For his 11th film as a writer-director, Takeshi Kitano also stars, reviving the cult action anti-hero Zatoichi. ZATOICHI marks the first time Kitano directs a period piece, and he exchanges his trademark yakuza guns for a cane sword of lightning-fast speed.

Since the extraordinary success of 1997's HANA-BI, Kitano has been recognized as a leading figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, HANA-BI won Venice's Golden Lion and was named Best Non-European Film by the European Film Academy. HANA-BI was cited on numerous “Best Films of the Year” lists, often in the premiere position.

In 2000, Kitano made BROTHER, his first film shot outside of his native Japan. Like BROTHER, Kitano-directed films such as his debut VIOLENT COP (1989), BOILING POINT (1990) and SONATINE (1993) centered around yakuza gangster characters. The filmmaker contrasted the violence and action of those films with comedy or tenderness in films like A SCENE AT THE SEA (1991), GETTING ANY? (1995), KIDS RETURN (1996), KIKUJIRO (1999) and DOLLS (2002).

As an actor, Kitano has also appeared in films which he has not directed himself. He won international attention for his role in Nagisa Oshima's MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE (1983). He collaborated again with Oshima in 1999's samurai epic TABOO (GOHATTO). He can currently be seen in Kenta and Kinji Fukasaku's BATTLE ROYALE II, after having appeared in Kinji Fukasaku's controversial 2001 Japanese box-office smash BATTLE ROYALE. His credits in films directed by non-Japanese filmmakers include include Robert Longo's JOHNNY MNEMONIC (US, 1995) and Jean-Pierre Limosin's TOKYO EYES (France, 1998).

Kitano was born in Tokyo in 1947 and entered show business in 1972 as “Beat” Takeshi, the stage name he continues to use today as a performer. As part of the comic duo Two Beats, Kitano was one of the leading figures in the manzai (stand-up comedy) boom in the late 1970s. With his distinctive art of speech and his idiosyncratic perspective, Kitano became one of the most popular entertainers in the country during the 1980s.

After an incredibly prolific and diverse 25-year career, Kitano continues to be one of the foremost personalities in Japan. He participates in weekly TV programs, as well as several TV films and specials per year. He has written a number of novels and collections of short stories, essays and poetry. Also an accomplished cartoonist and painter, Kitano's artwork can be scene in HANA-BI and KIKUJIRO.