Ryuhei Kitamura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ryuhei Kitamura | |
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| Born | May 30, 1969 Osaka, Japan |
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| Occupation | Film director and screenwriter |
Ryuhei Kitamura (北村 龍平 Kitamura Ryūhei) (born May 30, 1969) is a Japanese filmmaker growing in popularity in Japan and in the international Japanese film community.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Osaka, Japan, Kitamura quit high school and went to the School of Visual Arts in Australia at age 17. His first film was the short Exit, which he made as his graduation piece at age 19. After graduating, he returned to Japan to establish Napalm Films, his independent film production studio. While his films Down to Hell and Heat After Dark were successful in film festivals, Kitamura's rise to international fame came from Versus.
Kitamura went on to direct several movies, including adaptations of the manga Azumi and the popular Japanese TV drama Sky High. He had also collaborated with director Yukihiko Tsutsumi in the Duel Project, in which the two agreed to produce the best dueling movie with minimal production time and budget, with Aragami being Kitamura's part. He also ventured into the world of video games by directing the cut scenes and motion capturing of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Kitamura also served as producer on 2003's Battlefield Baseball, the directorial debut of Yudai Yamaguchi (Versus co-writer). Kitamura's 2004 kaiju film, Godzilla: Final Wars had its premiere in Hollywood.
Kitamura recently marked his American filmmaking debut with Midnight Meat Train based on Clive Barker's short horror story of the same name. The film was released on August 1, 2008 and stars Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, and Brooke Shields.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Director
- Heat After Dark (1996)
- Down to Hell (1997)
- Versus (2000)
- Alive (2002)
- The Messenger (2002, Jam Films segment) (a.k.a. Requiem for the Dead)
- Aragami (2003)
- Azumi (2003)
- Sky High (2003)
- Longinus (2004)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
- LoveDeath (2006)
- Midnight Meat Train (2008)
- Baton (2009)
- Tekon (2010)
- Versus (2010)[1] (a.k.a. Versus 2)
[edit] Producer
- Down to Hell (1997)
- Battlefield Baseball (2003, directed by Yudai Yamaguchi)
- LoveDeath (2006)
[edit] Writer
- Heat After Dark (1996) (writer)
- Down to Hell (1997) (writer)
- Versus (2000) (writer)
- Alive (2002) (screenplay)
- Aragami (2003) (writer)
- Longinus (2004) (writer)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) (screenplay)
- LoveDeath (2006) (screenplay)
- Yoroi: Samurai Zombie (2008, directed by Tak Sakaguchi) (story, screenplay)
- Versus (2010) (writer)
[edit] Actor
- Down to Hell (1997) Ponytail Thug
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Radio DJ
[edit] Television
- Sky High (2003, TV series)
- Sakurajima (2004, documentary)
- Romance Novel (2006)
[edit] Video Games
- Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004) (in-game cutscenes)
[edit] External links
- Ryuhei Kitamura Official Site (available in Japanese and English)
- Ryuhei Kitamura at the Internet Movie Database
- (Japanese) Ryuhei Kitamura at JMDb
