Takeshi Kitano
Also Known As: Такэси Китано, Beat Takeshi, Такеши Китано, 기타노 타케시, 비트 타케시, "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, บีท ทาเกชิ, تاکشی کیتانو
Biography: Takeshi Kitano (北野 武, Kitano Takeshi, born January 18, 1947), also known in Japan as Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi), 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. Kitano rose to prominence in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat, before going solo and becoming one of the three biggest comedians in the country. After several small acting roles, he made his directorial debut with 1989's Violent Cop and garnered international acclaim for Sonatine (1993). He was not widely accepted as an accomplished director in Japan until Hana-bi won the Golden Lion in 1997. In October 2017, Kitano completed his Outrage crime trilogy with the release of Outrage Coda. He is also known internationally for hosting the game show Takeshi's Castle (1986–1990) and starring in the film Battle Royale (2000).
Department: Directing
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
Adult: No
Popularity:
Known For:
Zatoichi
Overview: Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Genres: Adventure Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-09-06
Popularity:
Brother
Overview: A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-12-13
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Battle Royale
Overview: In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Genres: Drama Thriller Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-12-16
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Battle Royale II: Requiem
Overview: It's three years after the events of the original Battle Royale, and Shuya Nanahara is now an internationally-known terrorist determined to bring down the government. His terrorist group, Wild Seven, stages an attack that levels several buildings in Tokyo on Christmas Day, killing 8000 people. In order for the government to study the benefits of "teamwork", the new students work in pairs, with their collars electronically linked so that if one of them is killed, the other dies as well. They must kill Nanahara in three days - or die.
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-07-05
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Kikujiro
Overview: Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-06-05
Popularity:
Takeshis'
Overview: Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, who, still an unknown actor, is waiting for his big break. After their paths cross, Kitano seems to begin hallucinating about becoming Beat.
Genres: Comedy Drama Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-09-02
Popularity:
Taboo
Overview: Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Genres: Drama History Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-12-18
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Blood and Bones
Overview: In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-11-06
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Glory to the Filmmaker!
Overview: Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-06-02
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Sonatine
Overview: Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.
Genres: Action Crime Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-09-10
Popularity:
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
Popularity:
Achilles and the Tortoise
Overview: Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-09-20
Popularity:
Boiling Point
Overview: Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.
Genres: Crime Comedy Drama Action Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-09-15
Popularity:
Violent Cop
Overview: A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in drug pushing and Yakuza activities.
Genres: Crime Thriller Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-08-12
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Gonin
Overview: Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.
Genres: Action Crime Thriller Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-09-23
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Johnny Mnemonic
Overview: In a dystopian 2021, Johnny is a data trafficker who has an implant that allows him to securely store data too sensitive for regular computer networks. On one delivery run, he accepts a package that not only exceeds the implant's safety limits—and will kill him if the data is not removed in time—but also contains information far more important and valuable than he had ever imagined. On a race against time, he must avoid the assassins sent to kill him and remove the data before it, too, ends his life.
Genres: Science Fiction Action Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-05-26
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Outrage
Overview: When a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he takes out everyone in his way to the top in a brutal quest for revenge.
Genres: Action Adventure Crime Thriller Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-05-17
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In Your Blood: Hoki Naiden
Overview: Since his childhood, Takahiro Ashiya is gifted with a very strong sixth sense, allowing him to have flash precognition, and sometimes, when feeling under extreme anxiety, he finds himself using psychic powers unconsciously. In fact, this immeasurable power comes from his ancestor, the legendary sorcerer Ashiya Doman of the Heian era (794-1185 AD). Takahiro spent years successfully controlling the mystical power running through his veins, but the death of his mother will eventually be the final nail in the coffin in which he tried to bury his real self, as her last will is having him recite a passage from a very old spell book: The Hoki Naiden.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date:
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Kubi
Overview: Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several clans. His vassal Araki Murashige stages a rebellion and promptly disappears.
Genres: History Action Drama Comedy Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2023-11-23
Popularity:
Getting Any?
