Takeshi Kitano
Birthday: 1947-01-18
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
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).
Movies
Zatoichi
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice gam...
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Brother
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where ...
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Battle Royale II: Requiem
It's three years after the events of the original Battle Royale, and Shuya Nanahara is now an intern...
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Battle Royale
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to k...
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Kikujiro
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined...
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Takeshis'
Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his ...
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Taboo
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors ar...
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Blood and Bones
In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along th...
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Glory to the Filmmaker!
Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a numb...
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Sonatine
Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a...
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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison ...
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Achilles and the Tortoise
Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he a...
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Boiling Point
Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goe...
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Violent Cop
A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in dru...
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Gonin
Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as pla...
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Johnny Mnemonic
In a dystopian 2021, Johnny is a data trafficker who has an implant that allows him to securely stor...
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Outrage
When a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he t...
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In Your Blood: Hoki Naiden
Since his childhood, Takahiro Ashiya is gifted with a very strong sixth sense, allowing him to have ...
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Kubi
Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several c...
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Getting Any?
While pursuing his dream of having car sex, a goofy middle-aged man makes all the wrong moves and en...
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Tokyo Eyes
The police are tracking a man who shoots at people. But the young sister of a detective finds that h...
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No More Comics!
Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions thr...
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Jesus' Ark
One-episode drama starring Beat Takeshi depicting the turbulent life of the protagonist Takeyoshi Se...
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Arakimentari
A look at the life and work of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and his impact on Japanese cult...
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The Crimes of Kiyoshi Ōkubo
Arrested and interrogated by the police for a murder, Kiyoshi Ōkubo remembers his past and ends up c...
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Beyond Outrage
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggl...
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The Mosquito on the Tenth Floor
A lower-middle-class policeman lives decadently, chasing cheap beer and girls at the same time he's ...
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Dearest
The posthumous wish of Eiji's wife is for her ashes to be scattered in the ocean near her hometown. ...
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Demon
Shuji was once a feared member of the Yakuza crime syndicate, but he's reformed his ways, abandoned ...
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Doctor X: Gekai Daimon Michiko Special
Kojiro Himuro is a champion figure skater taking part in an upcoming world competition. Yet, he is s...
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Shooting Film is Battleground: Making of BATTLE ROYALE
The late Kinji Fukasaku directed "Battle Royale" - his 60th movie - at the age of 70. This film foll...
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The Final Battleground — Making of Battle Royale II
Prolific director Kinji Fukasaku died suddenly during the production of Battle Royale 2. His son and...
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Kikoku
An unscheduled late night train arrives at Tokyo station on 15 August, the anniversary of Japan’s su...
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Izo
Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the...
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Zankyo
The story of Iwaki, a young brawler who becomes a professional criminal when he joins a Yakuza clan....
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Erotic Liaisons
A low-key private detective agency in Paris is run by Rie and her partner Kishin, two ex-pats who ti...
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The 300 million yen robbery
The 300 million yen robbery (San Oku En Jiken), also known as the 300 million yen affair or incident...
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Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō: Kyōfu Eizō Kaiki Shashin Korekushon
This is a video version of the ghost photo feature that caused a sensation on the popular variety sh...
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Kiseki Taiken! Anbiribabō: 1999 Nostradamus Senritsu no Daiyogen Mysterious Unbelievable
This is a video version of "The Great Prophecy of Nostradamus" aired on Fuji Television Network's "K...
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Hoshi wo tsugu mono
An old man falls into a coma and dreams about his childhood during WWII....
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Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen
Ryuzo and his 7 former henchmen are all retired yakuza, but they now live as regular old men. One da...
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Seicho Matsumoto's Black Gospel
In 1959, a body of a flight attendant of an international airline is found, strangled. Detective Rok...
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Mozu The Movie
Lone wolf detective with an enormous personal grievance seeks to connect the mysterious death of his...
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The Boss' Wife
The widow of a murdered yakuza boss serves jail time for attacking the man she believes killed her h...
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Aka Medaka
One of the hottest selling tickets in town is to see the hugely popular rakugoka, or comic storytell...
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Miwa: A Japanese Icon
A legendary entertainer and a pioneer of gay activism, Miwa was born Akihiro Maruyama. As a young si...
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While the Women Are Sleeping
Kenji and Aya spend their summer days in a Hotel. While she is doing her own thing, he tries to work...
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Jam Session (The Official Bootleg of Kikujiro)
Documents the events surrounding the making of 'Kikujiro no natsu'....
