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Goichi Oda, 高仓健, Кэн Такакура
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Ken Takakura (高倉 健, Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (February 16, 1931, in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles. Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gurentai. A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an audition in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. Japan experienced a boom in gangster films in the 1960s as the Japanese people struggled with the generational differences between those raised in pre-war and post-war Japan and these were Takakura's stock and trade. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films. Takakura gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1975 Sydney Pollack sleeper hit The Yakuza with Robert Mitchum and is probably best known in the West for his role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain (1989) where he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck. While he has slowed down a bit in his older years, he is still active. His most recent film was the 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Takakura, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Info
- wc Gender: Male
- calendar_month Birth Date: 1931-02-16
- event Death Date 2014-11-10
- school Known for: Acting
- star Popularity: 17.3
- info Birth Place Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan
- visibility Views: 5 views
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star User Ratings:
image Images
smart_display Movies and TV shows by Ken Takakura
0
The Longest Tunnel
1982-10-16
6.6
Black Rain
1989-09-22
0
Operation Diamond
1962-12-09
6.9
The Yellow Handkerchief
1977-09-30
7.5
47 Ronin
1994-10-22
0
Tokyo Gang Vs. Hong Kong Gang
1964-01-01
0
South Pacific Waves Are High
1962-01-09
0
A Dead Drifter
1959-05-13
5.7
Never Give Up
1978-10-07
0
Rogue
1968-10-12
7.1
The Yakuza
1974-12-21
0
Men Fighting Whales
1957-07-09
7.2
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
2005-12-22
0
Tokyo Untouchable
1962-10-21
5
The Kamikaze Guy
1966-06-04
7.2
Antarctica
1983-07-23
0
Delinquent Angel
1960-03-15
6.7
The Bullet Train
1975-07-05
0
Mannen Taro and His Feminine Colleagues
1961-10-07
5.9
Mr. Baseball
1992-10-01
0
Tenka no Kaidanji Senpū Tarō
1961-02-14
7
Railroad Man
1999-06-05
0
Kyōkatsu
1963-09-14
7.2
Red Peony Gambler
1968-09-14
6.5
Manhunt
1976-02-11
5.8
Main Street in the Underworld
1964-04-25
4.8
An Outlaw
1964-04-05
7.2
A Distant Cry from Spring
1980-03-15
4.9
Golgo 13
1973-12-29
0
Hell's Companion
1959-06-01
7
Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game
1969-02-01
0
The Outsiders
1958-11-26
0
Tokyo's Business District
1962-08-29
6
Brave Red Flower of the North
1970-01-09
7.3
Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro
1965-09-04
6.5
Mount Hakkoda
1977-06-04
6.8
Buddies
1989-11-03
6.1
Station
1981-11-07
7.5
A Fugitive from the Past
1965-01-15
6.8
Dearest
2012-08-25
7
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2
1966-01-13
6
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf
1966-07-09
7.7
Demon
1985-08-31
6
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny
1970-09-22
0
Manchurian Sunset
1956-09-18
7.5
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo
1969-03-06
6.2
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4
1967-07-08
7.1
Brutal Tales of Chivalry
1965-10-01
0
Showdown in Blood
1957-08-28
0
If You're Man Enough
1960-11-29
7
Abashiri Prison
1965-04-18
8.1
Wolves, Pigs & Men
1964-08-26
0
All Rascals
1962-03-21
0
The Man
1971-12-03
0
Karate Cop
1982-04-17
0
Tokyo Untouchable: Escape
1963-03-15
6
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
1972-03-04
0
Uragirimono wa jigoku daze
1962-12-23
7
The Firefly
2001-05-01
6.2
Winter's Flower
1978-06-17
0
G-men of Japan 4: Special Armed Unit Mobilization
1956-07-25
7
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star
1991-03-10
5.8
The Domain
1964-08-13
7.5
The Homeless
1974-10-09
0
A Portrait of the Author
1984-08-26
6.5
Too Late the Hero
1970-05-20
7
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love
1971-10-27
0
Lightning Karate Blow
1956-01-29
7
Prison Boss
1968-04-18
7
Choji Snack Bar
1983-11-12
7
The Day the Sun Rose
1968-11-23
6
The Path of the King
1971-03-06
5
The Deep Blue Sea
1957-07-30
6
The Last Kamikaze
1970-10-29
6.5
Classmates
1967-06-03
0
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha Part 2
1960-03-01
6
The Revolt
1980-01-15
0
With Songs in My Heart
1958-09-10
6.5
The Sand City in Manchuria
1960-08-24
0
Prison Walls of Abashiri 4
