Ryuichi Sakamoto
Also Known As: Ryûichi Sakamoto, Ryūichi Sakamoto, 류이치 사카모토, Yellow Magic Orchestra, YMO
Biography: Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一, Sakamoto Ryūichi, January 17, 1952 - March 28, 2023) was a Japanese composer, record producer, and actor who had pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.
Department: Sound
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
Adult: No
Deathday: March 28, 2023
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Known For:
The Last Emperor
Overview: A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-10-04
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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Overview: Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Genres: Drama History War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-05-28
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Madonna: The Video Collection 93:99
Overview: A collection of Madonna's favorite videos from 1993-1999. Contains the 14 videos: Bad Girl, Fever, Rain, Secret, Take A Bow, Bedtime Story, Human Nature, Love Don't Live Here Anymore, Frozen, Ray Of Light, Drowned World, The Power of Goodbye, Nothing Really Matters, and Beautiful Stranger.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-11-02
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Complete Hurrah
Overview: Yellow Magic Orchestra perform live at Hurrah in New York on November 1, 1979
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-09-22
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YMO – Live At Budokan 1980
Overview: Yellow Magic Orchestra perform at Nippon Budokan on December 27, Tokyo 1980
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-09-21
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Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
Overview: The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today's world.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-03-24
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SUGA: Road to D-DAY
Overview: SUGA of the world-renowned group, BTS, works on a new album. He embarks on a journey to find his story to tell through music, while interacting with artists from various cities around the world.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ko
Release Date: 2023-06-16
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Marisa Monte: Mais
Overview: The documentary follows the genesis of Marisa Monte's album Mais in New York City and the subsequent tour that supported the album from 1991 to 1992.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: pt
Release Date: 1991-10-27
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Burning Ice
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-01-01
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
Overview: "Ars longa, vita brevis" – art is long, life is short. This is one of Japanese music icon Ryuichi Sakamoto's favorite quotes, and the message that he leaves for viewers at the end of his final concert film, shot before he succumbed to cancer in March 2023. Consisting of only Sakamoto and his piano, Opus features the final live performances of 20 songs that Sakamoto meticulously curated to encapsulate his distinguished 40-year career.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-12-27
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Ryuichi Sakamoto Playing the Piano for the Isolated
Overview: 100 minutes of healing music from Ryuichi Sakamoto and shamisen prodigy Hidejiro Honjoh.
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2020-04-02
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New Rose Hotel
Overview: A corporate raider and his henchman use a chanteuse to lure a scientific genius away from his employer and family.
Genres: Drama Mystery Science Fiction
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-03-19
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TV-YMO
Overview: A compilation of 1980s television appearances by Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-12-21
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Preparations For A Journey
Overview: Original music by David Sylvian. Performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Jansen, Masami Tsuchiya.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-12-31
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Femme Fatale: Dream Within a Dream
Overview: A documentary about Brian de Palma's "Femme Fatale."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-03-25
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YMO – Hi-Tech Video Crime
Overview:
Genres: Music
Original Language: pt
Release Date: 1992-01-01
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Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Insen Live
Overview: Label: Raster-Noton Catalog#: R-N 76 Format: DVD, NTSC Country: Germany Released: Oct 2006 Genre: Electronic Style: Modern Classical, Minimal, Experimental, Ambient Tracklist 1 Intro 4:51 2 Berlin 5:42 3 Noon 5:55 4 Uoon 10:03 5 Morning + Iano 9:50 6 Barco 6:24 7 Nor 4:20 8 Trioon 9:16 9 Xerox 5:38 10 Siisx + Mur - Encore 7:26 11 Ax. Mr. L. - Encore 5:05 12 Trioon - Second Angle 10:11 13 Morning + Iano - Second Angle 10:37 14 Uoon - Second Angle 10:02 15 Conversation 18:00
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-10-01
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A Human Tube
Overview: Analog video art by Paul Garrin with Ryuichi Sakamoto
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-01-01
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Ryuichi Sakamoto + Alva Noto: The Glass House
Overview: Music live performance of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto at the Glass House.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-11-11
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OKINA: Dance of Life
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2020-04-19
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022
Overview: On December 11, 2022, Ryuichi Sakamoto's solo piano performance will be streamed in the form of a concert. However, what we will experience that day is carefully recorded footage of Sakamoto performing a few pieces of music each day over the course of a week, that was then thoughtfully edited together. This is last performance.
