Ryuhei Kitamura

Born in Osaka, Japan, Kitamura quit high school and went to the School of Visual Arts in Australia at age 17. His first film was the short Exit, which he made as his graduation piece at age 19. After graduating, he returned to Japan to establish Napalm Films, his independent film production studio. While his films Down to Hell and Heat After Dark were successful in film festivals, Kitamura's rise to international fame came from Versus.

Kitamura went on to direct several movies, including adaptations of the manga Azumi and the popular Japanese TV drama Sky High. He had also collaborated with director Yukihiko Tsutsumi in the Duel Project, in which the two agreed to produce the best dueling movie with minimal production time and budget, with Aragami being Kitamura's part. He also ventured into the world of video games by directing the cut scenes and motion capturing of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Kitamura also served as producer on 2003's Battlefield Baseball, the directorial debut of Yudai Yamaguchi (Versus co-writer). Kitamura's 2004 kaiju film, Godzilla: Final Wars had its premiere in Hollywood.

Kitamura recently marked his American filmmaking debut with Midnight Meat Train based on Clive Barker's short horror story of the same name. The film was released on August 1, 2008 and stars Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, and Brooke Shields.

Kitamura's favourite Godzilla film is Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). His favourite kaiju is King Caesar.


Filmography
Director
Heat After Dark (1996)
Down to Hell (1997)
Versus (2000)
Alive (2002)
The Messenger (2002, Jam Films segment) (a.k.a. Requiem for the Dead)
Aragami (2003)
Azumi (2003)
Sky High (2003)
Longinus (2004)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
LoveDeath (2006)
Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Baton (2009)
Tekon (2010)
Versus (2010)[1] (a.k.a. Versus 2)

Producer
Down to Hell (1997)
Battlefield Baseball (2003, directed by Yudai Yamaguchi)
LoveDeath (2006)

Writer
Heat After Dark (1996) (writer)
Down to Hell (1997) (writer)
Versus (2000) (writer)
Alive (2002) (screenplay)
Aragami (2003) (writer)
Longinus (2004) (writer)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) (screenplay)
LoveDeath (2006) (screenplay)
Yoroi: Samurai Zombie (2008, directed by Tak Sakaguchi) (story, screenplay)
Versus (2010) (writer)

Actor
Down to Hell (1997) Ponytail Thug
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Radio DJ

Television
Sky High (2003, TV series)
Sakurajima (2004, documentary)
Romance Novel (2006)





What members say | Filmography

Ryuhei Kitamura - what members say

Ryuhei Kitamura - filmography

5 most recent films

Midnight Meat Train - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
The Midnight Meat Train - 3.0 stars
Alive - 2.5 stars
Godzilla: Final Wars - 3.0 stars
The Duel Project - Aragami / 2LDK - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Azumi - 3.5 stars
Aragami - 3.0 stars
The Duel Project - Aragami / 2LDK - 3.0 stars
The Midnight Meat Train - 3.0 stars
Versus - 3.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Godzilla: Final Wars - 3.0 stars
Alive - 2.5 stars
Sky High - 3.0 stars
Midnight Meat Train - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
Versus - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Hideo Sakaki - 4 times - show films
Vinnie Jones - 3 times - show films
Leslie Bibb - 3 times - show films
Roger Bart - 3 times - show films
Takao Osawa - 3 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Yukihiko Tsutsumi - 1 times - show films
Yukihiko Tsutsumi - 1 times - show films