1965-12-31
6
New Prison Walls of Abashiri
1968-12-28
6
Flower, Storm and Gangster
1961-06-23
0
Romance Freestyle
1958-04-30
5.7
Four Hours of Terror
1959-09-30
0
Devil's Nursery Rhyme
1961-11-15
0
Jet Air Base 101
1957-12-15
0
Sister with Sister
1958-12-09
6
Detective Duel
1958-08-06
0
A Fishwife's Tale
1961-05-31
7
Glorious Fights
1966-10-29
6
Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza
1968-10-25
5.7
The International Gang of Kobe
1975-10-14
0
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka
1962-02-07
6
Ken San
2016-08-20
0
365 Nights
1962-09-09
0
Feisty Edo Girl Nakanori-san
1961-10-22
0
Tales of President Mito
1962-04-04
0
Man of the World 2
1960-07-13
0
No Advice Taken
1958-01-03
0
Outlaw Under a Blue Canopy
1960-05-10
0
The Bullet and the Horse
1966-04-23
5.7
Patience Has An End
1971-06-25
7
House of Gamblers
1970-03-29
5
The Pledge
1972-07-30
0
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 4
1961-01-09
0
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 3
1960-08-07
6
Black Rain: Making The Film
2006-10-10
0
Eleven Gangsters
1963-01-15
6
The Second Bullet is Marked
1960-01-27
0
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6
1969-11-07
0
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
1972-12-30
6
New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2
1969-08-13
7
The Chivalrous Life
1967-05-30
0
Prison Walls of Abashiri 3
1965-10-31
6
Jakoman and Tetsu
1964-02-08
6
Samurai Geisha
1969-07-31
7
Miyamoto Musashi: The Duel at Ichijo Temple
1964-01-01
7
Miyamoto Musashi: Birth of Two Sword Style
1963-08-14
0
A Story from Abashiri Prison—Duel in Snow Storm
1967-12-23
0
The Domain: Flower and Dragon
1969-05-31
8
Life of Hishakaku
1963-03-16
0
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Snowbound Deserter
1971-12-29
0
Song of Kagoshima
1962-05-01
6.7
The Drifting Avenger
1968-06-14
0
Yakuza of the Present
1973-10-27
0
Beyond the Seasonal Wind
1958-06-10
7
Memoir of Japanese Assassinations
1969-10-16
6
Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2
1965-07-10
0
Third Generation Boss
1974-08-10
5
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape
1971-08-13
8
Brothers Serving Time
1969-05-03
6.5
Gambler's Legacy
1969-12-27
5.2
Bloodiest Flower
1971-04-03
6.2
Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony
1969-04-10
0
Man of Thirteen Eyes
1958-01-15
0
Mother Peacock
1956-12-05
7
The Escape
1962-03-14
7
The Biggest Gamble
1969-09-14
0
The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado
1961-08-05
0
Man of the World
1960-01-21
0
The Happy Family
1959-01-28
6
The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry
1965-08-12
5
Gang Loyalty and Vengeance
1963-10-20
7
Great Jailbreak
1975-04-05
0
The Japan Derby Race
1970-05-13
0
The Big Boss
1963-04-12
0
Lullaby for a Tough Guy
1972-04-01
0
Men in a Rough Town
1959-01-28
0
Storm Party
1964-10-21
4
Employee Full of Fight
1957-03-13
6
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town
1969-12-27
0
Japan's Top Gangster
1973-08-11
0
The Boss
1965-01-03
0
Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South
1966-08-13
0
Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Snow Country
1966-12-31
0
Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido
1967-04-20
0
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri
1970-08-14
0
Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil
1967-08-12
0
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow
1970-12-30
0
New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm
1972-08-12
8
Lady Sen and Hideyori
1962-03-25
0
The Domain: Rising Dragon
1970-12-03
3.2
The Domain: The Naniwa Story
1965-01-30
0
Showdown of Men
1966-07-01
0
Dagger
1971-04-28
0
The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown
1966-02-03
0
The Domain: White Blade
1967-01-28
0
The Domain: Duel at Thunder Gate
1966-09-17
0
The Domain: Where The Blade Enters
1967-09-15
0
The Domain: Severed Relations
1968-02-22
0
Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack
1975-01-15
0
See You
1988-05-18
0
A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life
1970-05-01
0
The Great Road
1960-03-08
0
Hell's Juggler
1961-01-15
0
Duel of the Underworld
1963-07-13
0
Hell's Kitchen
1962-10-12
0
Histories of the Chivalrous
1968-08-01
0
The Chop Professor
1956-04-04
5
Yukyo-retsuden
1970-07-04
5
Gambler Biography
1968-12-28
0
The detective whose path was crossed by a snake
1995-07-01
0
Meteor Karate Strike
1956-01-29
0
A Man's Dark Finger
1959-02-10
0
Older brother
1977-10-07
8.5
SMAP×SMAP
1996-04-15
0
An Elegy of Tyrole
1992-04-11
0
Korekara: Umibe no Tabibitotachi
1993-05-21