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2022-12-11
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Ryuichi Sakamoto's Last Days
Overview: Ryuichi Sakamoto shocked the world with his techno music as a member of YMO and continued to capture the hearts of many with his unique music. In his diary in his final years, he wrote about the anguish of his life fighting the disease, thinking, "It's a death sentence" and "Should I choose euthanasia?" and "Music may be the only way to stay sane," and "Music to leave behind, music to leave behind." His true feelings were engraved, including words that made him think deeply—his interaction with unknown members of YMO and the unreleased song that ended up touching his heart.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2024-04-07
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Ryuichi Sakamoto - Ars longa, vita brevis
Overview: A Music Special episode broadcasted by NHK. This documentary looks back at the great achievements and innovative works of Ryuichi Sakamoto's carreer, with a variety of rare footage from the NHK archives and other sources. The programme is narrated by Koji Yakusho, a long-time friend of Sakamoto.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
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NEO GEO ～1987.7.19 NHKホール～
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Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-11-07
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SAKAMOTO PLAYS SAKAMOTO
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Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-06-26
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A Y.M.O. Film: Propaganda
Overview: Starring Yellow Magic Orchestra and David Brooks Palmer, YMO Propaganda is 1984 Musical film directed by Shin Saito. Originally premiered theatrically throughout Japan in 1984 and is considered by some to be the best visual work from 'Y.M.O.'
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1984-05-12
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Tonovan Musician Kazuhiko Kato and His Era
Overview: This documentary follows the path of musician Kazuhiko Kato, who has created many masterpieces that remain in the history of Japanese pop music. Kazuhiko Kato, affectionately known as "Tonovan," influenced many people with his musicality that was ahead of its time, such as "The Folk Crusaders" and "Sadistic Mika Band." The documentary introduces the behind-the-scenes story of the formation of The Folk Crusaders, who created Japan's first million-selling hit, rare footage of the Sadistic Mika Band's overseas performances and recording scenes as they made their way around the world, and hidden anecdotes about the "Europe Trilogy," which is said to be a monumental work of Japanese pop music. In addition, a new recording of the timeless classic "Ano Subarashii Ai wo Mouichido" is made, and the song's evolution by musicians of various genres is shown. The film was planned, directed, and produced by Yumi Aihara, who also worked on "SUKITA: A Moment Carved by Artists."
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2024-05-31
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Bye Bye Kipling
Overview: This ambitious live satellite link-up of Japan, Korea and the United States features interviews with Keith Haring and architect Arata Isozaki, and performances and works by Philip Glass and the Kodo Drummers, Charlotte Moorman, Nam June Paik, and Lou Reed. In an extraordinary section, a performance in Japan of classical Western music is accompanied by a group of Kabuki dancers.
Genres: Documentary Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-01-01
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Tokyo Melody: A Film About Ryuichi Sakamoto
Overview: Documentary about the eclectic Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording sessions for his 1984 album "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia".
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-04-09
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All Star Video
Overview: A compilation of avant-garde artwork and talent of the mid to late 20th century hosted by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Genres: Animation Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-01-21
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Adelic Penguins
Overview: Originally commissioned by the Sony Corporation of Japan and performed live on the JumboTRON, a fourteen-story TV set at the Expo in Tsukuba, Japan, Adelic Penguins is a collaboration between Fitzgerald, artist Paul Garrin, and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also appears as a performer). Structured in six segments, this technical tour-de-force is a pyrotechnic fusion of sound and image, in which the dynamic visual imagery fully complements and heightens Sakamoto's staccato, percussive score. Fitzgerald and Garrin merge terrestrial and interplanetary worlds, in which Sakamoto's figure becomes an integral part of the landscape. Set aloft in the surreal world of the artists' invention, Sakamoto dances, floats and walks through a hyperkinetic universe.
