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For the first time in six years, Takeshi Kitano remained strictly behind
the camera on DOLLS, his 10th film as a writer-director. Since his 1989
directorial debut, Kitano has written, directed, edited or starred in almost
a film per year without losing the momentum of his originality and
heightened artistic sensibility.
The extraordinary success of 1997's HANA-BI confirmed Kitano as a leading
figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, HANA-BI won
Venice's Golden Lion and was named Best Non-European Film by the European
Film Academy. HANA-BI was cited on numerous “Best Films of the Year” lists,
often in the premiere position.
Kitano’s 2003 hit ZATOICHI won the Best Director award at the Venice
International Film Festival. In 2000, Kitano made BROTHER, his first film
shot outside of his native Japan. Like BROTHER, Kitano-directed films such
as his debut VIOLENT COP (1989), BOILING POINT (1990) and SONATINE (1993)
centered around yakuza gangster characters. The filmmaker contrasted the
violence and action of those films with comedy or tenderness in films like A
SCENE AT THE SEA (1991), GETTING ANY? (1995), KIDS RETURN (1996) and
KIKUJIRO (1999).
As an actor, Kitano has also appeared in films which he has not directed
himself. He won international attention for his role in Nagisa Oshima’s
MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE (1983). He collaborated again with Oshima in
1999's samurai epic GOHATTO (TABOO). He recently appeared in Kinji
Fukasaku's controversial 2001 Japanese box-office smash BATTLE ROYALE. His
credits in films directed by non-Japanese filmmakers include Robert Longo’s
JOHNNY MNEMONIC (US, 1995) and Jean-Pierre Limosin's TOKYO EYES (France,
1998).
Kitano was born in Tokyo in 1947 and entered show business in 1972 as
“Beat” Takeshi, the stage name he continues to use today as a performer. As
part of the comic duo Two Beats, Kitano was one of the leading figures in
the manzai (stand-up comedy) boom in the late 1970’s. With his distinctive
art of speech and his idiosyncratic perspective, Kitano became one of the
most popular entertainers in the country during the 1980’s.
After an incredibly prolific and diverse 25-year career, Kitano continues
to be one of the foremost personalities in Japan. He participates in five TV
programs weekly, as well as several TV films and specials per year. He has
written a number of novels and collections of short stories, essays and
poetry. Also an accomplished cartoonist and painter, Kitano’s artwork can be
seen in HANA-BI and KIKUJIRO.
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