Person Details

Birthday: 1912-12-03 03:05:37

Death: 1998-12-30 03:05:37

Aliases: 木下正吉 (本名) , 木下恵介 , Кэйскэ Киносьта , Кэйсукэ Киносита

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Shizuoka, Japan

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 119

TV Involvements: 16


Most Famous Work

Biography

Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介, Kinoshita Keisuke, December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director. Hugely popular in his home country of Japan, Keisuke Kinoshita worked tirelessly as a director for nearly half a century, making lyrical, sentimental films that often center on the inherent goodness of people, especially in times of distress. He began his directing career during a most challenging time for Japanese cinema: World War II, when the industry’s output was closely monitored by the state and often had to be purely propagandistic. He refused to be bound by genre, technique, or dogma. Kinoshita excelled in almost every genre: comedy, tragedy, social dramas, period films. He shot all films on location or in a one-house set. He pursued severe photographic realism with the long take, long-shot method, and went equally far toward stylization with fast cutting, intricate wipes, tilted cameras, and even classical scroll-painting and Kabuki stage technique. Kinoshita was highly prolific, turning out some 42 films in the first 23 years of his career. For this, Kinoshita explained that he "can’t help it. Ideas for films have always just popped into my head like scraps of paper into a wastebasket." While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, he was a household figure in his home country, beloved by both critics and audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s. Although few concrete details have emerged about Kinoshita's personal life, his homosexuality was widely known in the film world. Screenwriter and frequent collaborator Yoshio Shirasaka recalls the "brilliant scene" Kinoshita made with the handsome, well-dressed assistant directors he surrounded himself with. His 1959 film Farewell to Spring (Sekishuncho) has been called "Japan's first gay film" for the emotional intensity depicted between its male characters. Kinoshita received the Order of the Rising Sun in 1984 and was awarded the Order of Culture in 1991 by the Japanese government. He died on December 30, 1998, of a stroke. His grave is in Engaku-ji in Kamakura, very near to that of his fellow Shochiku director, Yasujirō Ozu.

Most Famous Work

All in the Family
Average
0

All in the Family

(1968) Director
Family of Three
Average
0

Family of Three

(1968) Creator
The Ballad of Narayama
Average
8

The Ballad of Narayama

(1958) Writer
World of Two
Average
10

World of Two

(1970) Creator
Brother
Average
0

Brother

(1969) Creator
Oyaji Daiko
Average
9

Oyaji Daiko

(1968) Creator
Dodes'ka-den
Average
7

Dodes'ka-den

(1970) Executive Producer
日本名作童話シリーズ 赤い鳥のこころ
Average
0

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
1983 Self
1954 (uncredited)
Year Character Movie/Tv

Writing

Year Role Movie/Tv
2000 Screenplay
1988 Writer
1987 Screenplay
1986 Writer
1983 Original Story
Writer
1980 Writer
1979 Writer
1976 Writer
1968 Writer
1967 Screenplay
Screenplay
1966 Original Story
1964 Writer
1963 Screenplay
1962 Screenplay
Screenplay
Screenplay
Screenplay
Writer
1961 Screenplay
Screenplay
1960 Screenplay
Screenplay
1959 Writer
Screenplay
Screenplay
1958 Writer
Writer
1957 Screenplay
Writer
1956 Writer
Screenplay
1955 Screenplay
Screenplay
1954 Screenplay
Writer
1953 Screenplay
Screenplay
Screenplay
1952 Screenplay
1951 Screenplay
Screenplay
Screenplay
Screenplay
1950 Screenplay
1949 Story
Screenplay
1948 Writer
1947 Screenplay
Story
1946 Screenplay
Story
1943 Writer
1942 Writer
Screenplay
1939 Idea
Writer
Year Role Movie/Tv

Directing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1988 Director
1986 Director
1983 Director
1980 Director
1979 Director
1976 Director
1971 Director
1970 Director
Director
1969 Director
1968 Director
1967 Director
1964 Director
1963 Director
Director
1962 Director
Director
1961 Director
1960 Director
Director
1959 Director
Director
Director
1958 Director
Director
1957 Director
Director
1956 Director
Director
1955 Director
Director
1954 Director
Director
1953 Director
1952 Director
1951 Director
Director
Director
Director
1950 Director
1949 Director
Director
Director
Director
1948 Director
Director
Director
1947 Director
Director
1946 Director
Director
1944 Director
Director
1943 Director
Director
1937 Assistant Director
Year Role Movie/Tv

Creator

Production

Crew

Year Role Movie/Tv
1968 Creator
Year Role Movie/Tv

Camera

Year Role Movie/Tv
1935 Assistant Camera
Year Role Movie/Tv

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