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.

Born in 1924, Ishii learned the ropes at Toho, and then became an assistant director at Shin-Toho, before moving to Toei in 1961. At Toei, he directed the popular Abashiri Prison series, the Line (aka Chitai) films, and a series of erotic-grotesque films in the ‘70s. After growing frustrated with the karate and biker films he was forced to make, Ishii quit the industry for a long period following 1979.

Ishii was a fan of ero-guro horror and suspense writer Edogawa Rampo (say it fast), a favorite writer for many in Japanese film, and adapted several of his works, putting aspects of more than one story into his film titled The Horror of Malformed Men (aka Edogawa ranpo taizen: Kyofu kikei ningen). After an interregnum during the ‘80s, Ishii resumed work as an independent filmmaker, directing a number of movies, including Blind Beast vs. Dwarf (aka Môjuu tai Issunbôshi), based on a Rampo story, as recently as 2001.

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. It’s one of craziest, most fun movies I have ever seen Sonny Chiba in, and that’s saying a lot about a man who acted in Ninja Wars (aka Iga Ninpoucho) and Karate Bearfighter. The sequel is even more insane. Apparently, Ishii deliberately made The Executioner and its sequel as offensive, scatological, and wacko as possible, out of anger at being forced to do karate films! Naturally, the movies were huge successes. Adness is preparing to release a remastered anamorphic double-disc of the two, for which we should all be grateful. Ishii also directed the second sequel to The Street Fighter, entitled The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge (aka Gyakushu! Satsujin Ken) - not the best entry in the series, but certainly the weirdest. I can’t say I enjoyed Yakuza Punishment: Lynch (aka Yakuza keibatsu-shi: Rinchi - shikei!), an anthology piece about Yakuza punishments throughout the ages, but I have to admire the sheer bloody mindedness of making an entire movie about Yakuza treating each other horribly. Fortunately, it should be only a matter of time before more of Ishii’s films are given the treatment they deserve on DVD.

Rest in peace, Teruo Ishii, and thanks for everything.

::: Read the announcement of his death by Japan Today

::: Tom Mes interviews Ishii at Midnight Eye

::: Nicolas Tavantzis interviews Ishii at HK Mania

::: Panik House discusses Ishii’s death and their future plans to release several of his films in their blog

::: Patrick Macias offers a emotional (and appropriately raunchy) memorial at his blog

::: Roberto Curti discusses Ishii’s films at Offscreen

::: A discussion of Ishii’s death can be found here on Mobius

:: Trailer for Blind Beast vs. Killer Dwarf
(careful, this is strong stuff)

Thank you to Patrick Macias - some of the information used in this obituary comes from his book Tokyoscope, an excellent resource for Japanese film in general, and Teruo Ishii in particular. Tokyoscope is available for sale at Amazon.

Obituary and © by David Austin