Kōichi Saitō
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.
Photos
Films (42)
Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari
2004 · Director, Writer
Jesus is My Boss
2001 · Director, Writer
YaYaBaka Yuttari-San
1999 · Director
Hotel Rose
1996 · Director
Bokyo
1993 · Director
Ningen no sabaku
1990 · Director
The Blue Mountains '88
1988 · Director
The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail
1980 · Director
The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi
1979 · Writer
Invitation from the Beach
1978 · Director, Novel, Screenplay
Seasonal Wind
1977 · Director
Aspiration
1977 · Director
Frozen River
1976 · Director
The Story of Yumeji Takehisa: In Love
1975 · Director
Someday, Somewhere
1975 · Director, Screenplay
The Homeless
1974 · Director
Tsugaru Folksong
1973 · Director, Screenplay
Second Chance
1973 · Director
Kigeki: koko kara hajimaru monogatari
1973 · Director
Journey Into Solitude
1972 · Director
Ambition in The Mirror
1972 · Assistant Director
The Rendezvous
1972 · Director
Kigeki: Hanayome sensô
1971 · Director, Screenplay
Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori
1971 · Director, Screenplay
Memai
1971 · Director
Shadow of Deception
1971 · Director
A Man's World
1971 · Original Story
Secret Flower
1971 · First Assistant Director
Waterfront Blues
1970 · Director
Rainbow Over Paris
1970 · Screenplay, Director
The Sea Doesn't Look Back
1969 · Director
Dear Tomorrow
1969 · Director, Screenplay
Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories
1969 · Director, Screenplay, Music
Little Snack
1968 · Director
Lemon in the Rainbow
1968 · Director
The Wonderful Ones
1968 · Director, Director of Photography
Falling Blossoms
1967 · Screenplay
Whispering Joe
1967 · Director, Writer, Director of Photography
Flora on the Sand
1964 · Still Photographer
Only on Mondays
1964 · Writer
The School Cap
1963 · Writer
Eight Hours of Terror
1957 · Original Story
