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Director Seijun Suzuki Passes Away at 93

posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda

Filmmaker and actor Seijun Suzuki passed away in a Tokyo hospital on February 13 due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 93.

Suzuki was born in Tokyo in 1923. He joined Nikkatsu Studio in 1954 as an assistant director, and debuted as a full-fledged director with his film Victory Is Mine in 1956.

His extensive film work saw him cultivate a unique and surreal sense of aesthetic and style, for which his films enjoyed cult popularity. However, this did not endear him to Nikkatsu Studio, resulting in his dismissal after his 1967 film Branded to Kill, and a 10-year hiatus from film.

When he returned, he directed such films as A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness and Zigeunerweisen, the latter of which earned an Honorable Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Suzuki is credited as the chief director of the Lupin III: Part II anime series, and he directed the 1985 Lupin III: The Legend of the Gold of Babylon anime film.

Figures from the Japanese film industry, such as actress Naoko Ōtani (Zigeunerweisen), actor Hideki Takahashi (Fighting Elegy), and Tetsuya Watari (Tokyo Drifter) have expressed their condolences.

Source: NHK News Web via Maki Terashima-Furuta

Image from Fashion Headline

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.

Update: Suzuki was the chief director or supervisor on both Lupin III: Part II and Lupin III: Part III, as well as the episode 13 writer on the latter. Thanks, Sephy


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