Overview: While pursuing his dream of having car sex, a goofy middle-aged man makes all the wrong moves and ends up enrolling in a number of crazy escapades.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-02-11
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Tokyo Eyes
Overview: The police are tracking a man who shoots at people. But the young sister of a detective finds that he's not the mad vigilante portrayed in newspapers.
Genres: Romance Crime Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-09-09
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Morning
Overview: A pensioner takes a walk in the park.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-09-01
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No More Comics!
Overview: Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions through an attractive gold futures scam, a potential news-story.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-03-24
Popularity:
Jesus' Ark
Overview: One-episode drama starring Beat Takeshi depicting the turbulent life of the protagonist Takeyoshi Sengoku, based on the "Jesus' Ark Incident".
Genres: TV Movie Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-12-09
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Arakimentari
Overview: A look at the life and work of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and his impact on Japanese culture.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-01-18
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The Crimes of Kiyoshi Ōkubo
Overview: Arrested and interrogated by the police for a murder, Kiyoshi Ōkubo remembers his past and ends up confessing to several murders. Inspired by the true story of the serial killer who raped and killed eight women in Japan in 1971. The case moved the whole country.
Genres: Drama Crime TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-08-29
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Beyond Outrage
Overview: As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.
Genres: Action Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2012-09-03
Popularity:
The Mosquito on the Tenth Floor
Overview: A lower-middle-class policeman lives decadently, chasing cheap beer and girls at the same time he's running from loan sharks and his personal expectations.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-07-02
Popularity:
Dearest
Overview: The posthumous wish of Eiji's wife is for her ashes to be scattered in the ocean near her hometown. Eiji also learns that his wife letter for him at the post office before she died.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2012-08-25
Popularity:
Demon
Overview: Shuji was once a feared member of the Yakuza crime syndicate, but he's reformed his ways, abandoned his old life and left the city for a small coastal fishing town where he's become an honest fisherman.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-08-31
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Doctor X: Gekai Daimon Michiko Special
Overview: Kojiro Himuro is a champion figure skater taking part in an upcoming world competition. Yet, he is suffering from a complicated CTEPH (chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension). Kantaro Kurosu is the director of the Cross Medical Center. He asks Michiko Daimon to perform surgery on Kojiro, but, right before his surgery, she is deprived of “the most important weapon as a surgeon.”
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2016-07-03
Popularity:
Shooting Film is Battleground: Making of BATTLE ROYALE
Overview: The late Kinji Fukasaku directed "Battle Royale" - his 60th movie - at the age of 70. This film follows the shooting of the film.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-01-13
Popularity:
The Final Battleground — Making of Battle Royale II
Overview: Prolific director Kinji Fukasaku died suddenly during the production of Battle Royale 2. His son and screenwriter Kenta took over as director and completed the film.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-07-10
Popularity:
Kikoku
Overview: An unscheduled late night train arrives at Tokyo station on 15 August, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Boarding the train are spirits of great men who died honourable deaths in the war more than 60 years ago. They have come to the modern world to see their homeland as a peaceful country and to tell the lingering spirits of the war dead about the current conditions.
Genres: Drama History TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-08-12
Popularity:
Izo
Overview: Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
Genres: Action Drama Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-09-07
Popularity:
Zankyo
Overview: The story of Iwaki, a young brawler who becomes a professional criminal when he joins a Yakuza clan.
Genres: Action Thriller Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-02-13
Popularity:
Erotic Liaisons
Overview: A low-key private detective agency in Paris is run by Rie and her lover and partner Kishin, two ex-pats who tick along between cases by giving guided tours of the city to busloads of Japanese tourists. After the wealthy Okuyama hires them to trail his French mistress Lorraine whom he believes to be having an affair, feeble-willed Kishin finds himself seduced by this femme fatale and way out of his depth in a seamy underworld of rich Japanese businessmen, S&M games and huge piles of money.
