Takeshi Katō

Acting

Takeshi Katō

Born May 24, 1929 · Tokyo, Japan

Died July 31, 2015 · aged 86

Takeshi Katō (加藤 武 Katō Takeshi, 24 May 1929 – 31 July 2015) was a Japanese stage and film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films.

Known For

Seven SamuraiSeven Samurai · 1954
Seven Samurai
8.51954
MovieActionDrama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
RanRan · 1985
Ran
8.01985
MovieActionDrama
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
High and LowHigh and Low · 1963
High and Low
8.41963
MovieDramaCrime
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
XX: Beautiful WeaponXX: Beautiful Weapon · 1993
XX: Beautiful Weapon
8.91993
MovieActionDrama
A blind female assassin lives alone in a remote house; her superiors occasionally send her "clients" / targets that she shoots right after having sex with them in her completely darkened bedroom.
YojimboYojimbo · 1961
Yojimbo
8.11961
MovieDramaThriller
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Throne of BloodThrone of Blood · 1957
Throne of Blood
7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
The Hidden FortressThe Hidden Fortress · 1958
The Hidden Fortress
8.01958
MovieDramaAction
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
Godzilla 1985Godzilla 1985 · 1985
Godzilla 1985
6.81985
MovieActionScience Fiction
Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.

Filmography

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Aladdin and the Wonderful LampAladdin and the Wonderful Lamp · 1982
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
7.01982
MovieAdventureAnimation
This film stays very faithful to the original down to the smallest details, save for the kangaroo-rat that suddenly appears twenty minutes into the movie and subsequently follows Aladdin around, serving no purpose in the story but fulfilling the role of token animal mascot. The story takes some illogical and confusing jumps at the point where Aladdin begins to court the princess, and the extravagant animation that had characterised Toei films of the 60s, when Toei had the best animators around, had become a thing of the past long before this point; but this is still an above-average film, in large part because of the screenplay that stays so faithful to the original. The character designs are slightly more western-looking than one is accustomed to seeing in anime.

Grand Wazir (voice)