Takeshi Kitano, film director and actor: biography, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Takeshi Kitano's paintings capture the attention of the audience, immerse them in an unusual and fascinating world. In them there is a place for eternal love, and unbearable cruelty, and subtle humor. By the age of 71, a talented director and actor managed to present about 20 films to the public, and appeared in about 60 films. What can you tell about him and his work?

Takeshi Kitano: family, childhood

The hero of this article was born in Japan, or rather in Tokyo. It happened in January 1947. From the biography of Takeshi Kitano it follows that he was born in a family far from cinema. His father, Kikujiro, was a house painter, and his mother, Saki, took care of the home and children. Takeshi became the fourth child of his parents.

An important role in Takeshi's life was played by her grandmother. It was she who was engaged in his upbringing until entering elementary school. Thanks to her efforts, the boy was perfectly prepared for the lessons, quickly became one of the best students. He preferred precisesciences, loved mathematics and thought to connect his life with it. Creative activities also attracted the child, for example, he was good at drawing.

At school, Takeshi Kitano was seriously fond of sports. He attended the baseball section, went in for boxing. Subsequently, this was reflected in many of his directorial works, for example, in "Boiling Point".

Youth years

In 1965, Takeshi Kitano successfully passed the entrance exams and became a student at Meiji University. Parents persuaded their son to give preference to the Faculty of Engineering. However, the study did not captivate him, he soon abandoned it. Takeshi left home and began an independent life. Two years later, the young man was expelled for numerous absences.

In his youth, Kitano tried many things. He worked as a waiter in a jazz bar, a porter at an airport, a salesman in a candy store, a security guard in a nightclub, a laborer, a taxi driver, a gas station employee.

Actor

The first acting work of Takeshi Kitano did not make any impression on the audience and critics. The young man starred in several of Koji Wakamatsu's early films. His roles were episodic, and his name was not even listed in the credits. The young man also took part in a number of student comedy productions.

Gradually, acting began to drag Takeshi. He seriously thought about connecting his life with dramatic art. The young man began taking acting lessons from the famous artist and art director of the France bar, Senzaburo Fukami. He then began to hone his skills insmall comic interludes.

The first major achievement of Kitano was the creation of the comedy duet "Two Bits". Its second participant is a hundred Jiro Kaneko. The duet performed in cabarets, bars, strip clubs, enjoyed scandalous fame. Often, the performances of friends ended in fights. Then they began to appear in the program "Manzai-boom", which gained high ratings. The comedy duo broke up in 1982.

Takeshi played minor and episodic roles in films, hosted humorous television projects and talk shows.

Directorial debut

In 1989, he first tested his strength as director Takeshi Kitano. Initially, it was assumed that in the film "Cruel Cop" he will play one of the main roles. However, unexpectedly for everyone, Takeshi not only starred in this picture, but also took charge of its creation.

The film tells the story of police officer Azuma. The detective is engaged in a dangerous and thankless job, constantly risks his life. He differs from his colleagues in that he uses "special" methods. Azuma stands up for justice, stopping at nothing. One day he is forced to confront a dangerous maniac. Only one of them can survive this fight.

First paintings

The first experience was successful. The aspiring director decided to continue making films. Takeshi Kitano presented his second film to the audience the following year. Action tape"Boiling Point" tells the story of an ordinary gas station employee. One day, a young man runs into a Yakuza bandit who decides to wash his car. The fateful meeting changes his life forever. The guy has to learn about weapons, blood and death.

The drama "Scenes by the Sea" was presented to the public in 1991. The film tells the story of a scavenger who wants to master the art of surfboarding. Deafness becomes the main obstacle on the way to the goal for him. The novice athlete is bullied by others, but he continues his studies.

90s ribbons

What other films by Takeshi Kitano were released in the 90s? The world audience learned about the Japanese director thanks to the thriller Sonatina, released in 1993. He not only shot this picture, but also played a key role. Takeshi's hero is the Tokyo yakuza Murakawa. The authorities send him to the island in order to put an end to the bloody struggle between the two clans. Gradually, Murakawa realizes that his task is just a trap.

In 1994, the provocative tape “Did you shoot anyone?” was presented to the public. The protagonist of the film is able to think only about sex. Unfortunately, the girls do not pay any attention to the guy. One day the hero decides that he needs a cool car in order to easily "shoot" the ladies. The guy has no money to buy an expensive car, so he goes to rob a bank.

Next, Kitano released the crime drama The Boys Are Back. The film tells the story of two former classmates. They were friends at school, but after graduation, their paths diverged. One of them became a yakuza and the other became a boxer.

In 1997, the crime thriller "Fireworks" was released. Takeshi not only directed this picture, but also played a key role. He embodied the image of a former policeman who begins a bloody fight against the Japanese mafia. His main goal is to protect the widow of a murdered colleague, a paralyzed friend, and his own sick wife.

