enforcer tired of gangster life. In spite of its poor performance in Japan, the film, which he also directed, written and edited, became his most successful and well-received film abroad, earning him numerous awards including the ‘Cariddi D'oro Award for Best Film’ at the 1993 ‘Taormina Film Fest’.
Takeshi Kitano had already filmed the sex comedy ‘Getting Any?’ (1995), in which he played a Walter Mitty-type character, before meeting with a serious motorcycle accident in August 1994 that had left his face partially paralyzed. Also in 1995, he appeared in the North American cyberpunk film ‘Johnny Mnemonic’. Shortly after his recovery, he wrote, directed and edited the sports crime drama film ‘Kids Return’ (1996), which became his first major success in his home country Japan and won the ‘Best Film’ honor at the ‘Yokohama Film Festival’. He again starred in the lead in the 1997 crime drama film ‘Hana-bi’, which won the ‘Golden Lion’ award at the 1997 ‘Venice Film Festival’, establishing him as a senior director locally and as an internationally acclaimed filmmaker abroad. He further gained praise for his acting prowess for his role as Captain Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi in Nagisa Oshima's 1999 history thriller ‘Taboo’. In 2000, he acted in the controversial but financially successful action thriller ‘Battle Royale’ and attempted to break into Hollywood with his first American co-production, the gangster film ‘Brother’, which he also wrote, directed, edited and starred in. He did not star in his next film, the romantic drama ‘Dolls’ (2002), which depicted three different stories about undying love. The next year, he starred as a blind swordsman in the Jidaigeki action film ‘Zatōichi’, which was his most successful film in Japan and earned him the prestigious ‘Silver Lion for Best Director’ award.
Takeshi Kitano next worked on a series of surrealist autobiographical films including ‘Takeshis'’ (2005), ‘Glory to the Filmmaker!’ (2007) and ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’ (2008), which were mostly received favorably. He went on to work on another trilogy consisting of the yakuza films ‘Outrage’ (2010), ‘Beyond Outrage’ (2012) and ‘Outrage Coda’ (2017), the second of which earned him the ‘Best Director’ award at the 7th ‘Asian Film Awards’. In the meantime, he also directed the action comedy film ‘Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen’ (2015). Throughout the decade, he acted in films like ‘Dearest’ (2012), ‘Mozu’ (2015), ‘While the Women Are Sleeping’ (2016) and ‘Ghost in the Shell’ (2017). Kitano has also continued to appear on television both as a comedian and an actor, and currently hosts ‘Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle’ and ‘Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō’.
Nishi is a police officer in Japan, whose wife Miyuki is suffering from leukemia, and his partner gets paralyzed after being attacked by gangsters. Eventually, he makes up his mind to leave the police force.
Masao is a lonely nine year old boy who decides to look for his estranged mother during his summer holidays, whom he has not even met. Meanwhile, Kikujiro, an immature and irresponsible man is asked by his wife to travel with Masao. The two set out on a journey together.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is a crime action comedy film which tells the story of a blind swordsman who comes to defend the people of a small town, who are caught in the middle of a gang war, and are forced to pay excessive amounts of tax. He soon meets two women, with each having their own agenda.
Murakawa is an enforcer working for the Yakuza, who is getting tired of his gangster life. He is sent by his boss to Okinawa, to mediate a dispute between the Nakamatsu and the Anan clans. Murakawa suspects something wrong with the assignment, and thinks it might be an attempt to have him removed.
During the Second World War, Jack Celliers, a British soldier is captured by Japanese forces and held in a prison camp by Capain Yanoj. Both Yanoj and Sgt. Hara get intrigued wih Celliers’ open defince in the face of their staunchy old-world ideas. Meanwhile, a translator tries to bridge the cultural divides between the British and Japanese, hoping to avoid bloodshed.
A Japanese gangster is deported to the United States, where his brother lives with a small and multi-racial gang. He begins to inspire them to expand their influence and conquer the local drug trade.
Violent Cop is a crime drama action thriller film which tells the story of Detective Azuma, who finds out that his friend Iwaki is supplying drugs from within the police force. Things get even worse when Iwaki is murdered, and Azuma’s sister is kidnapped. Therefore, Azuma decides to break all rules, if necessary, to find the culprit.