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-04-20
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Brand New Day
Overview: Japan, 1986. At the tail end of the world tour promoting their latest album Revenge, Eurythmics tops the charts. Between concerts, pop duo Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart survey Japan's cultural soundscape with the help of Conny Plank: A world of sounds both brutally technological and highly refined by tradition.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-08-14
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TV WAR
Overview: Performed live on September 15th, 1985 on the SONY JumboTRON at Tsukuba Expo, Tukuba, Japan
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-01-22
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
Overview: Oscar winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto weaves man-made and natural sounds together in his works. His anti-nuclear activism grew after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and his career only paused after a 2014 cancer diagnosis.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-11-04
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Steel Cathedrals
Overview: 20 minute music documentary shot in two days of November 1984 in, and around the outskirts of, Tokyo, Japan. A large part of the music was completed during that same month and recorded over a period of three days.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-05-17
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory
Overview: A live performance film capturing an intimate concert by composer, pianist and music producer Ryuichi Sakamoto in New York City. The performance marked the first public unveiling of Sakamoto’s new opus, async, hailed as one of the best albums of 2017 by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-02-21
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Ink Music: In the Land of the Hundred-Tongued Lyricist
Overview: Everyone in Japan knows his work, yet few recognize his face. Chris Mosdell, British expatriate, pop lyricist, poet and visual artist, during his 30-year residence in Tokyo has written chart-topping hits with some of Japan's most influential musicians and composers, penned lyrics to anime film scores, and run with the multimedia underground of that city's avant-garde. Ink Music: In The Land Of The Hundred-Tongued Lyricist is a 90-minute documentary film detailing those artistic relationships in the expansive career of artistic word-smith, Chris Mosdell. Shot in HD on-location in Tokyo and Fukui, Japan, and New York City, USA, the film highlights Mosdell's rise from obscure expatriate bohemian poet to renowned lyricist for Japan's biggest band ever, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). The story is told through exclusive interviews. Tokyo itself also figures into the narrative as a major character, featuring copious clips of original footage from inside the city that inspires Mosdell's work.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-06-18
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YMO JAPAN TOUR at Nippon Budokan
Overview: Yellow Magic Orchestra playing songs from the album Service in the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan in the 22 Dec. 1983
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-12-22
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700 Days with Ryuichi Sakamoto
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-11-28
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No Smoking
Overview: A documentary about Haruomi Hosono, a musician respected around the world and the music composer of Cannes Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters. The footage traces his encounter with music in early childhood to his days in bands Happy End and YMO to his solo activities. It also includes in-depth coverage from recent years of his first overseas performances in London, New York and Los Angeles. In London, he was joined by Yukihiro Takahashi, and when Ryuichi Sakamoto made a surprise appearance onstage, the YMO members were reunited for the first time in five years, a must-see spectacle captured on film. Written by Nikkatsu
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2019-11-01
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Yellow Magic Orchestra - YMONHK
Overview: A live performed on August 5, 2011 at NHK 101 Studio in Shibuya, Tokyo. Yellow Magic Orchestra, who has almost never done a studio live, played "RYDEEN", "FIRECRACKER", "COSMIC SURFIN", and others, in front of about 1,000 spectators selected by lottery. Keigo Oyamada, Tomohiko Gondo, and Christian Fennesz participated as support members.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-07-12
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Yellow Magic Orchestra - Winter Live 1981
Overview: A domestic live tour in 1981 when YMO released two masterpiece albums, "BGM" and "Technodelic". A live concert filmed at the Shinjuku Koma Theater, "WINTER LIVE 1981" focuses on songs from "BGM" and "Technodelic" and symbolizing the mid-term YMO catalogue along with artistic performing art. The audio is also remastered, giving the viewer a more realistic feel.
Genres: Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-12-22
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Technodon in Tokyo Dome
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Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date:
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The Oshima Gang
Overview: Documentary about the making of Nagisa Oshima's 1983 film MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-12-31
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Ryuichi Sakamoto Trio World Tour 1996 - Complete Version
Overview: A concert, called Ryuichi Sakamoto Trio World Tour, was organized in 1996. The setlist of this concert is different than the original album. This concert was played at 6 venues in Japan, and the Bunkamura Orchard Hall concert was live streamed on August 28, 1996, on the Internet, and was one of the first concerts to be streamed. This concert was released on both DVD and Laserdisc.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-10-18
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YMO: Winter Live '81
Overview: Yellow Magic Orchestra concert recorded in late December 1981 at the Shinjuku Koma Theater.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-04-21
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Ryuichi Sakamoto | Playing the Orchestra 2014
Overview: Ryuichi Sakamoto sadly passed away at the age of 71 on March 28, 2023. His music never stops and continues to leave a lasting impression on people living in the present. Playing the Orchestra 2013" was the first time in 16 years that Ryuichi Sakamoto performed with a full orchestra in Japan and created a sensation. This film is an updated version of the 2014 Tokyo performance, which he conducted himself. In this film, Sakamoto conducts all the pieces while playing the piano, The film features Sakamoto playing the piano and conducting all the pieces, and a variety of music from YMO's masterpieces such as "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and "The Last Emperor" to his own film music, all performed by the magnificent Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2025-01-03
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Brilliant Trees Sessions
Overview: A video documenting the making of David Sylvian's 1984 Lp "Brilliant Trees" within Berlin. Unknown to the world until David's surprise releasing of it on VIMEO July 15, 2021.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2021-07-15
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