KENJI TAKAMA   JSC

 

Born: 10 March 1949, Suginami, Tokyo, Japan.

Education: Tokyo Metropolitan University [1968-71; Economics].

Career: Started as c.asst at Wakamatsu Productions. Became doph in 1975 shooting shorts. Received a scholarship and studied in Hollywood and New York [1981-82].

Ph commercials.

Gave an Asian Film Academy workshop at the Pusan [South Korea] IFF in 2006.

Awards: Yokohama FF 'Festival Prize Best Cinematography' [1989] for '1999 - Nen no natsu yasumi'; Yokohama FF 'Festival Prize Best Cinematography' [1990] for 'Docchini suruno'; Japanese Academy Award nom [1998] for 'Rajio no jikan'.


 

 FILMS

1969

Seishun densetsu joron [Kenji Fukuma] c; short/40m

1975

Atman/Atomanu [Toshio Matsumoto] c; short/12m; cph: Hiroshi Yamazaki

1978

Gassan [Tetsutaro Murano] c

1979

Sayonara no hibi/Goodbye Days [Akio Sakurai] ?

1984

Shocking o japon vigo ga mita meiji no nihon [Shinji Fujibayashi] c; doc/53m

1986

Billy the Kid no atarashii yoake/New Kid 21/The New Morning of Billy the Kid/Billy the Kid's New Dawn [Naoto Yamakawa] c

1987

1999 - Nen no natsu yasumi/Summer Vacation 1999 [Shûsuke Kaneko] c; uwph: Makoto Shionoya, Akihiro Uemura & Michiko Honda

1987

Yamadamura waltz/The Yadamura Waltz [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

1987

Rasuto kyabaree/The Last Cabaret [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

1988

Tokyo Pop [Fran Rubel Kuzui] c; co-2uc; ph: James Hayman

1988

Kaze no matasaburo - Garasu no manto/The Glass Cape/Misty Kid of Wind [Toshiya Ito] c

1989

Docchini suruno/Whom Do I Choose? [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

1989

Hong Kong Paradise [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

1989

Boku no iru machi [Kazuo Kuroki] c; doc/23m

1990

Kaze no kuni/The Windy Land [Jugatsu Toi] c

1990

! (ai-ou) [Yukihiko Tsutsumi] ?

1990

Jutai/Traffic Jam [Mitsuo Kurotsuchi] c

1991

Shushoku sensen ijonashi/All's Quiet on the Recruit Front [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

1991

Juninin no yasashii nihonjin/Gentle 12 [Shun Nakahara] c

1991

Usureyuku kioku no nakade/In Fading Memory [Kazuyuki Shinoda] c

1992

Angel: boku no uta wa kimi no uta/Angel: My Song Is Your Song [Takayoshi Watanabe] c

1993

Shoot! [Kazuki Omori] c

1993

Ahiru no uta ga kikoete kuru yo/Hear the Duck's Song [Makoto Shiina] c

1993

Kôkô kyôshi/High School Teacher [Ken Yoshida] c

1994

Okina Inoue Yu-ichi/Scribo ergo sum [Kenji Takama] v/b&w-c; doc/30m

1994

Gamera daikaijû kuchu kessen/Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Showdown/Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe [Shûsuke Kaneko] c; cph: Junichi Tozawa; sfx ph: Hiroshi Kidokoro

1994

Naran/Shiroi uma/White Horse [Makoto Shiina] c

1994

Sanctuary [Takashi Watanabe] c

1995

Kimi wo wasurenai/Fly Boys, Fly! [Takayoshi Watanabe] c

1997

Dorîmu sutajiamu/Dream Stadium [Kazuki Omori] c

1997

Rajio no jikan/Radio no jikan/Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald [Koki Mitani] c; cph: Junichi Tozawa

1997

Tokimeki Memorial [Hiroshi Sugawara] c

1998

Nabbie no koi/Nabbie's Love [Yuji Nakae] c

2000

Kurosufaia/Cross Fire/Pyrokinesis [Shûsuke Kaneko] c

2000

Murudeka 17805/Merdeka/Independence [Yukio Fuji] c

2001

Minna no ie/All About Our House/Everybody's House [Koki Mitani] c

2001

Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidorâ: Daikaijû soukougeki/Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack [Shûsuke Kaneko] scope/c; cph: Masahiro Kishimoto

2002

Hoteru haibisukasu/Hotel Hibiscus [Yuji Nakae] c

2003

Shirayuri Club Tokyo e iku [Yuji Nakae] c; mus doc/90m

2003

Kanzen-naru shiiku: onna rihatsushi no koi/Perfect Education 5: Amazing Story/The Hairdresser [Masahiro Kobayashi] c

