Seijun Suzuki

Regisseur, Schrijver, Acteur, Producer

24 mei 1923 — 13 februari 2017 (93 years)
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. 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

  • Koroshi no Rakuin
    Koroshi no Rakuin1967
  • Tokyo Drifter
    Tokyo Drifter1966
  • Yajû no Seishun
    Yajû no Seishun1963
  • Nikutai no Mon
    Nikutai no Mon1964
  • Tsigoineruwaizen
    Tsigoineruwaizen1980
  • Shunpu Den
    Shunpu Den1965
  • Kenka Erejî
    Kenka Erejî1966
  • ピストルオペラ
    ピストルオペラ2001
  • Sono Gosôsha wo Nerae: 'Jûsangô Taihisen' Yori
    Sono Gosôsha wo Nerae: 'Jûsangô Taihisen' Yori1960
  • Tattooed Life
    Tattooed Life1965
  • Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!
    Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!1963
  • 陽炎座
    陽炎座1981
  • Yumeji
    Yumeji1991
  • オペレッタ狸御殿
    オペレッタ狸御殿2005
  • Underworld Beauty
    Underworld Beauty1958
  • Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon
    Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon1985
  • Eight Hours of Terror
    Eight Hours of Terror1957
  • Kanto Wanderer
    Kanto Wanderer1963
  • A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness
    A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness1977
  • Cold Fever
    Cold Fever1995

Cinematografie

1971
1967
Branded to Kill · as Screenplay
1959
1955
Rakûjitsu no kettô · as Screenplay

2011
2008
2002
Blessing Bell · as Old Man's Ghost
1999
1999
The Tax G-Men 3 · as Cast
1998
1998
Sleepless Town · as Ye Xiaodan
1998
The Story of Pupu · as Old Man
1997
1996
1996
Sunflower · as Yaichi Terasaki
1995
Cold Fever · as Hirata's Grandfather
1990
1990
1983
Double Bed · as Man In Bar
1980

2018
The Oscars · as Self - Director (in Memoriam)
2002
Seijun Suzuki. Kabuki & Yakuzas · as Self - Filmmaker & Screenwriter

2005
Princess Raccoon · as Executive Producer

1955
Rakûjitsu no kettô · as Assistant Director
1954
Ore no kenjû wa subayai · as Assistant Director
1954
Kuroi ushio · as Assistant Director