Teruo Ishii, 1924 - 2005.

Teruo Ishii, a director of strange and wild films, died of lung cancer at the age of 81 on Friday, August 12, 2005. Ishii was perhaps best known for directing the long-running Abashiri Prison series (aka Abashiri Bangaichi) for Toei in the 1960s, starring Ken Takakura. He was also known for a series of films depicting torture and brutality in the Edo-era, under the Tokugawa Shogunate. In his time, Ishii worked with a number of Japanese cinema's biggest stars, including Ken Takakura, Sonny Chiba and Tetsuro Tamba.

[...]

Ishii's films have always demonstrated an inspired lunacy. The Executioner (aka Chokugeki! Jigoku-ken) is a truly joyous little piece of madness, shucking off logic and taste, and reveling in its own depravity.... Rest in peace, Teruo Ishii, and thanks for everything.

David Austin at Cinema Strikes Back, in an entry that includes links to several related pieces.

Update: Patrick Macias: "We all had this idea in our heads that the Japper-knees made the nuttiest movies in the world. But it was Ishii who actually made them that way."

Posted by dwhudson at August 16, 2005 12:13 PM