Forum - View topicWho is DAN DA DAN Heartthrob Ken Takakura?
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Gilles Poitras
Posts: 480 Location: Oakland California |
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Almost all the films listed in the watchlist are currently available on Blu-ray. There are many more available as we seem to be getting more classic Japanese live action movies released than ever before.
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2679 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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It's also worth noting that Takakura also acted in a handful of American-made movies, most notably co-starring alongside Michael Douglas in Ridley Scott's Black Rain from 1989 (where the two were detectives working on a case) & alongside Tom Selleck in Mr. Baseball from 1992 (where he played the manager/"skipper" to Selleck's main character), as well as roles in Too Late the Hero from 1970 & The Yakuza from 1974; naturally, all of these films took place in Japan (to some extent).
Personally, I only really know of Takakura from his cameo appearance in Masami Kurumada's 2015 short manga Ai no Jidai, which is a piece of semi-autobiographical fiction. In the first chapter the main character (the Kurumada stand-in) & his friends all adored Takakura's films & initially want to grow up to be just like him, i.e. a hard boiled yakuza, and Kurumada even plays around with things by showing that Takakura was possibly a yakuza in secret (again, fictionalized take on reality here), showing why he was just so good at the role. |
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Gilles Poitras
Posts: 480 Location: Oakland California |
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NOTE: The Yellow Handkerchief with Takakura appears to not be available subtitled on physical media. You will find the US remake all over the place.
EDIT: The US release, which came out from Twilight Time, is out of print but easy to find on EBay and other sites. I just put my order in for one. It's directed by Yoji Yamada which alone makes it a great movie to get. |
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mdo7
 Posts: 6397 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Yeah, Criterion (or Arrow Film, or even Discotek) really needs to pick up that movie for US distribution, that's probably the only time that particular title really need a US release given that it got a US remake, it doesn't make sense for the Japanese original to somehow not get a US release when we're living in an era where foreign films and TV shows/TV dramas are reaching an all-time mainstream popularity thanks to streaming like Netflix, etc... It's about damn time the 1977 film get a US subtitled and physical media release. I hope Criterion, Arrow Film, or Discotek can pick up that obscure title. Overall, good article on Ken Takakura. I already know him from his role in Black Rain. I watched The Yakuza just a few years back, it's a decent good film. |
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tintor2
 Posts: 2133 |
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That's interesting. I rarely hear of good liveaction movies but Golgo 13 being promoted by the writer sounds fun.
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yeehaw
 Posts: 571 |
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Thank you for this article, I was curious about the guy. His movies sounds like my dad would like them
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FishLion
 Posts: 238 |
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I looked into him a little out of curiosity, but y'all showed me way more than I knew before, thanks for the good article!
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2536 |
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Are any of his movies available on major streaming services in the west? Seems like it'd be fun to check one out, but not so much so to drop $40-$60 on a set of bluerays.
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tintor2
Posts: 2133 |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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This article is much appreciated, as I think I'd only previously heard of Ken Takakura in passing.
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minamikaze
Posts: 254 |
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Netflix doesn't have any (in the US anyway). I was able to watch The Yakuza on TCM a few months ago, it shows up every now and then there. Streaming Rental options: AppleTV/iTunes The Yakuza $2.99 rent / $9.99 buy Red Peony Gambler (available to rent on 12/20) / $12.99 buy Wolves, Pigs and Men $4.99 rent / $12.99 buy side role movies: Black Rain $3.99 rent / $7.99 buy Mr. Baseball $3.99 rent / $4.99 buy Amazon Prime Video The Yakuza $2.99 rent / $8.99 buy Red Peony Gambler $4.99 rent / $12.99 buy Wolves, Pigs and Men $4.99 rent / $9.99 buy side role movies: Black Rain $3.99 rent / $7.99 buy Mr. Baseball $3.79 rent / $4.99 buy Niche Streaming services: RetroCrush (subscribers can also watch on Amazon Prime) Golgo 13 Midnight Pulp ( subscribers can also watch on Amazon Prime) The Bullet Train |
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MFrontier
Posts: 13881 |
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This was really informative! Thank you!
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2536 |
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minamikaze/tintor - oh, thanks! I was hoping to find the Abashiri Prison one (Golden Kamuy's influence, I guess), but I'll settle for checking out Red Peony Gambler.
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1852 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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Takakura has such a low profile in the English-speaking world that I didn't realize that he's a real person.
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