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SABU

SABU

Sabu (サブ, Sabu, born November 18, 1964) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka. Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his film debut in Sorobanzuku. He earned his first starring role in the 1991 World Apartment Horror, a live-action film directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo of Akira fame. Working from a script he wrote himself, he made his directorial debut with the 1996 Dangan Runner, a film that set his early style of "quirky action-comedies propelled by characters who hurtle headlong though squirming narratives steered more by the forces of incidence and coincidence than the actions of the protagonists themselves." Shin'ichi Tsutsumi played the lead in Sabu's first five films. Blessing Bell, starring Susumu Terajima (who has played minor roles in nearly all of Sabu's films), was a turn away from his kinetic, parodic, and black comedy narratives, and earned the NETPAC Award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. Later films featured the J-pop band V6. In 2009, he directed The Crab Cannery Ship, a modern adaptation of a classic of Japanese proletarian literature written by Takiji Kobayashi. He has continued to work as an actor, such as in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). His film Chasuke's Journey was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Personal information

Birthday

1964-11-18

Birth Place

Wakayama, Japan

Movies and TV shows :

800 Two Lap Runners

800 Two Lap Runners

1994

4.3

Movie
A Legend of Turmoil

A Legend of Turmoil

1992

7.5

Movie
Dangan Runner

Dangan Runner

1996

6.8

Movie
Don't Look Up

Don't Look Up

1996

6.7

Movie
Ichi the Killer

Ichi the Killer

2001

7.0

Movie
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish

2003

6.9

Movie
Kiriko

Kiriko

1994

3.0

Movie
Kuma-chan

Kuma-chan

1993

0.0

Movie
Postman Blues

Postman Blues

1997

7.3

Movie
Sakuran

Sakuran

2006

6.5

Movie
Savage City: Angel Whisper

Savage City: Angel Whisper

1991

5.0

Movie
Shinjuku Triad Society

Shinjuku Triad Society

1995

6.3

Movie
Silence

Silence

2016

7.1

Movie
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Gamble

Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Gamble

1996

6.0

Movie
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Escape

Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Escape

1995

6.7

Movie
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Heist

Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Heist

1995

8.0

Movie
Unlucky Monkey

Unlucky Monkey

1998

6.5

Movie
Warrior's Justice 2: Full Battle

Warrior's Justice 2: Full Battle

1994

0.0

Movie
World Apartment Horror

World Apartment Horror

1991

5.8

Movie
Zëiram 2

Zëiram 2

1994

6.3

Movie