Tanaka Tetsurou

Tagline: Tetsurou Tanaka, the visionary auteur of Japanese cinema.

Born in 1929 in Tokyo, Japan, Tetsurou Tanaka embarked on his directorial career during the prolific years of 1955 to 1991. Specializing in the genres of drama and crime, Tanaka's most renowned works include the gripping "Red Peony Gambler" series and "Showa Zankyoden" series, which earned him significant acclaim, although he never received major international film festival awards. Tanaka's distinctive authorial style is characterized by his seamless blend of realism and stylized violence, a method that has strongly influenced the Yakuza film genre in Japan. On a more personal note, Tanaka was a masterful storyteller who had an uncanny ability to depict the raw emotion and complex morality within the underworld of crime, making him a pillar in the Japanese film industry.