Genres: Mystery Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-10-17
Popularity:
The 300 million yen robbery
Overview: The 300 million yen robbery (San Oku En Jiken), also known as the 300 million yen affair or incident,was the single largest heist in Japanese history at the time. It occurred on the morning of December 10, 1968, in Tokyo,Japan. Half a century later, the case remains unsolved. 7 years later,just before just before the statute of limitations, Sawatari, a journalist, found out about the mind behind the crime is Matsuda, a businessman currently living in America. He traveled to America and asked Matsuda for the truth. Matsuda told him a story of how he, a former police officer, became friends with Joe, a bad boy, and Rock, who is shy and sensitive. Matsuda's sister committed suicide after being raped, and Matsuda lost his job after he made a scene in the financial institute his sister used to work. Matsuda, Joe, and Rock decided to do something big in revenge, so they decided on robbing a cash carrier.
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-12-30
Popularity:
Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō: Kyōfu Eizō Kaiki Shashin Korekushon
Overview: This is a video version of the ghost photo feature that caused a sensation on the popular variety show "Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō" a popular variety show, is being made into a video. In addition to introducing the ghost photos, the video also includes an examination of the locations where the photos were taken.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-05-19
Popularity:
Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō: 1999 Nostradamus Senritsu no Daiyogen Mysterious Unbelievable
Overview: This is a video version of "The Great Prophecy of Nostradamus" aired on Fuji Television Network's "Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō" aired on Fuji Television Network.It examines various predicted events, including the crash of a satellite.
Genres: Horror TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-04-21
Popularity:
Hoshi wo tsugu mono
Overview: An old man falls into a coma and dreams about his childhood during WWII.
Genres: Drama Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-02-03
Popularity:
Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen
Overview: Ryuzo and his 7 former henchmen are all retired yakuza, but they now live as regular old men. One day, Ryuzo becomes the victim of a phishing fraud. He calls his 7 men together to reform their society.
Genres: Comedy Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-04-25
Popularity:
Plankton Salesmen
Overview: A nostalgic look at the birth and death of arthouse film distribution in the early 2000s in Russia. The story of the Cinema Without Borders company and its two founders, Sam Klebanov and Anton Mazurov.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ru
Release Date: 2017-10-29
Popularity:
Seicho Matsumoto's Black Gospel
Overview: In 1959, a body of a flight attendant of an international airline is found, strangled. Detective Rokuro Fujisawa takes charge of the investigation with a young detective Ichimura and his investigations lead him to Father Tolbeck as a suspect. But the police are forced to move very discreetly as the time was right after the Second World War, when a sensitive situation that involves Western people and religion is likely to become an international issue. The investigation leads to an unexpected discloser of a shadowy business behind the church that reflects the uncertainty of the time.
Genres: TV Movie Crime Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-01-19
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Mozu The Movie
Overview: Lone wolf detective with an enormous personal grievance seeks to connect the mysterious death of his daughter to an urban legend of a villain who terrorizes Japan by insinuating himself into people's dreams and the collective psyche of the Japanese people.
Genres: Thriller Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-11-07
Popularity:
The Boss' Wife
Overview: The widow of a murdered yakuza boss serves jail time for attacking the man she believes killed her husband. After her release, as she is shadowed by a hitman, she returns to thoughts of revenge.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-11-19
Popularity:
Aka Medaka
Overview: One of the hottest selling tickets in town is to see the hugely popular “rakugoka”, or comic storyteller, Danshun. Danshun himself was inspired as a little boy to become a rakugoka after seeing the legendary Danshi. He had found his calling. After his resistant parents relented to their son’s pleas, Danshun at age 17 became an apprentice of Danshi, the man dubbed a “wunderkind” and “genius” of the rakugo world. He soon realized however how hard the training was, and embarked upon a rigorous existence in which he had to deliver newspapers to earn a living. Living with hardship and joys, Danshun and his fellow apprentices would eventually rise in the rakugo world. A resplendent cast comes together to depict the rough and tumble world of a man who loved rakugo above all else and was destined to fulfill a dream.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-12-28
Popularity:
Miwa: A Japanese Icon
Overview: A legendary entertainer and a pioneer of gay activism, Miwa was born Akihiro Maruyama. As a young singer, Miwa popularized androgyny as a fashion statement, fusing the masculine and the feminine into a signal of a new generation of aesthetics. This evolved into performing as a woman and living off-stage as a man. With glitter, wit, evening gowns, and enchanting storytelling, Miwa looks back over a 50-year career and a fascinating life in music, film, and television.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2013-08-31
Popularity:
While the Women Are Sleeping
Overview: Kenji and Aya spend their summer days in a Hotel. While she is doing her own thing, he tries to work on his novel. But then a few strange hotel guest arouse the curiosity of the couple.