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Ghost in the Shell
In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-...
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The Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit
When heads of state gather at the G8 summit in Japan, Guilala -- the intergalactic monster that had ...
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Ghost in the Shell: Hard-Wired Humanity - Making Ghost in the Shell
An in depth look behind the scenes at the making of the live action Ghost In The Shell. Director Rup...
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Many Happy Returns
A young man named Kazuo Takayama runs across a religious group whose founder cures an old woman in a...
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A Legend of Turmoil
A story about the development of a bright and strong yakuza. Otaki is an old-fashioned respectful ya...
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Broken Rage
A seemingly unremarkable man called “Mouse” is caught by the police. In exchange for his freedom, he...
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The Unpredictable Takeshi Kitano
Jean-Pierre Limosin follows Takeshi Kitano on the set of Kikujiro, films it during an interview with...
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Outrage Coda
Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss ...
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Makoto-chan
A series of interconnected vignettes regarding Makoto Sawada, an energetic yet socially inept kinder...
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Joke with a Sorrowful Heart
This is a sad and beautiful story about a father who is a popular comedian and a son who suffered by...
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Manon
A story about a woman who is a research student of a theater company and the three men who are at th...
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Dioxin from Fish!
A black comedy about a former Rock'n'Roll singer, who becomes the mayor of Tokyo....
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Kichiku
Made-for-TV film adaptation of the 1957 novel by Seicho Matsumoto starring Takeshi Kitano and direct...
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Kim's War
After shooting a gangster in self-defense, Kim Hui Ro takes refuge at a hotel and takes the guest ho...
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The Dump Truck Rascal
Depicting the turbulent life of truck driver Takashi, his fellow drivers, and the women he meets....
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Prison Break
One late night in June 1942, Sakuma Seitaro dangles from the frame of a skylight in an isolation cel...
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What the War Meant
The drama stars Beat Takeshi as General Hideki Tojo, who served as Prime Minister of Japan during Wo...
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A Living Promise
Yuma Nakahara is the CEO of an IT company and he is a workaholic. He is focused only on expanding hi...
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Go, Go Second Time Virgin
Go, Go, Second Time Virgin is the story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in muta...
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Trespassing Bergman
In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of F...
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A Special Day
At the 60th anniversary of Cannes Film Festival, 34 famous directors are followed by camera....
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The Golden Cups: One More Time
A music documentary that traced the trajectory of the authentic real power band "The Golden Cups" bo...
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To Each His Own Cinema
Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brou...
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The 8th Floor
On the 8th floor of the Fondation Cartier in Paris, Raymond Depardon's film features a minute of sil...
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Electric Yakuza, Go to Hell!
Documentary about the Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, where we see him attend film festivals, pers...
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Kogoro Akechi vs Kaijin Nijyuu Menso
At the end of World War II, a secret human experiment was being conducted in Manchuria, which was in...
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Making of 'Battle Royale'
An abundance of footage from the shooting of Battle Royale and cast and crew discussions....
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In Between Mountains and Oceans
Finding their place between the forest and the sea, the Japanese have always felt awe and gratitude ...
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Shoko Asahara with Takeshi
Sect leader of Aum Shinrikyo, known as Shoko Asahara, and Takeshi Kitano meet in an interview....
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Tokyo Melody: A Film About Ryuichi Sakamoto
Documentary about the eclectic Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto during the recording sessions for ...
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Fireworks
Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world g...
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Citizen Kitano
Takeshi Kitano is an international icon. We know the actor, the multi-award-winning filmmaker, but m...
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Takeshi's Castle Vol. 1
Various attacking forces unique to Takeshi's Castle were organized, aiming for "Defeat! Takeshi's Ca...
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Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi Kitano
First major English-language documentary profile of the cult Japanese actor/director, Takeshi Kitano...
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Summer Secrets
Two high school girls get mixed up in murder while investigating the disappearance of a classmate....
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Why Are We Creative?
A 30 years odyssey: the world's most intriguing artists and thinkers from the fields of visual art, ...
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AUM: The Cult at the End of the World
The shocking story of Aum Shinrikyo, the doomsday cult that unleashed a deadly nerve gas in Tokyo’s ...
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Plankton Salesmen
A nostalgic look at the birth and death of arthouse film distribution in Russia in the early 2000s. ...
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Yayoi Kusama: I Love Me
Captures the avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusamas creative process as she diligently works to complete h...
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