Tai Kato

Tai Kato
Born
Yasumichi Katō

(1916-08-24)August 24, 1916
Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
DiedJune 17, 1985(1985-06-17) (aged 68)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1941-1981[1]

Tai Kato (加藤 泰, Katō Tai, August 24, 1916—June 17, 1985) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was best known for making yakuza films at the Toei Company in 1960s.[2]

Biography

Born in Hyōgo Prefecture,[3] Kato was the nephew of the film director Sadao Yamanaka.[4] He entered the Toho studio in 1937 and first began by working on documentaries.[3] He worked as an assistant director to Akira Kurosawa in Rashomon.[4] After World War II he switched to making jidaigeki.[3]

Style and influences

Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times noted that Kato has been compared with Budd Boetticher and Samuel Fuller.[5]

Filmography as director

  • Submarine (1941)[1] - under the pseudonym "Yoshio Nishio"[6]
  • Bubble (1943) - under the pseudonym "Yoshio Nishio"[6]
  • Lice Are Scary (1944)
  • Military Academy (1944)
  • Sword Trouble, Women Trouble, Part 1: Change of a Woman's Heart (1951)
  • Sword Trouble, Women Trouble, Part 2: The Blade Reflecting the Light of a Fallen Star (1951)
  • Shimizu Port is Scarier Than a Demon (1952)
  • Book of Birds (1952)
  • Ninjutsu Jiraiya, Part 1 (1955)
  • Ninjutsu Jiraiya, Part 2 (1955)
  • Love and the Masterless Samurai (1957)
  • Tales of Young Genji Kuro, Part 1 (1957)
  • The Tattooed Lord (1958)
  • Tales of Young Genji Kuro, Part 2 (1958)
  • The Wind, the Woman and the Wandering Crow (1958)
  • Eight Views of Samurai (1958)
  • Genghis Khan and His Mongols (1959)
  • Robin Hood of Edo (1960)
  • Asagiri Highway (1961)
  • The Tale of Oiwa's Ghost (1961)
  • In Search of Mother (1962)
  • Sazen Tange: The Masterpiece Blade (1962)
  • Brave Records of the Sanada Clan (1963)
  • Warrior of the Wind (1964)
  • Fighting Tatsu, the Rickshaw Man (1964)
  • Cruel Story of the Shogunate's Downfall (1964)
  • Blood of Revenge (1965)
  • Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966)
  • Drained to the Bone (1966)
  • By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him (1966)
  • Opium Hills: The Hell Squad (1966)
  • Eighteen Years in Prison (1967)
  • I, the Executioner (1968)
  • Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Match (1969)
  • Red Peony Gambles Her Life (1970)
  • Red Peony Gambler: Death to the Wicked (1971)
  • Modern Lady Gambler (1972)
  • Theatre of Life (1972)
  • Flower and Dragon (1973)
  • Musashi Miyamoto (1973)
  • Blossom and Sword (1973)
  • The Beast in the Shadows (1977)
  • Ondekoza (1981)

References

  1. ^ a b Mes, Tom (2024-01-29). Tai Kato: By a Man's Style Shall You Know Him. Radiance Films. pp. 56–60.
  2. ^ Sharp, Jasper (18 January 2008). "Midnight Eye review: By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him". Midnight Eye.
  3. ^ a b c "Katō Tai". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kōdansha. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro (2000). Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema. Duke University Press. p. 188.
  5. ^ Thomas, Kevin (22 May 1998). "Remembering Masterful Director Tai Kato". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ a b Mes, Tom (2024-01-29). Tai Kato: By a Man's Style Shall You Know Him. Radiance Films. p. 16.


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