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SABU
Director

SABU

18 Nov 1964Born
61Age
43Credits
Wakayama, JapanBirthplace

Biography

Sabu (サブ, Sabu, born November 18, 1964) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka.

Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his film debut in Sorobanzuku. He earned his first starring role in the 1991 World Apartment Horror, a live-action film directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo of Akira fame.

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Working from a script he wrote himself, he made his directorial debut with the 1996 Dangan Runner, a film that set his early style of "quirky action-comedies propelled by characters who hurtle headlong though squirming narratives steered more by the forces of incidence and coincidence than the actions of the protagonists themselves." Shin'ichi Tsutsumi played the lead in Sabu's first five films. Blessing Bell, starring Susumu Terajima (who has played minor roles in nearly all of Sabu's films), was a turn away from his kinetic, parodic, and black comedy narratives, and earned the NETPAC Award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. Later films featured the J-pop band V6. In 2009, he directed The Crab Cannery Ship, a modern adaptation of a classic of Japanese proletarian literature written by Takiji Kobayashi.

He has continued to work as an actor, such as in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001).

His film Chasuke's Journey was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Known for

Filmography

  1. 2026Arrested MemoryFilm: Director, Writer
  2. 2023Under Your BedFilm: Director
  3. 2021Redder Than Yesterday, Bluer Than Tomorrow: Cinema Fighters ProjectFilm: Director
  4. 2021Jam: The DramaSeries: Director (8 episodes)
  5. 2021My Blood and Bones in a Flowing GalaxyFilm: Screenplay, Director
  6. 2019Dancing MaryFilm: Director, Writer
  7. 2018JamFilm: Screenplay, Director
  8. 2017Mr. LongFilm: Director, Screenplay
  9. 2017HappinessFilm: Director, Screenplay
  10. 2016SilenceFilm: Samurai #1
  11. 2015Chasuke's JourneyFilm: Screenplay, Director
  12. 2013Miss ZOMBIEFilm: Director, Writer
  13. 2011Bunny DropFilm: Director, Screenplay
  14. 2010Trouble ManSeries: Screenplay, Director, Creator (12 episodes)
  15. 2009KanikôsenFilm: Director, Screenplay
  16. 2006SakuranFilm: Patron
  17. 2005Dead RunFilm: Director, Screenplay
  18. 2005Hold Up DownFilm: Director, Writer
  19. 2003Josee, the Tiger and the FishFilm: Patron
  20. 2003A1012KFilm: Director
  21. 2003Hard Luck HeroFilm: Director, Screenplay
  22. 2002Blessing BellFilm: Director, Writer
  23. 2002DriveFilm: Director, Screenplay
  24. 2001Ichi the KillerFilm: Kaneko
  25. 2000MondayFilm: Screenplay, Director
  26. 1998Unlucky MonkeyFilm: Bank Robber, Writer, Director
  27. 1997Postman BluesFilm: Kurokawa, Director, Writer
  28. 1996Dangan RunnerFilm: Assassin, Director, Screenplay
  29. 1996Don't Look UpFilm: Sekikawa
  30. 1996(Ura) Tôsatsu nanpa-dôFilm
  31. 1996Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The GambleFilm
  32. 1995Costume Club Wars - Angel of SumataFilm
  33. 1995Shinjuku Triad SocietyFilm: Shusuke Shimada
  34. 1994Zëiram 2Film: Fujikuro (as Sabu)
  35. 1994KirikoFilm
  36. 1994800 Two Lap RunnersFilm: Kyoichi Nakazawa
  37. 1994Warrior's Justice 2: Full BattleFilm
  38. 1993New Book of the Waru 3: PassionFilm
  39. 1993Kuma-chanFilm
  40. 1992High-Speed ​​NSX: The Screaming BoogieFilm
  41. 1992A Legend of TurmoilFilm
  42. 1991Savage City: Angel WhisperFilm
  43. 1991World Apartment HorrorFilm: Ita

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.