
Seijun Suzuki
Biography
Seijun Suzuki born Seitaro Suzuki (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017) was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predominately B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre. His increasingly surreal style began to draw the ire of the studio in 1963 and culminated in his ultimate dismissal for what is now regarded his magnum opus, Branded to Kill (1967), starring notable collaborator Joe Shishido.
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Suzuki successfully sued the studio for wrongful dismissal, but he was blacklisted for 10 years after that. As an independent filmmaker, he won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō Trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991).
His films remained widely unknown outside of Japan until a series of theatrical retrospectives beginning in the mid 1980s, home video releases of key films such as Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter in the late 1990s and tributes by such acclaimed filmmakers as Jim Jarmusch, Takeshi Kitano, Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino signaled his international discovery. Suzuki has continued making films, albeit sporadically. In Japan, he is more commonly recognized as an actor for his numerous roles in Japanese films and television.
He passed away on February 13th, 2017.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Seijun Suzuki, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Branded to KillDirector, Screenplay7.2
Tokyo DrifterDirector7.1
Lupin the 3rdWriter8.0
Youth of the BeastDirector6.9
Gate of FleshDirector6.6
Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of BabylonDirector6.1
ZigeunerweisenDirector6.5
Story of a ProstituteDirector6.6
Fighting ElegyDirector7.0
YumejiDirector6.4
Kagero-zaDirector6.6
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards!Director6.5
Filmography
The 80 most recent of 94 credits.
- 2015SOAR: I Wish You Were HereFilm
- 2011Milocrorze: A Love StoryFilm: Gazen
- 2008Dreaming AwakeFilm
- 2007Matouqin NocturneFilm
- 2007BoyFilm: Ryuun Naito
- 2006What's a Director?Film
- 2005From the Ruins: Making 'Gate of Flesh'Film
- 2005Princess RaccoonFilm: Director
- 2004The Wings of HakenkreuzFilm
- 2002Blessing BellFilm: Old Man's Ghost
- 2001Pistol OperaFilm: Director
- 2000The MoonFilm
- 2000The Last DayFilm
- 1999EmbalmingFilm
- 1998Let's Get HappyFilm
- 1998Sleepless TownFilm: Ye Xiaodan
- 1998The Story of PuPuFilm: Old Man
- 1997Ki no ue no sogyoFilm
- 1997Yurika-chanFilm: Grandpa
- 1996Black Jack 2: Pinoko I Love YouFilm
- 1996Sure Death 6Film
- 1995Cold FeverFilm: Hirata's Grandfather
- 1994Good MourningSeries (11 episodes)
- 1993MarriageFilm: Director
- 1993My Beloved UltrasevenFilm: Eiji Tsuburaya
- 1992Pachinko GraffitiFilm
- 1992A Tale of Youth at Hirosaki High SchoolFilm: Director, Writer
- 1991YumejiFilm: Director
- 1991Discontinuous Bombing IncidentFilm
- 1990The Rain WomenFilm
- 1990Tales of the BizarreSeries (1 episode)
- 1990La Belle Fille Masquée PoitrineSeries: Kami-sama (52 episodes)
- 1989Virgin RoadFilm
- 1988Shiro and MarilynFilm: Vet
- 1985Lupin the Third: The Legend of the Gold of BabylonFilm: Director
- 1985Capone Cries a LotFilm: Director
- 1983Kazoku no sentakuFilm: Director
- 1983Double BedFilm: Man in Bar
- 1983Storm of Falling Petals: Banner of a Fireman in the FlamesFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1983Cherry Blossoms in SpringFilm: Director
- 1981Kagero-zaFilm: Director
- 1981MOMENTFilm
- 1980Disciples of HippocratesFilm
- 1980The Claws of the Divine BeastFilm: Director
- 1980ZigeunerweisenFilm: Director
- 1979The Fang in the HoleFilm: Director
- 1977A Tale of Sorrow and SadnessFilm: Director
- 1973Horror Theater UnbalanceSeries: Director (1 episode)
- 1973A Mummy’s LoveFilm: Director
- 1971Lupin the 3rdSeries: Writer (1 episode)
- 1968Good Evening Dear Husband: A DuelFilm: Director
- 1967Branded to KillFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1966Fighting ElegyFilm: Director
- 1966Tokyo DrifterFilm: Director
- 1966Carmen from KawachiFilm: Director
- 1965Tattooed LifeFilm: Director
- 1965Born Under Crossed StarsFilm: Director
- 1965Story of a ProstituteFilm: Director
- 1964The Call of BloodFilm: Director
- 1964Gate of FleshFilm: Director
- 1964The Flower and the Angry WavesFilm: Director
- 1963Kanto WandererFilm: Director
- 1963The IncorrigibleFilm: Director
- 1963Youth of the BeastFilm: Director
- 1963Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards!Film: Director
- 1962The Guys Who Put Money on MeFilm: Director
- 1962Teenage YakuzaFilm: Director
- 1961Million Dollar Smash-and-GrabFilm: Director
- 1961Blood-Red Water in the ChannelFilm: Director
- 1961The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain PassFilm: Director
- 1961The Man with a ShotgunFilm: Director
- 1961Living by KarateFilm: Director
- 1961Tokyo KnightsFilm: Director
- 1960Fighting DelinquentsFilm: Director
- 1960Everything Goes WrongFilm: Director
- 1960Smashing the 0-LineFilm: Director
- 1960The Sleeping Beast WithinFilm: Director
- 1960Take Aim at the Police VanFilm: Director
- 1959Age of NudityFilm: Director, Writer
- 1959Passport to DarknessFilm: Director
Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.