Kitano also played the main role in the film "Kikujiro". In this comedy, he embodied the image of an uncouth peasant who suddenly takes care of an orphaned neighbor's child. By the end of the picture, the character turns into a touching good man.

Brother Yakuza

"Brother of the Yakuza" - a film by Takeshi Kitano, presented to the audience in 2000, in which he traditionally played a key role. The protagonist of the picture is a militant of the mafia clan Aniki Yamamoto, who bears the nickname "Big Brother". He flees to the States from Japan after his gang is defeated. In America, Yamamoto resolutely enters into a struggle for power, hoping to win his place under the sun. The hero holds sacred the ancient code of the yakuza, which cannot be said about his rivals.

Yamamoto understands that at the end of the bloody path, victory or death awaits him. This does not stop him from taking on dangerous enemies alone. The film is worth watching for its unexpected and shocking ending.

Dolls

What other films of the director are definitely worth seeing? "Dolls" - filmTakeshi Kitano, who also cannot be ignored. This is a difficult film about love and choice, about the fact that generations change, not morals. The protagonist gives up his love for money. He is about to enter into an arranged marriage, and his rejected love cannot bear the betrayal and goes crazy.

The main theme of the picture is the fragility of love. The film warns about how easy it is to break feelings and hard to glue them together. Takeshi does not hide the fact that he considers this picture one of his main achievements as a director.

Banzai, director

"Banzai, director!" is a 2007 film that every Kitano fan should also see. This comedy drama tells the story of a simple employee of an insurance company. A man falls in love with a flight attendant, is going to marry her. However, due to his distraction, he suddenly dives headlong into other people's problems. This negatively affects his relationship with his fiancee.

The hero is sucked deeper and deeper into the abyss. His adventures become so incredible that he himself refuses to believe in their reality. The woman she loves is about to leave her unlucky fiance.

Complete chaos

Total Mayhem is a 2012 film also directed by Takeshi. Thriller with elements of drama tells the difficult story of the Sannoh crime family. It has grown into a large organization that has extended its power to legal business and politics.

The ambitious decides to resist the mafiaDetective Kataoka. He uses dirty tricks to pit the Sanno against their old Hanabishi enemies. The detective is counting on the fact that two criminal families will destroy each other in a bloody struggle. Only time will be able to determine the winners in the bloody and destructive struggle for power. The film "Total Mayhem" 2012 should be seen by every fan of Takeshi. It is full of action scenes, unexpected twists and beautiful fight scenes.

What else to see

Battle Royale is a 2000 film in which Takeshi played one of the key roles. The picture tells about a terrible experiment, the participants of which are schoolchildren. The crisis in the country leads to the introduction of a new program that needs to be tested. Children are forcibly sent to a deserted island where they are forced to play a dangerous "game". Only the strongest can survive - the schoolboy who can kill all the classmates who arrived on the island with him. The 2000 Battle Royale movie has a surprising ending.

Remembering the bright acting work of Kitano, one cannot fail to mention the film "Blood and Bones". His character in this film is Kim Shunpei, who comes to post-war Japan. He is motivated to go to a foreign country in search of a better life, but nothing good awaits him in a foreign land.

"Johnny Mnemonic" is another exciting film starring Takeshi Kitano. The events of the picture unfold in the distant future. The main character gets a job as a mnemonic. He is a courier whocarries confidential information in its memory. He has erased childhood memories and many important moments of the past, as resources may not be enough. The operation would help him get it all back, but he does not have the money for it. One day, a mnemonic is trusted with dangerous information, which is hunted by people who are ready for anything. The hero is forced to save not only confidential information, but also his own life.

Private life

What's going on in Takeshi Kitano's personal life? He has been happily married to comedian Miki Matsuda for many years now. The lovers got married in 1979. in 1981, Miki gave her husband a son, Atsushi, and in 1982, a daughter, Shoko.

Atsushi has chosen a profession that has nothing to do with the world of dramatic art. Seko followed in her parents' footsteps and became an actress. Takeshi's daughter, for example, can be seen in his film Fireworks.

Interesting facts

What else can you say about Takeshi Kitano? For example, the fact that the famous director and actor is the owner of an explosive character. Once a tabloid newspaper published a photo of the master with some girl. Takeshi got so angry that he broke into the editorial office with a group of friends and beat up several of its employees. For some time after that, he was forbidden to appear on television.

Kitano did not leave many of his childhood hobbies. For example, he has been seriously interested in mathematics for many years. The actor and director does not hide the fact that if he had not “lost his way”, then he would have connected his life with this science. Over the years, he has been doing his best to popularizemathematics.

During his life, Takeshi has already managed to release several collections of poems. He also wrote several novels, and allowed some of them to be used as screenplays. Kitano has also been a teacher at Tokyo University of the Arts for several years.

In 2018, Takeshi's new film will be presented to the audience. This is a drama called "Analogue". Unfortunately, the plot of the picture is still kept secret. However, it is already known that Kitano will play the main role.