Kōichi Saitō (film director)
| Kōichi Saitō | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 3, 1929 Tokyo |
| Died | November 28, 2009 (aged 80) |
| Occupation | Film director, photographer |
Kōichi Saitō (斎藤 耕一 Saitō Kōichi, 3 February 1929 – 28 November 2009) was a Japanese film director and photographer.
Career
Born in Tokyo, Saitō started studying at Rikkyo University but ended up graduating from the Tokyo College of Photography (currently Tokyo Polytechnic University).[1][2] He was initially a movie stills photographer at Nikkatsu before launching his own production company, Saito Productions, and directing his first film, Tsubuyaki no Jō, "a low-budget, independent film with a visual flair that earned comparisons with Claude Lelouch and with Richard Lester’s Beatles films, including A Hard Day’s Night".[2] Some of his first films were youth movies featuring Group Sounds music. He came to prominence in the early 1970s with a series of movies about young people escaping to or searching for their identity in the countryside. He won the best director award at the 1972 Mainichi Film Awards.[3] His Tsugaru jongarabushi was selected the best film of 1973 in the Kinema Junpo poll of critics.[4] Saitō continued directing into his seventies and also made some documentaries.[2] He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette) in 2000.[5]
Selected filmography
- Tsubuyaki no Jō (1967)
- Chiisana sunakku (1968)
- Yakusoku (1972; The Rendezvous)
- Tabi no omosa (1972)
- Tsugaru jongarabushi (1973; Tsugaru Folk Song)
- Yadonashi (1974; The Homeless)
References
- ↑ "Saitō Kōichi". Nihon jinmei daijiten+Plus. Kōdansha. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Koichi Saito: film director and photographer". The Times. January 25, 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ↑ "1972-nen". Mainichi Konkūru. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ↑ Gerow, Aaron. "Saito Koichi." Tangemania: Aaron Gerow's Japanese Film Page. 29 November 2009. Accessed 29 November 2009
- ↑ "Haru no hōshō to jokun". Cinema Topics Online. 29 April 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
External links
- Koichi Saito (I) at the Internet Movie Database
- Saitō Kōichi at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)