Hana-Bi (Fireworks)
(1997) [MA]

Winner of the top prize at the prestigious Venice Film Festival in 1997, Hana-Bi is a lyrical tale of guilt, death and loyalty from acclaimed director Takeshi Kitano. One of Japan's biggest stars, Kitano is best known in the UK for his films Sonatine and Violent Cop. This film confirms his status...  More

Brother
(2000) [R]

A film by Takeshi Kitano, the director of Hana-Bi, Violent Cop and Boiling Point. In Japan, the sworn brotherhood of the Yakuza is described as being "thicker than the blood of kindred brothers". With his life under threat, disgraced Yakuza hard man Yamamoto (Takeshi) escapes to Los Angeles in...  More

Violent Cop
(1989) [R]

Violent Cop is the explosive and critically acclaimed directorial debut from Japanese master film maker 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano. Kitano is Azuma- a vicious detective who deals out harsh justice with an iron fist- Dirty Harry style. Investigating a drug dealer's murder, Azuma and rookie detective...  More

Battle Royale
(2001) [R]

At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers, a beleaguered and near-defeated...  More

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
(2003) [MA]

Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatoichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a...  More

Sonatine
(1993) [MA]

SONATINE is a masterwork from legendary writer, actor and director Takeshi Kitano. Kitano is Murakawa, a yakuza chief sent to Okinawa to settle a dispute between two factions. Several of his men die is suspicious circumstances so Murakawa and the rest of the gang retreat to a remote beach house...  More

Boiling Point
(1990) [M]

In Takeshi Kitano's quirky second film, Masaki (Masahiko Ono), a quiet baseball-playing gas station attendant, runs into trouble with the local yakuza. Masaki's baseball coach, Iguchi (Takahito Iguchi), turns out to be a former yakuza and attempts to straighten out the situation but only winds up...  More

Blood and Bones
(2004) [R]

Shunpei is a violent man, working at the fish factory in Osaka. When he is off, he drinks and is continuously consumed by hate. When the factory closes, he becomes a loan shark. That is the simple characteristic of the main character, to be played by Kitano Takeshi. Based upon one of the biggest...  More

Takeshis'
(2006) [MA]

Beat Takeshi lives the busy, and sometimes surreal, life of a show biz celebrity. But his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, is still an unknown actor waiting for his big break. After crossing paths with Beat and a series of frustrating auditions, Kitano seems to...  More