Toshirō Mifune
Toshirō Mifune ( Japanese 三 船 敏 郎 Mifune Toshirō ; born April 1, 1920 in Qingdao , Republic of China , † December 24, 1997 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese actor , film producer and director. He appeared in 134 films, received around 60 different awards and was also internationally known.
Life
Mifune grew up in the coastal city of Dalian in Japanese-occupied China. His father owned a photo shop, in which Mifune helped out as a child. In 1940 he was drafted into the army and served in the air force , where he took aerial photographs.
Actually looking for a job as a cameraman, he got a job in Tokyo in 1946 for the Tōhō film company . He played his first leading role, a bank robber, in Senkichi Taniguchi's Ginrei no Hate (1947). The role of the negative hero dominated among his early films, so he appeared as a gangster in Yoidore Tenshi (1948) and as a robber in Rashō-Mon (1950), also in the film The Hidden Fortress (1958) as a seedy General Makabe. Mifune also incorporated humorous elements into his dynamic play.
From 1948 to 1965 he impersonated the main roles in most of the films directed by Akira Kurosawa . With his portrayal of the outsider among the seven samurai in Kurosawa's Shichinin no Samurai (1954), Mifune achieved worldwide popularity. He appeared in Kurosawa's adaptations of Western literature as a thief in Donzoko (1957) and in the Macbeth role in Kumo-no-Su-Jō (1957) and in Tengoku to Jigoku (1963) - the film adaptation of a crime novel by Ed McBain .
For his work in the films Yōjimbō (1961) and Akahige (1965) he was awarded the Coppa Volpi as best leading actor at the Venice Film Festival and was then offered roles in international productions. He played a Japanese racing team owner in John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix in 1966, in 1968 in John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific , in the Franco-Italian production Soleil rouge (1971) and in 1976 as Admiral Yamamoto in Jack Smights Midway . His portrayal of Prince Toranaga in the US television series Shogun made him known to a wider audience in Germany. Mifune was the first Japanese film actor to establish himself as an international star.
In 1962 he founded his own production company "Mifune Productions", and in 1963 he made his directorial debut with Gojū-man-nin no Isan . In 1966 he set up his own studios in Tokyo, which he expanded to include a private drama school in 1981 . However, due to mismanagement, the school had to close three years later.
His son Shiro Mifune (* 1950) is also an actor and producer, his daughter Mika is also an actress.
Filmography (selection)
- 1948: Angel of the Lost ( Yoidore tenshi )
- 1948: The silent duel ( Shizukanaru Ketto )
- 1949: a stray dog ( Nora inu )
- 1950: Rashomon - The Pleasure Grove ( Rashōmon )
- 1951: The Idiot ( Hakuchi )
- 1952: The Life of Mrs. Oharu ( Saikaku Ichidai Onna )
- 1954: The Seven Samurai ( Shichinin no samurai )
- 1954–56: Samurai trilogy
- Samurai ( Miyamoto Musashi )
- Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijōji no kettō
- Miyamoto Musashi: Kettō Ganryū-jima
- 1955: Living in Fear ( Ikimono no kiroku )
- 1957: The castle in the cobweb forest ( Kumonosu-jō )
- 1957: night asylum ( Donzoko )
- 1958: The rickshaw man ( Muhōmatsu no Isshō )
- 1958: The Hidden Fortress ( Kakushi toride no san akunin )
- 1960: Banzai-Banzai, the pilots of the devil ( Hawai Middowei daikaikûsen: Taiheiyô no arashi , English synchro-title I Bombed Pearl Harbor )
- 1960: The bad guys sleep well ( Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru )
- 1961: Yojimbo - The Bodyguard ( Yōjimbō )
- 1962: Sanjuro ( Tsubaki Sanjūrō )
- 1963: Between Heaven and Hell ( Tengoku to jigoku )
- 1965: Rotbart ( Akahige )
- 1965: Samurai Assassin ( Samurai )
- 1966: Sword of Doom ( Dai-bosatsu tōge )
- 1966: Grand Prix
- 1967: Samurai Rebellion ( Jōi-uchi: Hairyō tsuma shimatsu )
- 1968: Hell in the Pacific ( Hell in the Pacific )
- 1969: The Samurai's Banner ( Fūrin kazan )
- 1969: Port Arthur - The Battle of the China Sea ( Nikonhai Dakaisen / Great Battle of the Japan Sea )
- 1970: Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo ( Zatōichi to Yōjimbō )
- 1971: Rivals under the red sun ( Soleil rouge )
- 1974: Paper Tiger ( Paper Tiger )
- 1976: Battle for Midway ( Midway )
- 1978: In the shadow of the Shogun ( Yagyū ichizoku no imbō )
- 1979: Philadelphia Clan ( Winter Kills )
- 1979: 1941 - Where are you going to Hollywood ( 1941 )
- 1980: Inchon
- 1980: Shogun (TV series)
- 1980: Port Arthur, the battle of decision (203 kôchi)
- 1981: The Shogun's Sword
- 1982: If He Wants To Hell, Let Him Go ( The Challenge )
- 1987: The Legend of the Moon Princess ( Taketori monogatari )
- 1990: The Death of a Tea Master ( Sen no Rikyū )
- 1991: Shogun Mayeda ( Kabuto )
- 1992: Shadow of the Wolf ( Shadow of the Wolf )
- 1994: The Bride's Secret ( Picture Bride )
Web links
- Toshiro Mifune in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Biography, FAQ and link collection (English)
- German summary of his biography
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Mifune, Toshirō |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 三 船 敏 郎 (Japanese) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | April 1, 1920 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Qingdao , Republic of China |
DATE OF DEATH | December 24, 1997 |
Place of death | Tokyo |