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2016-02-27
Popularity:
Jam Session (The Official Bootleg of Kikujiro)
Overview: Documents the events surrounding the making of 'Kikujiro no natsu'.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-02-28
Popularity:
Ghost in the Shell
Overview: In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
Genres: Science Fiction Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-03-29
Popularity:
The Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit
Overview: When heads of state gather at the G8 summit in Japan, Guilala -- the intergalactic monster that had been banished from the earth in The X from Outer Space -- returns to ravage the Japanese countryside and threaten the world leaders. Military strikes prove futile against the beast, but a reporter learns that one rural community possesses a strange ritual that might influence the creature. Minoru Kawasaki directs this campy satire.
Genres: Comedy Science Fiction Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-10-26
Popularity:
Ghost in the Shell: Hard-Wired Humanity - Making Ghost in the Shell
Overview: An in depth look behind the scenes at the making of the live action Ghost In The Shell. Director Rupert Sanders, along with the cast and crew, take you from adapting the script and casting, production design and filming.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-07-25
Popularity:
Many Happy Returns
Overview: Kazuo encounters a religious group travelling around Japan performing "miracles". He discovers they are fakes, but is intrigued by the showmanship of the group, and becomes involved with them. The group is split into two, some members concentrating on spiritual teachings, and the others using the facade of religion to make money. The business faction dismiss the old spiritual master and choose Kazuo to lead their group.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-11-20
Popularity:
A Legend of Turmoil
Overview: A story about the development of a bright and strong yakuza. Otaki is an old-fashioned respectful yakuza who tries to protect his small yakuza family. When his boss gets shot, he decides to go after the plotters.
Genres: Crime Action Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-01-15
Popularity:
Broken Rage
Overview: A seemingly unremarkable man called “Mouse” is caught by the police. In exchange for his freedom, he goes undercover, infiltrates a drug ring, and arranges a fake deal, but an unexpected turn of events occurs.
Genres: Crime Drama Comedy Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2024-09-06
Popularity:
The Unpredictable Takeshi Kitano
Overview: Jean-Pierre Limosin follows Takeshi Kitano on the set of Kikujiro, films it during an interview with Shiguehiko Hasumi, president of the University of Tokyo and who, as a great film buff, was one of the first to recognize directorial talents of Takeshi Kitano
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1999-03-05
Popularity:
Outrage Coda
Overview: Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.
Genres: Action Adventure Crime Thriller Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-10-07
Popularity:
Makoto-chan
Overview: A series of interconnected vignettes regarding Makoto Sawada, an energetic yet socially inept kindergartner, and his long-suffering family. Makoto strives to receive the title of his school's "Best Child" award, resulting in chaos and misunderstandings wherever he goes.
Genres: Comedy Animation
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1980-07-26
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The Dump Truck Rascal
Overview: Depicting the turbulent life of truck driver Takashi, his fellow drivers, and the women he meets.
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-04-29
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Manon
Overview: A story about a woman who is a research student of a theater company and the three men who are at the mercy of her.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-09-26
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Completely... With That Air!
Overview: This film is Beat Takeshi's first starring role.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-12-20
Popularity:
Joke with a Sorrowful Heart
Overview: This is a sad and beautiful story about a father who is a popular comedian and a son who suffered by an incurable disease.
