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Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe


News | What members say | Filmography

Ken Watanabe - news / articles


  • Watanabe takes year off to rebuild Japan - 7 March 2012
    -Inception star Ken Watanabe is taking a hiatus from Hollywood so he can assist with rebuilding efforts in his native Japan.-The actor has returned to the Far East to film a documentary about disaster recovery after a massive tremor struck his homeland last March (11)

Ken Watanabe - what members say


  • The Last Samurai
  • The Last Samurai review by from the North East
    Rated - 5.0 stars A very impressive movie 24 February 2004
    ...s performance is borderline flawless. Support is strong all around, especially Ken Watanabe as samurai/ronin Katsumoto, the man who gradually turns Algren's life around. B...   Read customer review
  • Batman Begins
  • Batman Begins review by AxlReznor from Leighton Buzzard
    Rated - 5.0 stars Batman Begins: An Origin Story 10 August 2010
    ...ing how to fight crime, eventually being tutored in the art of theatricality by Ken Watanabe and Liam Neeson. After an epic battle, Bruce returns to Gotham City where with ...   Read customer review
  • Memoirs Of A Geisha
  • Memoirs Of A Geisha review by from Newport, WALES
    Rated - 5.0 stars Gushing Geisha 7 August 2006
    ...om do their well-written characters justice. Zihi Zhang and the ever-impressive Ken Watanabe stand out. I've got to admit that I hated 'Chicago', but with 'Memoirs Of A Ge...   Read customer review

Ken Watanabe - filmography


  • Inception on DVD (2010)
    Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio,  Ken Watanabe,  Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 77% from 72,193 members
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  • Shanghai - Blu-ray (2010)
    Starring: Ken Watanabe,  John Cusack,  Gong Li
    Director: Mikael Hafstrom
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    This period drama concerns an American (John Cusack) in Shanghai who, through the investigation of the death of a friend, ends up falling in love while stumbling upon a political conspiracy. 1408 helmer Mikael Håfström directs. Gong Li and Ken Watanabe co-star in the production, from a script ..read more »
    1 star out of 5 20% from 1 member
    Due for release on 23rd July 2012
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  • The Air I Breathe on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Kevin Bacon,  Sarah Michelle Gellar,  Brendan Fraser
    Director: Jieho Lee
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Four short fables in which characters collide with fate--and each other--comprise "The Air I Breathe," an ambitious and absorbing drama from debuting director/writer Jieho Lee. Boasting a brilliant ensemble cast, the film is inspired by a Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four key emotions-..read more »
    3 stars out of 5 59% from 7,113 members
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  • Letters from Iwo Jima - HD (2006)
    Starring: Ken Watanabe,  Kazunari Ninomiya,  Tsuyoshi Ihara
    Director: Clint Eastwood
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: £2.49
    Clint Eastwood revisits familiar territory with LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, a companion piece to his critically-acclaimed World War II drama FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. Where the two films differ is in their version of events; FLAGS... is told from a predominantly American point-of-view, whereas LETTERS... ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 581 members
    Not currently released
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  • Batman Begins - HD (2005)
    Starring: Christian Bale,  Michael Caine,  Liam Neeson
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Years ago, a young boy watched a street thug murder his parents. His life went cold. He left the city for the Far East, where he trained. He grew strong. But so did the darkness. And now the man is returning to Gotham City. The black, boiling drive for vengeance will cause Bruce Wayne to create a ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 80% from 3,028 members
    Not currently released
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  • Batman Begins - Blu-ray (2005)
    Starring: Christian Bale,  Michael Caine,  Liam Neeson
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Genius of mystery and intrigue Christopher Nolan (MEMENTO, FOLLOWING, INSOMNIA) helms this prequel to the Batman films based on the DC Comics series, explaining how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) the billionaire prince of Gotham whose parents were killed in an alleyway mugging transformed into the ..read more »
    4.5 stars out of 5 85% from 10,480 members
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  • Batman Begins on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Christian Bale,  Michael Caine,  Liam Neeson
    Director: Christopher Nolan
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Years ago, a young boy watched a street thug murder his parents. His life went cold. He left the city for the Far East, where he trained. He grew strong. But so did the darkness. And now the man is returning to Gotham City. The black, boiling drive for vengeance will cause Bruce Wayne to create a ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 74% from 133,880 members
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  • Memoirs Of A Geisha on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Ziyi Zhang,  Ken Watanabe,  Michelle Yeoh
    Director: Rob Marshall
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    This epic motion picture from the director of Chicago is based on the international best-selling novel by Arthur Golden. Torn from her impoverished family before World War II and sent to work in a geisha house, a child will blossom into the legendary geisha Sayuri. Beautiful and accomplished, ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 64,622 members
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  • The Last Samurai - Blu-ray (2003)
    Starring: Tom Cruise,  Ken Watanabe,  Timothy Spall
    Director: Edward Zwick
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Edward Zwick directs this sumptuously designed, action-packed period epic that stars Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren. Algren, a former Civil War hero, is adrift in 1870s San Francisco after the war, a lost soul struggling to stay afloat in a booze-soaked stupor. When he is recruited by the ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 77% from 3,412 members
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  • The Last Samurai on DVD (2003)
    Starring: Tom Cruise,  Ken Watanabe,  Timothy Spall
    Director: Edward Zwick
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Captain Nathan Algren served in the American Civil War where he risked his life for his country. He served out his career in the West where the battle was with Indians and it was here that he became disillusioned and lost... In a far-off land a celebrated Samurai warrior, Katsumoto, is learning ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 70% from 78,706 members
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  • Tampopo (1985)
    Starring: Nobuko Miyamoto,  Tsutomu Yamazaki,  Ken Watanabe
    Director: Juzo Itami
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Described as the 'first Japanese noodle western', this amusing tale offers a satirical view of the relationship between food and sex, one of the director's favourite topics.
    4 stars out of 5 82% from 248 members
    Currently unavailable
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  • Last Samurai - HD
    Starring: Tom Cruise,  Ken Watanabe,  Timothy Spall
    Director: Edward Zwick
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: Unavailable
    Captain Nathan Algren served in the American Civil War where he risked his life for his country. He served out his career in the West where the battle was with Indians and it was here that he became disillusioned and lost... In a far-off land a celebrated Samurai warrior, Katsumoto, is learning ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 75% from 1,134 member
    Not currently released
    Sign up

Ken Watanabe facts

5 most recent films

Inception - 4.0 stars
Shanghai - 3.0 stars
Inception - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars
Shanghai - Blu-ray - 1.0 stars
Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars

5 highest-rated films

Batman Begins - Blu-ray - 4.5 stars
Tampopo - 4.0 stars
Batman Begins - HD - 4.0 stars
Inception - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars
The Last Samurai - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Shanghai - Blu-ray - 1.0 stars
The Unbroken - 1.5 stars
Shanghai - 3.0 stars
The Air I Breathe - 3.0 stars
Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant - Blu-ray - 3.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Cillian Murphy - 7 times - show films
Jamie Bell - 4 times - show films
Gus Lewis - 4 times - show films
Jesse Bradford - 4 times - show films
Christian Bale - 4 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Christopher Nolan - 7 times - show films
Edward Zwick - 6 times - show films
Clint Eastwood - 4 times - show films
Paul Weitz - 2 times - show films
Mikael Hafstrom - 2 times - show films