was a Japanese filmmaker and actor. His best-known films include the silent avant-garde films A Page of Madness and Crossroads and the Academy Award-winning historical drama Gate of Hell.
Biography Kinugasa was born in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture. He began his career as an onnagata (actor specializing in female roles) at the Nikkatsu studio. When Japanese cinema began using actresses in the early 1920s, he switched to directing and worked for producers such as Shozo Makino, before becoming independent to make his best-known film, A Page of Madness (1926). It was considered lost for 45 years until the director rediscovered it in his shed in 1971. A silent film, Kinugasa released it with a new print and score to world acclaim. He also directed the film Crossroads in 1928. He directed jidaigeki at the Shochiku studios, where he helped establish the career of Chōjirō Hayashi (later known as Kazuo Hasegawa). After the war, he helmed big-budget costume productions for Daiei studios. Gate of Hell received the Palme d'or at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
On 26 February 1982, Kinugasa died in Kyoto at the age of 86.
Selected filmography 1925: Tsukigata Hanpeita 1926: A Page of Madness 1927: Oni Azami 1928: Crossroads 1935: An Actor's Revenge a.k.a. The Revenge of Yukinojo 1946: Aru yo no Tonosama 1952: Dedication of the Great Buddha 1953: Gate of Hell 1955: The Romance of Yushima a.k.a. The White Sea of Yushima 1956: Shin Heike Monogatari 1956: Tsukigata Hanpeita: Hana no maki; Arashi no maki 1957: A Fantastic Tale of Naruto 1957: A Girl Isn't Allowed to Love 1957: Floating Vessel 1958: The Snowy Heron 1958: Symphony of Love 1963: Bronze Magician
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