Kinji Fukasaku - Filmmaking Career

Filmmaking Career

In 1973, Fukasaku directed a groundbreaking yakuza film, Battles Without Honor and Humanity (released in the United States as The Yakuza Papers). Up to this point, Japan's many yakuza films had usually been tales of chivalry (ninkyo) set in the pre-war period, but Fukasaku's ultra-violent, documentary-style film took place in chaotic post-War Hiroshima. A commercial and critical success, it gave rise to eight sequels of which he directed all but the last. Fukasaku continued his work with Sonny Chiba, who starred in Fukasaku's debut film, for several samurai period films such as Shogun's Samurai. In 1980, Fukasaku directed Virus, Japan's most expensive production at the time, which became a financial flop.

Near the end of his life, Fukasaku branched out into the world of video games by serving as the director of the Capcom/Sunsoft survival horror game Clock Tower 3. Although the game sold poorly and received fair to lukewarm reviews, the game has been praised for its cinematic cut-scenes, which some consider to be worth playing through the game in order to watch. In 2000, Battle Royale was released, which received positive critical praise as well as becoming a major financial success, grossing ¥3.11 billion domestically. Because he suffered from late stage prostate cancer during preparations for the film Battle Royale II: Requiem, the film's production was organized so that Fukasaku's son Kenta Fukasaku could take over the film's direction after he died. Fukasaku died after directing a single scene with Takeshi Kitano.