2003

Aiden & Titi/Iden & Tity [Tomorowo Taguchi] c

2003

Mousugu haru [Masatoshi Kouge] 16mm-35bu/c

2004

Road 88 [: Deaiji shikoku e] [: Deai michi, shikoku he] [Genji Nakamura] HD/c

2004

Shômei Kumagai gakkô/Mr. Kumagai's Lighting School [Makoto Wada] HD/c; doc/76m; cph: Shuji Kuriyama

2004

Fantastipo [Shogo Yabuuchi] v/c

2004

Gimî hebun/Gimme Heaven/Synesthesia [Toru Matsuura] c

2005

Life on the Longboard [Ichiro Kita] c

2005

Taga kokoro nimo ryu wa nemuru [Kei Horie] c

2005

'Chô' kowai hanashi the movie: yami no eigasai [various] c; 5 seg

2005

Metasequoia no ki no shita de [Akio, Masaki & Masamoto Sakurai] dv/c

2005

Haha: Toyoko, aru kazoku no ai to kanashimi [Masaki Sakurai] c

2005

9 / 10 [Masatoshi Tojo] dv/c

2005

Kami no hidarite akuma no migite/God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand [Shûsuke Kaneko (replaced Hiroyuki Nasu, who died)] dv-to-35mm/c

2006

Ulysses [Takayuki Niwa] dv/c; short/48m

2006

Desu nôto: The Last Name/Desu nôto 2/Death Note 2: The Last Name [Shûsuke Kaneko] HD-to-35mm/c; replaced ph Hiroshi Takase ('Desu nôto/Death Note'), who died in September

2006

Kotatsu neko [Ohji Ogawa] dv-to-35mm/c

2007

Makiguri no ana/Peeping Tom/The Hole [Yoshihiro Fukagawa] dv-to-35mm/c

2007

Juken no shinderera/Cinderella Formula/Cinderella of the Entrance Exam [Hideki Wada] dv-to-35mm/c

2007

Seirei no mori [Yui Miyatake] c; short/39m

2008

Puraido/Pride [Shûsuke Kaneko] dv/c

2008

Kafe daikanyama III: Sorezore no asu [Masatoshi Tojo] c; 67m

2008

Manatsu no yo no yume/A Midsummer Night's Dream [Yuji Nakae] c

2009

Haru tono tabi [Masahiro Kobayashi] c

2009

Shiniyuku tsuma tono tabiji [Yukinari Hanawa] c

2011

Jazz Jii Men [Yui Miyatake] AVCHD (Panasonic HMC155)/c

2011

Shea hausu [Ichiro Kita] c

2012

Watashi no michi: waga inochi no tango/My Way of Life [Hideki Wada] c

2012

Chôsen monogatari [Fumiki Watanabe] c

 

 TELEVISION

2000

Saiaku [Kazuki Omori] tvm

 

[Left] - "Holyland"

 

2005

Holyland [ep dir by Shûsuke Kaneko] 14-part series/mdv

2007

Sunshine Days [Ichiro Kita] 12-part series/dv; also a feature film (106m) released in May 2008

2007

Wairudo raifu/Wild Life [Yukinari Hanawa & Tôru Kawashima] tvm/dv

2007

Tobira wa tozasareta mama [Taishi Muramoto] tvm

2008

6 jikango ni kimi wa shinu [Kazuya Konaka & Kazuaki Takano] tvm

2009

Kiri no hata [Akihiko Shigemitsu] tvm

2009

Azamijô no lullaby/Lullaby of Lady Thistle [various] 10-part series, 2010

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

1970

Shinjuku maddo/Shinjuku Mad [Kôji Wakamatsu] co-c.asst; ph: Hideo Itoh

1971

Sei kazoku [Koji Wakamatsu] c.asst; ph: Hideo Itoh

1973

Nippon chinbotsu/Tidal Wave/Japan Sinks [Shirô Moritani & (US version) Andrew Meyer] c.asst; ph: Daisaku Kimura, Hiroshi Murai & (US version) Eric Saarinen

1975

Oni no uta [Tetsutaro Murano] c.asst; ph: Yasuhiro Yoshioka

1981

Little House on the Prairie [various; tv-series] trainee/intern; ph: Harry L. Wolf

1981

The Beastmaster [Don Coscarelli] trainee/intern; ph: John Alcott

1982

Blue Thunder [John Badham] trainee/intern; ph: John Alonzo

1982

Table for Five [Robert Lieberman] trainee/intern; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond

1982

Tootsie [Sydney Pollack] trainee/intern; ph: Owen Roizman

1982

Broadway Danny Rose [Woody Allen] trainee/intern; ph: Gordon Willis

1997

Yukai/Abduction [Takao Okawara] co-c.op; ph: Daisaku Kimura