The leader of a big crime ring orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug dealers in line. However, this leads to a huge gang war.
Set during the Shogun era in Japan, this action drama film takes us to a samurai compound, where young warriors are trained in the art of swordfighting. The film centres around a good-looking young samurai, who is the newest member of the group. Several of the other samurai find themselves attracted to him, which creates a lot of tensions among them.
This anthology film is a collection of 33 different short films, where the directors expresses their ideas and feelings regarding cinema.
Boiling Point is a crime drama film which tells the story of a baseball player who seeks help from a bar owner with underworld connections, in order to seek revenge on the local yakuza, after his coach was attacked.
The movie follows Major Mira Killian, a cyborg supersoldier who works to stop the world’s most dangerous criminals. As Killian starts discovering more about her past, she realizes that her life was stolen from her by Hanka Robotics. Now she will stop at nothing to get revenge and remember her true identity.
Izo is a fantasy action drama thriller film which tells the story of a samurai assassin named Izo, who is captured after he kills several of the Shogun’s men. He is eventually executed, but his anger propels him through time and space, bringing him to present day Tokyo, where he finds himself among the homeless. Still in search of his vengeance for what had happened to him, he decides to transform himself into a new and improved killing machine.
A data courier Johnny, who carries data packages for a fee, receives an assignment to carry a package which is too large to hold, and which he needs to deliver before a given time.
A group of young school students, most of whom are orphans, are kidnapped by an authoritarian Japanese government. Their school bus is diverted to an army base and the students are given 72 hours to infiltrate an island and kill an international terrorist named Shuya Nanahara.
Nishi is a police officer in Japan, whose wife Miyuki is suffering from leukemia, and his partner gets paralyzed after being attacked by gangsters. Eventually, he makes up his mind to leave the police force.
Masao is a lonely nine year old boy who decides to look for his estranged mother during his summer holidays, whom he has not even met. Meanwhile, Kikujiro, an immature and irresponsible man is asked by his wife to travel with Masao. The two set out on a journey together.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is a crime action comedy film which tells the story of a blind swordsman who comes to defend the people of a small town, who are caught in the middle of a gang war, and are forced to pay excessive amounts of tax. He soon meets two women, with each having their own agenda.
Murakawa is an enforcer working for the Yakuza, who is getting tired of his gangster life. He is sent by his boss to Okinawa, to mediate a dispute between the Nakamatsu and the Anan clans. Murakawa suspects something wrong with the assignment, and thinks it might be an attempt to have him removed.
Dolls is a romantic drama film which revolves around three different characters, with each having their own distinct story. The first story is about a young man, who rejects his engagement to his fiancé, and decides to marry the daughter of his company’s president instead. The second story is about a young man, who is obsessed with a pop star. The third story is about a yakuza, who tries to meet a girlfriend from his youth.
A garbage man with impaired hearing finds a broken surfboard, and despite having no prior experience in surfing, he decides to try it out. Despite going through several mishaps and being mocked by locals, he does not give up.
Kids Return is a crime drama sports film which revolves around two high-school friends who decide pursue careers in the boxing ring, after discovering their talent. However, their paths diverge when one of them chooses to join the Yakuza.
A Japanese gangster is deported to the United States, where his brother lives with a small and multi-racial gang. He begins to inspire them to expand their influence and conquer the local drug trade.
Violent Cop is a crime drama action thriller film which tells the story of Detective Azuma, who finds out that his friend Iwaki is supplying drugs from within the police force. Things get even worse when Iwaki is murdered, and Azuma’s sister is kidnapped. Therefore, Azuma decides to break all rules, if necessary, to find the culprit.
The leader of a big crime ring orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug dealers in line. However, this leads to a huge gang war.
This anthology film is a collection of 33 different short films, where the directors expresses their ideas and feelings regarding cinema.
Boiling Point is a crime drama film which tells the story of a baseball player who seeks help from a bar owner with underworld connections, in order to seek revenge on the local yakuza, after his coach was attacked.
