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Ken Takakura (高倉健 Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (小田剛一 Oda Gōichi, born 16 February 1931, in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan), is a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic, honorable presence he brings to his roles.

Known as the "Clint Eastwood" of Japan, 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 the prestigious Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an auditon in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei would find a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. As luck would have it, 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 1965 playing an ex-con antihero in Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home). By the time Takakura would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films.

Takakura gained international recognition after starring in 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 Garcia with the comical line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences 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.


Filmography

* Kimi yo fundo no kawa o watare (1976)

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My Guilty Pleasures The manager of the team (Ken Takakura) is no nonsense, and doesn't put up with Selleck's bullshit. He benches him if he wants to teach him a lesson. The plot thickens when Selleck falls in love with Takakura's daughter. ... Continue reading YAKUZA HOUSE: The Yakuza: Japanese Film Noir 'The Yakuza', released by Warner Bros., directed by Sydney Pollack and starring the legendary Robert Mitchum and iconic Japanese superstar Ken Takakura, is an international, cultural cinematic marriage that works splendidly. ... Continue reading Ken Takakura Wants to Put YOU in a Mitsubishi Most of us only know actor Ken Takakura from his role in Ridley Scott's 1989 film Black Rain. He played a cop in that one, but in Japan he's as synonymous with yakuza movies as Robert DeNiro is with pictures about the Italian mob. ... Continue reading Black Rain (film) Stanley R Jaffee,Sherry Lansing Written by Craig Bolotin,Warren Lewis Starring Michael Douglas,Andy Garcia,Ken Takakura,Kate Capshaw Music by Hans Zimmer Editing by Tom Rolf Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) ... Continue reading Poppoya / Railroad Man/ Железнодорожник/ Japanese '60s icon Ken Takakura stars in this beautifully photographed film about an aging railroad conductor. Sato Otomatsu (Takakura) devoted his life to making the trains run promptly in the formerly prosperous mining town of Horomai ... Continue reading Free Download Of Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles Online Japanese actor Ken Takakura stars as Gou-ichi Takata, a laconic man who lives in a fishing village and is estranged from his son. When word reaches him that his son is ill with cancer, Takata travels to Tokyo but is turned away. ... Continue reading Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow: Weekly Trailers Winner of nine Japanese Academy Awards Yasuo Kohata's "Poppoya: Railroad Man" stars screen legend Ken Takakura as a porter at a remote Hokkaido railway station that is slated for closure. Through a series of flashbacks he revisits his ... Continue reading Roslindale Monogatari: Watched June 11 - 17, 2007: Yamada, Hui, J ... During a fierce rainstorm, she lets a drifter (Ken Takakura) stay overnight in her barn. Her rather nervous generosity is re-paid when he proves adept at aiding in the delivery of a calf in the middle of the night. Takakura moves on the ... Continue reading Watch Robert Mitchum – The Signature Collection Online! A remarkable performance by Robert Mitchum & Ken Takakura make Robert Mitchum – The Signature Collection a “want to look on” movie! The remarkable cast includes Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan. ... Continue reading Watch Free Movies Online | Abashiri Bangaichi (1965) Full Movie ... Watch » Abashiri Bangaichi (1965) Full Movie Free Online: Teruo Ishii is probably best known for his Grand Guignol epics but in 1965 he released the first Abashiri Prison with Toei star Ken Takakura as Shin'Ichi Tachibana. Continue reading Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Ken Takakura pictures and Ken Takakura biography

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