Genres: Family Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-04-26
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Kim's War
Overview: After shooting a gangster in self-defense, Kim Hui Ro takes refuge at a hotel and takes the guest hostages. Realising his position, he invites the press inside and explains why he was driven to his crime.
Genres: Drama History TV Movie Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-04-05
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Dioxin from Fish!
Overview: A black comedy about a former Rock'n'Roll singer, who becomes the mayor of Tokyo.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-02-22
Popularity:
Kichiku
Overview: Made-for-TV film adaptation of the 1957 novel by Seicho Matsumoto starring Takeshi Kitano and directed by Noboru Tanaka. The novel was previously adapted in 1978 film entitled “The Demon” starring Ken Ogata and directed by Yoshitaro Nomura. After a married man stops providing for his mistress, she abandons their three young children with him and his wrathful wife. Consumed by the jealousy and power struggles of their own relationships, they involve the children in their own games - with tragic results.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-10-15
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Prison Break
Overview: One late night in June 1942, Sakuma Seitaro dangles from the frame of a skylight in an isolation cell in Akita Prison. He forces open the glass window and breaks out of jail. This crime even reaches the ears of Urata Susumu, the chief warden of Kosuge Prison in Tokyo. Urata had been in charge of those sentenced to life in the prison until last year. Although Sakuma is a dangerous person who had also broken out of jail in Aomori, he submits to Urata who is the only person who had treated him kindly in the past. However, three months after escaping from jail, Sakuma shows up at Urata’s house. He has come to complain about the inhumane Akita prison officers. But he is locked up again after Urata notifies the police during an unguarded moment. A year later, Sakuma is sent to Abashiri Prison and Urata is also ordered to transfer as the prison’s chief warden.
Genres: TV Movie Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-04-12
Popularity:
What the War Meant
Overview: The drama stars Beat Takeshi as General Hideki Tojo, who served as Prime Minister of Japan during World War II and was later executed as a war criminal. The story's theme is said to be a look at how the Pacific War began, focusing mostly on the three month period between the Imperial Conference (Gozen Kaigi) on September 6, 1941, and the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Genres: Drama War History TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-12-24
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A Living Promise
Overview: Yuma Nakahara is the CEO of an IT company and he is a workaholic. He is focused only on expanding his company. He receives a phone call from his former co-worker and friend Kouhei, but Kouhei doesn't say anything. Yuma gets the sense that something is wrong and heads to Kouhei's hometown of Shinminato, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. In Shinminato, Yuma meets other people and becomes involved in the Shinminato Hikiyama Festival. His outlook on life begins to change.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2016-01-09
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Go, Go Second Time Virgin
Overview: Go, Go, Second Time Virgin is the story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in mutant love on a Tokyo rooftop. Their only hope is to cement their love with an escape into oblivion.
Genres: Drama Romance Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1969-01-01
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Trespassing Bergman
Overview: In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-08-28
Popularity:
A Special Day
Overview: At the 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival, 34 famous directors are followed by camera.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-05-16
Popularity:
The Golden Cups: One More Time
Overview: A music documentary that traced the trajectory of the authentic real power band "The Golden Cups" born from Yokohama / Honmoku where the US military base exists in 1966. The testimonies of the members who look back at that time and the interviews of people who respect them such as Takeshi Kitano, Kiyoshiro Imokano, Yukiyama Sword, and live images at Honmoku where original members resurrected after 31 years since dissolution. Moreover, it is spelled with valuable materials such as a photograph in which the appearance of the "Honmoku Golden Cup" store miraculously was recorded, and a performance scene of regular TV program R & B heaven since 1968.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-11-20
Popularity:
To Each His Own Cinema
Overview: Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmakers to produce short pieces exploring the multifarious facets of cinema and their perspective on the state of their chosen artform in the early 21st century.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2007-10-31
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The 8th Floor
Overview: On the 8th floor of the Fondation Cartier in Paris, Raymond Depardon's film features a minute of silence with eight artists and scientists: David Lynch, Patti Smith, William Eggleston, Takeshi Kitano, Ron Mueck, Jean Michel Alberola, Agnès Varda and Misha Gromov.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2014-05-10
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Electric Yakuza, Go to Hell!
