Takeshi Kitano

Date of birth & Location: January 18, 1947 | Tokyo, Japan

Takeshi Kitano is Japan's greatest media personality. Although it would be difficulty to find anyone in Japan who didn't know about him, he is practically unknown in North America. Kitano began his career on stage mentoring under Fukami Senzaburo. He then teamed up with Kaneko Kiyoshi ("Jiro") to eventually become the comedy duo The Two Beats. He then moved to acting in television and film until the fateful day he was asked by producer Nabeshima Hisao to direct Violent Cop.

Kitano had never trained as a director, he learned it on the fly. His early films showed this learning process. One of Kitano's trademarks is the static camera. He used it less for aesthetic purposes as more for the ease in shooting a scene. He also fell in love with the long take for the same reason. These two habits were less and less utilized as he became more comfortable in the director's chair but they never left his repertoire totally.

Another trademark of Kitano's film making process is his tendency to have scenes filmed by the ocean. He explained in an interview once that it was more because Japan is so small and surrounded by water and therefore hard to avoid rather than a personal love of the ocean.

Starting as a novice and developing into one of Japan's greatest modern directors is quite a feat for Kitano. That he is also a great actor in both serious and comedic roles, writes for film and other media, and is a painter makes him one of Japan's greatest icons and a must watch for movie buffs on this side of the Pacific

Full Spectrum's Reasons for Watching:
Takeshi Kitano is one of those rare directors who is also a writer and actor. Not only can he write, direct and act in all of his films if he so chooses, but he also has the talent to cross different genres. Although he started in comedy, he is also comfortable in crime, drama, action, and more experimental films.

Written by The Staff of Full Spectrum