Kinji Fukasaku
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| Kinji Fukasaku | |
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| Born | 1930 July 03 Mito, Japan |
| Died | 2003 January 12 Tokyo, Japan |
Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二 Fukasaku Kinji?, 3 July 1930 – 12 January 2003) was a Japanese film actor, writer and best known as a celebrated and innovative director. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer. He is well known in the west for directing the Japanese portion of the film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and the violent Battle Royale (2000).
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[edit] Birth and childhood
When he was 15 years old, Fukasaku's class was drafted, and he worked as a munitions worker during World War II. In July 1945, the class was caught in artillery fire. Since the children could not escape artillery fire, they had to dive under each other in order to survive. The surviving members of the class had to dispose of the corpses. Fukasaku realized that the Japanese government lied about World War II at that point; Fukasaku had a burning hatred of adults in general for a long time [1].
[edit] Filmmaking career
In 1973, Fukasaku directed a groundbreaking yakuza film, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, AKA The Yakuza Papers. Up to this point, Japan's many yakuza films had usually been tales of chivalry (ninkyo) set in the pre-war period, but Fukasaku's ultraviolent, documentary-style film took place in chaotic post-War Hiroshima. A commercial and critical success, it gave rise to eight sequels of which he directed all but the last.
Near the end of his life, Fukasaku branched out into the world of video games by serving as the director of the Capcom/Sunsoft survival horror game Clock Tower 3. Although the game sold poorly and received fair to lukewarm reviews, the game has been praised for its cinematic cutscenes, which some consider to be worth playing through the game in order to watch. Because he suffered from late stage prostate cancer during preparations for his final film, Battle Royale II: Requiem, the film's production was organized so that Fukasaku's son Kenta Fukasaku could take over the film's direction after he died.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Japanese | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Wandering Detective: Tragedy in Red Valley | 風来坊探偵 赤い谷の惨劇 | Fūraibō tantei: akai tani no sangeki |
| Wandering Detective: Black Wind in the Harbor | 風来坊探偵 岬を渡る黒い風 | Fūraibō tantei: Misaki o wataru kuroi kaze | |
| Vigilante With a Funky Hat | ファンキーハットの快男児 | Fankii hatto no kaidanji | |
| Vigilante With a Funky Hat: The 200,000 Yen Arm | ファンキーハットの快男児 ２千万円の腕 | Fankii hatto no kaidanji: Nisenman-en no ude | |
| High Noon for Gangsters aka Villains in Broad Daylight |
白昼の無頼漢 | Hakuchu no buraikan | |
| 1962 | The Proud Challenge | 誇り高き挑戦 | Hokori takaki chosen |
| Gang vs. G-men | ギャング対Ｇメン | Gangu tai Jii-men | |
| 1963 | League of Gangsters | ギャング同盟 | Gyangu domei |
| 1964 | Jakoman and Tetsu aka One-eyed Captain and Tetsu |
ジャコ万と鉄 | Jakoman to Tetsu |
| Wolves, Pigs and People | 狼と豚と人間 | Okami to buta to ningen | |
| 1966 | The Threat | 脅迫 | Odoshi |
| Kamikaze Man: Duel at Noon | カミカゼ野郎 真昼の決斗 | Kamikaze yaro: Mahiru no ketto | |
| Rampaging Dragon of the North | 北海の暴れ竜 | Hokkai no Abare Ryū | |
| 1967 | Ceremony of Disbanding | 解散式 | Kaisanshiki |
| 1968 | Gamblers' Ceremony of Disbanding | 博徒解散式 | Bakuto kaisanshiki |
| Black Lizard | 黒蜥蝪 | Kurotokage | |
| Blackmail Is My Life | 恐喝こそわが人生 | Kyokatsu koso waga jinsei | |
| The Green Slime | ガンマ３号 宇宙大作戦 | Gamma daisan go: Uchu dai sakusen | |
| 1969 | Black Rose Mansion | 黒薔薇の舘 | Kurobara no yakata |
| Japan's Most Violent Gangs: Boss aka Japan's Organized Crime Boss |