Overview: Documentary about the Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, where we see him attend film festivals, personal influences and of course the study of his main films, apart from the opinions about him by other filmmakers such as Takeshi Kitano or Kinji Fukasaku.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-02-22
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Making-of Kids Return
Overview: Making of Takeshi Kitano's movie Kids Return.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-12-31
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Kogoro Akechi vs Kaijin Nijyuu Menso
Overview: At the end of World War II, a secret human experiment was being conducted in Manchuria, which was in the sphere of influence of the Japanese military. One man's face was to be transformed into that of a completely different person through plastic surgery. Shortly after operation, Japanese military facility where the man was staying was involved in a battle and collapsed, and he disappeared. In 1948, a letter of warning from the Twenty Faces was posted on the wall of the Japanese Museum. The notice read, “All national treasures will be taken away. The police, aware of the warning letter, rush to the Japanese Museum...
Genres: Drama Crime Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-08-27
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Making of 'Battle Royale'
Overview: An abundance of footage from the shooting of Battle Royale and cast and crew discussions.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-12-01
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In Between Mountains and Oceans
Overview: Finding their place between the forest and the sea, the Japanese have always felt awe and gratitude toward Nature. Since ancient times, they have negotiated their own unique relationship with their natural surroundings. Acclaimed photographer Masa-aki Miyazawa discovered the essence of that ancient way of living in Ise Jingu, Japan’s holiest Shinto shrine. Inspired by the idea of sending a message to the future in the same way this ancient shrine keeps alive the traditions of the past, Miyazawa used an ultra-high resolution 4K camera to create a breathtaking visual journey linking the Ise forest with other forests throughout Japan.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-04-11
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Shoko Asahara with Takeshi
Overview: Sect leader of Aum Shinrikyo, known as Shoko Asahara, and Takeshi Kitano meet in an interview.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-12-30
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KILL THEM ALL
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-11-23
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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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Fireworks
Overview: Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-10-30
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Citizen Kitano
Overview: Takeshi Kitano is an international icon. We know the actor, the multi-award-winning filmmaker, but many ignore his double personality: the crazy TV star, the street kid from Tokyo close to the Yakuza, and the political satirist who blasted taboos! Can we dream of a better guide to introduce us to the cultural history of Japan?
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2020-10-16
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Takeshi's Castle Vol. 1
Overview: Various attacking forces unique to Takeshi's Castle were organized, aiming for "Defeat! Takeshi's Castle" There were many battles. This set gathers the tightness of the battle, such as parent-child tournament, Danjin tournament, female college student tournament, brave fighter tournament, etc. Also included is a collection of contests in Takeshi's Castle, as well as episodes of Takeshi & Takeshi Corps struggling to recapture the castle that was stolen by Captain Tani.
Genres: Comedy Family Adventure TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-11-20
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Dots and Lines
Overview: Jutaro Torikai is a senior detective set to uncover the truth behind an apparent double suicide.
Genres: Crime Mystery Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-11-24
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Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi Kitano
Overview: First major English-language documentary profile of the cult Japanese actor/director, Takeshi Kitano. Featuring interviews with many of his regular contributors and colleagues, the film explores Kitano's rise from working-class poverty to superstar of Japanese radio, TV, comedy and journalism, and follows the making of his US-Japanese gangster film, 'Brother'.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-05-05
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Summer Secrets
Overview: Two high school girls get mixed up in murder while investigating the disappearance of a classmate.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-09-18
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School in the Crosshairs
Overview:
Genres: Science Fiction Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-10-11
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Why Are We Creative?
Overview: A 30 years odyssey: the world's most intriguing artists and thinkers from the fields of visual art, music, filmmaking, acting, literature, philosophy, politics, business and science, are asked the same question: "Why are you creative?"
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: de
Release Date: 2018-09-07
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