Masato Harada

HARADA Masato (1949, Japan) is a film director, film critic and actor. He went to London in 1972 to learn English. He then attended Tokyo College of Photography and Pepperdine University, where he spent a number of years training as a filmmaker. Harada made his directorial debut in 1979. He showcased his works in Europe and the US, and worked as an subtitle translator for a number of American films showing in Japan. His films Heartbreak Yakuza and Kamikaze blew new life into the Japanese gangster genre. Harada’s works have been nominated and have won multiple awards at film festivals all over the world.

Filmography

Goodbye Flickmania (1979), Windy (1984), Out of Focus (1985), Paris-Dakar 15000 km (1986), Onyanko: the Movie (1986), Heartbreak Yakuza (1987), Gunhed (1988), Painted Desert (1993), Kamikaze Taxi (1995), Trouble with Nango (1995), Rowing Through (1996), Bounce ko gals/Leaving (1997), Spellbound (1999), Inugami (2001), The Choice of Hercules (2002), Bluestockings (2005), Densen Uta (2007), The Shadow Spirit (2008), Climber’s High (2008), Chronicle of My Mother (2011), Return (2013), Kakekomi (2015), The Emperor in August (2015), Sekigahara (2017), Killing for the Prosecution (2018), Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai (2021), Hell Dogs (2022), Bad Lands (2023)