Takeo Kimura filmography - Wikipedia

The following is the filmography of Takeo Kimura, the Japanese art director, writer, and film director who has art-directed more than 200 films over a span of more than six decades and ranks among Japan's best-known art directors.^[1] His training began with the Nikkatsu Company in 1941, whose production division was merged into Daiei during the wartime industry reorganization, where he was promoted to art director in 1945.^[2][3] His debut film as such was Umi no yobu koe (1945).^[4] Nikkatsu re-opened its production studio in 1954 and Kimura moved there.^[2] He worked with several directors, including top action director Toshio Masuda on films such as Red Quay (1958) with top star Yujiro Ishihara and Gangster VIP (1968) starring Tetsuya Watari.^[1][5] However, his longest and most famous collaboration has been with director Seijun Suzuki, which began with The Bastard (1963). Together they developed a bold, expressive style exemplified in Gate of Flesh (1964) and Tokyo Drifter (1966).^[1] Suzuki often rewrote his scripts with Kimura, who was given his first screenwriting credit on The Flower and the Angry Waves (1964). Kimura was also a part of Guryū Hachirō, the pen name of the writing group that formed around Suzuki in the mid-1960s and wrote Branded to Kill (1967).^[6]

At age 86 Kimura directed the first of four short films with Mugen Sasurai (2004), which earned him the title for oldest directorial debut.^[4][11] The last was Matouqin Nocturne (2007) in which Suzuki appeared in a prominent role.^[13] Kimura then wrote and directed the feature-length film Dreaming Awake (2008) based on his own self-published novel.^[1] He was recognized by Guinness World Records for "the oldest debut as a feature film director" at age 90.^[14] Suzuki again appeared in the film.^[15] Kimura himself acted in a couple small roles for other directors.^[16]