asian greats
by plpji | created - 31 Aug 2012 | updated - 31 Aug 2012 | Public
1. Akira Kurosawa
Writer | Kakushi-toride no san-akunin
After training as a painter (he storyboards his films as full-scale paintings), Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, eventually making his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata (1943). Within a few years, Kurosawa had achieved sufficient stature to allow him greater...
2. Uzo
Writer | Better Than Ever
Uzo was born in August 1957 in Nigeria. Uzo is a writer and producer, known for Better Than Ever (1997) and Walls & Bridges (1992).
3. Kenji Mizoguchi
Director | Ugetsu monogatari
Coming from a lower class family Mizoguchi entered the production company Nikkatsu as an actor specialized in female roles. Later he became an assistant director and made his first film in 1922. Although he filmed almost 90 movies in the silent era, only his last 12 productions are really known ...
4. Satsuo Yamamoto
Director | Shiroi Kyotô
Satsuo Yamamoto was born on July 15, 1910 in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Japan. Satsuo was a director and writer, known for Shiroi Kyotô (1966), The Battle of Manchuria (1970) and Fumô chitai (1976). Satsuo died on August 11, 1983 in Tokyo, Japan.
5. Kaneto Shindô
Writer | Ichimai no hagaki
Kaneto Shindô was born on April 22, 1912 in Hiroshima, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Postcard (2010), The Naked Island (1960) and A Last Note (1995). He was married to Nobuko Otowa and Miyo Shindo. He died on May 29, 2012 in Hiroshima, Japan.
6. Daryush Shokof
Writer | Asudem
Daryush Shokof is an artist and film-maker who left Iran in the 1970s for the U.S. and under the name of AliReza Shokoufandeh. He studied mathematics and physics at E.N.M.U. and then went on to get a masters degree in management from U.D. in Texas. He became a full-time artist in Germany where he ...
7. Takashi Miike
Director | Jûsan-nin no shikaku
Takashi Miike was born in the small town of Yao on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan. His main interest growing up was motorbikes, and for a while he harbored ambitions to race professionally. At the age of 18 he went to study at the film school in Yokohama founded by renowned director Shôhei Imamura, ...
8. Bong Joon Ho
Writer | Snowpiercer
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the ...
9. Hong Sang-soo
Director | Ji-geum-eun-mat-go-geu-ddae-neun-teul-li-da
Hong Sang-soo was born on October 25, 1960 in Seoul, Korea. He is a director and writer, known for Right Now, Wrong Then (2015), Night and Day (2008) and The Woman Who Ran (2020).
10. Kim Ki-duk
Writer | Bin-jip
He studied fine arts in Paris in 1990-1992. In 1993 he won the award for Best Screenplay from the Educational Institute of Screenwriting with "A Painter and A Criminal Condemned to Death". After two more screenplay awards, he made his directorial debut with Crocodile (1996) ("Crocodile"). Then he ...
11. Takashi Shimizu
Director | Ju-on
Takashi Shimizu was born on July 27, 1972 in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), The Grudge (2004) and Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003).
12. Kar-Wai Wong
Director | Yi dai zong shi
Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1956) is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, including Ah fei zing zyun (1990), Dung che sai duk (1994), Chung Hing sam lam (1994), Do lok tin si (1995), Chun gwong ...
13. Takeshi Kitano
Actor | Zatôichi
Takeshi Kitano originally studied to become an engineer, but was thrown out of school for rebellious behavior. He learned comedy, singing and dancing from famed comedian Senzaburô Fukami. Working as a lift boy on a nightclub with such features as comic sketches and striptease dancing, Kitano saw ...
14. Park Chan-wook
Director | Oldeuboi
Park Chan-wook was born on August 23, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and director, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.
15. Jun Woong Kim
Actor | My Body in Your Hands
Jun Woong Kim is known for My Body in Your Hands (2009).
16. Jae-young Kwak
Writer | Yeopgijeogin geunyeo
Jae-young Kwak was born on May 22, 1959 in South Korea. He is a writer and director, known for My Sassy Girl (2001), Cyborg She (2008) and Mu-rim-yeo-dae-saeng (2008).
17. Hang-Seok Shin
Director | Myeongseong Hwanghoo
Hang-Seok Shin is known for Myeongseong Hwanghoo (2001).
18. Ha Yoo
Director | Biyeolhan geori
Ha Yoo is known for A Dirty Carnival (2006), A Frozen Flower (2008) and Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (2004).
19. Im Kwon-taek
Director | Chunhyangdyun
Born in Changsong, Cheollanam-do, 2 May 1936. He grew up in the southern city Kwangju, where he completed senior high school. His family suffered considerable hardships and losses in the Korean War, so he had to move to Pusan in search of work: he was a labourer before trying to start a business ...
20. John H. Lee
Director | Nae meorisokui jiwoogae
John H. Lee's films are imbued with top-notch cosmopolitan sensibilities. He has become one of the most sought after directors in all of East Asia and is a member of the rising generation of international directors from the region, having both a distinct voice as an auteur and wide commercial ...
21. Im Sang-soo
Director | Hanyo
Im Sang-soo was born on April 27, 1962 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a director and writer, known for The Housemaid (2010), A Good Lawyer's Wife (2003) and The Old Garden (2006).
22. Tae-yong Kim
Director | Geo-in
Tae-yong Kim was born on March 20, 1987 in South Korea. Tae-yong is a director and writer, known for Set Me Free (2014), Frozen Land (2010) and Misbehavior (2016).
23. Kyu-dong Min
Director | Nae anaeui modeun geot
Kyu-dong Min was born on September 12, 1970 in Seoul, Korea. He is a director and writer, known for All About My Wife (2012), Memento Mori (1999) and Horror Stories 2 (2013). He has been married to Ji-Yeong Hong since 2000. They have two children.
24. Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Producer | Cike Nie Yin Niang
Of the ten films that Hsiao-Hsien Hou directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film or best director awards from prestigious international films festivals in Venice, Berlin, Hawaii, and the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes. In a 1988 worldwide critics' poll, Hou was championed ...
25. Tso-chi Chang
Director | Dang ai lai de shi hou
Director Chang Tso Chi was graduated from the Cinema & Drama Division of Chinese Culture University, Department of Theatrical Arts. Chang had followed and learned from many famous film directors, such as, Yue Ham Ping, Tsui Hark, Hou Hsiao Hsien and Yim Ho. Chang's first film production, Midnight ...
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