Seijun Suzuki

Seijun Suzuki (1923–2017) was a Japanese director who turned the assembly-line yakuza film into a vehicle for radical formal invention. Working under contract at Nikkatsu studios in the 1950s and 60s, he was eventually fired for making films the studio considered incomprehensible — features that pushed colour, framing, and narrative logic into outright pop surrealism. His rediscovery in the 1980s made him a touchstone for younger filmmakers around the world. His acclaimed films include Youth of the Beast, Tokyo Drifter, Branded to Kill, Zigeunerweisen, and Pistol Opera.

Films in the catalogue

• Take Aim at the Police Van 1960 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Gate of Flesh 1964 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Story of a Prostitute 1965 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Fighting Elegy 1966 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Tokyo Drifter 1966 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Branded to Kill 1967 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Zigeunerweisen 1980 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Kagero-za 1981 · Japan · Japanese New Wave
• Yumeji 1991 · Japan · Japanese New Wave