R.I.P Ken Takakura

[HungFist]

I got the news today when I was on my way to school. Very sad news. In Japan Takakura was probably the most beloved actor of all time. Literally every single person above the age of 5 knows him. It's a shame that his most important body of work - the 1960's old school yakuza films in which he played stoic heroes that made him somewhat a national icon - still remain largely undistributed in the West. Western audiences probably know him best from The Yakuza (1974) and Black Rain (1989), fine movies both.













Trivia: when Sonny Chiba got to Toei in the early 1960s, Ken Takakura bought him a suit!

[Shingster]

Yup, a huge chapter in Japanese cinema has come to a close. We don't get stars like Takakura in any film industry these days!

[Tenchu1998]

Yeah, them old-timers are on their way out, and with their deaths the chapters will end. Although, the legacy is preserved in their works.

R.I.P Ken Takakura

[Guro Taku]

I always thought it pretty great that the female inmates in Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess (1971) are watching the original Abashiri Prison (1965) at the beginning and talk about how hot Ken Takakura is.

R.I.P., the man is, was and always will be a legend.

[HungFist]

I always thought it pretty great that the female inmates in Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless To Confess (1971) are watching the original Abashiri Prison (1965) at the beginning and talk about how hot Ken Takakura is.

If I recall correctly it wasn't the original, though. It was probably Abashiri Prison: Duel at 30 Degrees Below Zero (1967), though I can't check now cause my dvd is in Finland.

[Markgway]

Like you say, I only know from Black Rain and The Yakuza, but am aware he was a huge star in his native Japan.

R.I.P.