Kōichi Saitō
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- February 3, 1929
- Died
- November 28, 2009 (aged 80)
- Birthplace
- Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
Biography
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
Filmography
Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari
Movie · Director
Jesus is My Boss
Movie · Director
YaYaBaka Yuttari-San
Movie · Director
Hotel Rose
Movie · Director
Bokyo
Movie · Director
Ningen no sabaku
Movie · Director
Representative Director Detective
TV · Director · 1 ep
The Blue Mountains '88
Movie · Director
The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail
Movie · Director
Invitation from the Beach
Movie · Director
Seasonal Wind
Movie · Director
Aspiration
Movie · Director
Frozen River
Movie · Director
The Story of Yumeji Takehisa: In Love
Movie · Director
Someday, Somewhere
Movie · Director
The Homeless
Movie · Director
Tsugaru Folksong
Movie · Director
Kigeki: koko kara hajimaru monogatari
Movie · Director
Second Chance
Movie · Director
Ambition in The Mirror
Movie · Assistant Director
The Rendezvous
Movie · Director
Journey Into Solitude
Movie · Director
Secret Flower
Movie · First Assistant Director
Shadow of Deception
Movie · Director
Kigeki: Hanayome sensô
Movie · Director
Memai
Movie · Director
Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori
Movie · Director
Waterfront Blues
Movie · Director
Rainbow Over Paris
Movie · Director
The Sea Doesn't Look Back
Movie · Director
Dear Tomorrow
Movie · Director
Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories
Movie · Director
Little Snack
Movie · Director
The Wonderful Ones
Movie · Director
Lemon in the Rainbow
Movie · Director
Whispering Joe
Movie · Director