BANDAI VISUAL, TOKYO FM, DENTSU, TV ASAHI AND OFFICE KITANO PRESENT

A TAKESHI KITANO FILM

Japan – 2007 – 104 min – Colour/B&W – Dolby SRD – 1:85 – Japanese

Written, Edited and Directed by Takeshi Kitano

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SYNOPSISFamous director Kitano goes on a quest to shoot the ultimate film for movie-lovers everywhere, but he finds out this isn’t as easy as it sounds. He’s already troubled since having declared to stop making violent films despite his previous success with yakuza movies. Determined to turn out a hit film, Kitano imagines every genre possible for his new project. An Ozu-style film would be too slow. A nostalgic period piece wouldn’t work either. What about a horror film which could eventually be remade by Hollywood? Maybe a romantic tear-jerker? A costume adventure full of sword play? Better yet, a sci-fi extravaganza! Unfortunately for the frustrated Kitano, all his pitches are nixed. Then he takes on the story of a ruthless lady con artist and her money-hungry daughter who set their sights on a wealthy man. On screen and off, a series of wacky, unpredictable events soon follow, especially when an unprecedented catastrophe is about to change history. So this time, it’s up to the director to not only complete his film, but also save mankind!

For a while now, I have been frustrated by the fact that cinema has not gone through a radical enough evolution and changes, despite its 100 or so year history. We do not have cinematic equivalent of Cubism or Fauvism, radical evolutions in the history of painting. This film is my take on “cinematic Cubism,” where I played with different genres of cinema in one film. Being originally a stand-up comic, I couldn’t help having fun with the process by adding a lot of comedic elements to it. I wanted to explore what can be shown in cinema but wanted to do it with fun. I get the feeling that my search will continue for quite some time yet.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Director, screenwriter & editorBorn in Tokyo in 1947.

As an actor, he has starred in such films as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (’83), Yasha (’85), Johnny Mneumonic (‘95), Taboo (‘99), Battle Royale (00) and Blood and Bones (‘04).

He made his debut as director with Violent Cop, which he also starred in. Since then, he has directed Boiling Point, A Scene at the Sea, Sonatine, Getting Any? and Kids Return. Hana- Bi was awarded the Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival and consolidated Kitano’s position as director. This is followed by Kikujiro, the Japan-U.S. co-production Brother, Dolls and Zatoichi, Kitano’s first period drama, winning the Best Director Award at the Venice International Film Festival. After the release of Takeshis’, Kitano was presented the Special Culture Award of the 10th Galileo 2000 Awards in Italy. Glory to the Filmmaker! is Kitano’s 13th film.

TAKESHI KITANO

Glory to the Filmmaker! 2007One Fine Day (Chacun son Cinema) 2007

Takeshis’ 2005Zatoichi 2003

Dolls 2002Brother 2000

Kikujiro 1999Hana-Bi 1997

Kids Return 1996Getting Any? 1995

Sonatine 1993A Scene at the Sea 1991

Boiling Point 1990Violent Cop 1989

FILMOGRAPHY

CAST

BEAT TAKEHSITOHRU EMORIKAYOKO KISHIMOTOANNE SUZUKIKAZUKO YOSHIYUKIAKIRA TAKARADAYUMIKO FUJITAYUKI UCHIDAYOSHINO KIMURAKEIKO MATSUZAKAREN OHSUGISUSUMU TERAJIMANAOMASA MUSAKATETSU WATANABERAKKYO IDEMORO MOROOKASHUN SUGATATAMOTSU ISHIBASHIMASAHIRO CHONOHIROYOSHI TENZANMASATOH IBU - Narrator

CREW

WRITTEN, EDITED AND DIRECTED BY TAKESHI KITANOPRODUCED BY MASAYUKI MORI TAKIO YOSHIDALINE PRODUCER SHINJI KOMIYAPRODUCTION MANAGER TORU MORIMUSIC SHIN-ICHIRO IKEBECINEMATOGRAPHY KATSUMI YANAGIJIMALIGHTING DESIGN HITOSHI TAKAYAPRODUCTION DESIGN NORIHIRO ISODASOUND DESIGN SENJI HORIUCHIFIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR TAKASHI MATSUKAWAEDITOR YOSHINORI OTASCRIPT SUPERVISOR KUMIKO YOSHIDA CASTING TAKEFUMI YOSHIKAWAVFX SUPERVISOR YOSHIFUMI SADAHARASOUND EFFECTS KENJI SHIBASAKISET DECORATOR TATSUO OZEKICOSTUMES FUMIO IWASAKIHAIRSTYLIST & MAKE-UP AKIKO HOSOKAWA