Kōichi Saitō
Directing
Kōichi Saitō (斎藤 耕一 Saitō Kōichi, 3 February 1929 – 28 November 2009) was a Japanese film director and photographer. Born in Tokyo, Saitō started studying at Rikkyo University but ended up graduating from the Tokyo College of Photography (currently Tokyo Polytechnic University). He was initially a movie stills photographer at Nikkatsu before launching his own production company, Saito Productions, and directing his first film, Tsubuyaki no Jō, "a low-budget, independent film with a visual flair that earned comparisons with Claude Lelouch and with Richard Lester’s Beatles films, including A Hard Day’s Night". Some of his first films were youth movies featuring Group Sounds music. He came to prominence in the early 1970s with a series of movies about young people escaping to or searching for their identity in the countryside. He won the best director award at the 1972 Mainichi Film Awards. His Tsugaru jongarabushi was selected the best film of 1973 in the Kinema Junpo poll of critics. Saitō continued directing into his seventies and also made some documentaries. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette) in 2000.
Known for
Directing36
movieJesus is My Boss
2001
Director
movieYaYaBaka Yuttari-San
1999
Director
movieHotel Rose
1996
Director
movieBokyo
1993
Director
movieNingen no sabaku
1990
Director
movieThe Blue Mountains '88
1988
Director
movieSeasonal Wind
1977
Director
movieAspiration
1977
Director
movieFrozen River
1976
Director
movieSomeday, Somewhere
1975
Director
movieThe Homeless
1974
Director
movieTsugaru Folksong
1973
Director
movieSecond Chance
1973
Director
movieJourney Into Solitude
1972
Director
movieAmbition in The Mirror
1972
Assistant Director
movieThe Rendezvous
1972
Director
movieKigeki: Hanayome sensô
1971
Director
movieMemai
1971
Director
movieShadow of Deception
1971
Director
movieSecret Flower
1971
First Assistant Director
movieWaterfront Blues
1970
Director
movieRainbow Over Paris
1970
Director
movieDear Tomorrow
1969
Director
movieLittle Snack
1968
Director
movieLemon in the Rainbow
1968
Director
movieThe Wonderful Ones
1968
Director
movieWhispering Joe
1967
Director
Writing17
movieInvitation from the Beach
1978
Novel, Screenplay
movieSomeday, Somewhere
1975
Screenplay
movieTsugaru Folksong
1973
Screenplay
movieKigeki: Hanayome sensô
1971
Screenplay
movieTabiji: ofukuro-san yori
1971
Screenplay
movieA Man's World
1971
Original Story
movieRainbow Over Paris
1970
Screenplay
movieDear Tomorrow
1969
Screenplay
movieFalling Blossoms
1967
Screenplay
movieWhispering Joe
1967
Writer
movieOnly on Mondays
1964
Writer
movieThe School Cap
1963
Writer
movieEight Hours of Terror
1957
Original Story
Camera3
movieThe Wonderful Ones
1968
Director of Photography
movieWhispering Joe
1967
Director of Photography
movieFlora on the Sand
1964
Still Photographer