日本暴力団 組長 | Nihon boryokudan: Kumicho | |
| 1970 | Bloodstained Clan Honor aka Bloody Gambles |
血染の代紋 | Chizome no daimon |
| If You Were Young: Rage | 君が若者なら | Kimi ga Wakamono nara | |
| Tora! Tora! Tora! | トラ・トラ・トラ！ | Tora Tora Tora! | |
| 1971 | Sympathy for the Underdog | 博徒外人部隊 | Bakuto gaijin butai |
| 1972 | Under the Flag of the Rising Sun | 軍旗はためく下に | Gunki hatameku moto ni |
| Street Mobster | 現代やくざ 人斬り与太 | Gendai yakuza: Hitokiri yota | |
| Outlaw Killer: Three Maddog Killers | 人斬り与太 狂犬三兄弟 | Hitokiri yota: Kyoken san kyodai | |
| 1973 | Battles Without Honor and Humanity aka The Yakuza Papers (Volume 1) |
仁義なき戦い | Jinginaki tatakai |
| Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch aka The Yakuza Papers: Hiroshima Deathmatch (Volume 2) |
仁義なき戦い 広島死闘篇 | Jinginaki tatakai: Hiroshima shito hen | |
| Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War aka The Yakuza Papers: Proxy War (Volume 3) |
仁義なき戦い 代理戦争 | Jinginaki tatakai: Dairi senso | |
| 1974 | Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics aka The Yakuza Papers: Police Tactics (Volume 4) |
仁義なき戦い 頂上作戦 | Jinginaki tatakai: Chojo sakusen |
| Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode aka The Yakuza Papers: Final Episode (Volume 5) |
仁義なき戦い 完結篇 | Jinginaki tatakai: Kanketsu hen | |
| New Battles Without Honor and Humanity | 新仁義なき戦い | Shin jinginaki tatakai | |
| 1975 | Graveyard of Honor | 仁義の墓場 | Jingi no hakaba |
| State Police vs. Organized Crime aka Cops vs. Thugs |
県警対組織暴力 | Kenkei tai soshiki boryoku | |
| Gambling Den Heist | 資金源強奪 | Shikingen godatsu | |
| New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head | 新仁義なき戦い 組長の首 | Shin Jinginaki tatakai: Kumicho no kubi | |
| 1976 | Violent Panic: The Big Crash | 暴走パニック 大激突 | Boso panikku: Dai gekitotsu |
| New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Last Days | 新仁義なき戦い 組長最後の日 | Shin Jinginaki tatakai: Kumicho saigo no hi | |
| Yakuza Graveyard aka Yakuza Burial: Jasmine Flower |
やくざの墓場 くちなしの花 | Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana | |
| 1977 | Hokuriku Proxy War | 北陸代理戦争 | Kokuriku dairi senso |
| Doberman Detective | ドーベルマン刑事 | Dooberman deka | |
| 1978 | Shogun's Samurai aka Yagyu Clan Conspiracy |
柳生一族の陰謀 | Yagu ichizoku no inbo |
| Message from Space | 宇宙からのメッセージ | Uchu kara no messeiji | |
| The Fall of Ako Castle | 赤穂城断絶 | Ako danzetsu | |
| 1980 | Virus | 復活の日 | Fukkatsu no hi |
| 1981 | The Gate of Youth | 青春の門 | Seishun no mon |
| Samurai Reincarnation | 魔界転生 | Makai Tensho | |
| 1982 | Dotonbori River | 道頓堀川 | Dotonborigawa |
| Fall Guy | 蒲田行進曲 | Katmata koshin kyoku | |
| 1983 | Theater of Life | 人生劇場 | Jinsei gekijo |
| Legend of the Eight Samurai | 里見八犬伝 | Satomi hakkenden | |
| 1984 | Shanghai Rhapsody | 上海バンスキング | Shanghai bansu kingu |
| 1986 | House on Fire | 火宅の人 | Kataku no hito |
| 1987 | Sure Death 4: Revenge | 必殺ＩＶ 恨みはらします | Hissatsu shi: Urami harashimasu |
| 1988 | A Chaos of Flowers | 華の乱 | Hana no ran |
| 1992 | The Triple Cross aka The Day's Too Bright |
いつかギラギラする日 | Itsuka giragira suru hi |
| 1994 | Crest of Betrayal aka Loyal 47 Ronin: Yotsuya Ghost Story |
忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談 | Chushingura Gaiden: Yotsuya kaidan |
| 1999 | The Geisha House | おもちゃ | Omocha |
| 2000 | Battle Royale | バトル・ロワイアル | Batoru Rowaiaru |
| 2003 | Battle Royale II: Requiem | バトル・ロワイヤルＩＩ 【鎮魂歌】 | Batoru Rowaiaru: "Rekuiemu" |
[edit] Further reading
- Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp (2004). The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-89-2.
[edit] External links
- Kinji Fukasaku at the Internet Movie Database
- Focus: Kinji Fukasaku at the Midnight Eye
- The Man No Genre Could Tame
- Kinji Fukasaku: An introduction to chaos
- (Japanese) Kinji Fukasaku at the Japanese Movie Database
