Well, I do not know about the rest of you but this was a delightfully surprising bit of news for me to find out!
Tak Sakaguchi, the man we all know from popular Japanese action films of the last thirteen years such as Versus, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, Deadball and Yakuza Weapon, recently made headlines over at Twitch surrounding speculation about a possible retirement from acting. Now think back, if you can recall, when Sakaguchi-san starred in and choreographed a film directed by co-writer and action director Yuji Shimomura where he was often seen dragging a coffin and getting into a lot of brawls at the bar with pale faced drunkards, ninjas, vampires, zombies, creepy sword twins and evil goddesses, right? Well, that film was called Death Trance, and while it wasn’t a huge cinematic masterpiece, it was a true gem for martial arts, fantasy and sci-fi fans, and especially fans of the faved Japanese action star who can never get enough of watching Tak Sakaguchi in character beat the living mathematical crap out of a horde of baddies that had it coming.
Fast forward eight years later and with 13 years of credits earned as an actor, action director, writer and all-around filmmaker, I guess the following Facebook post from the people over at Monster Attack Team pretty much dispells that whether or not the veteran action impressario is retiring, “Grave” WILL return!
Happy Action-Packed Birthday to Nikkatsu Pictures, Sushi Typhoon super action director & star TAK SAKAGUCHI. Sakaguchi-san called earlier this year from his dojo to tell us he is working on DEATH TRANCE II and wants to visit the U.S. with MONSTER ATTACK TEAM again. After last year’s fund raising visit with MAT to AKON-23 he wrote: Thank you for always supporting me, I truly appreciate your support. 18 years have passed since I started action work and I am playing the main character and also directing a 77 minute straight one cut jidaigeki (period drama) film for my next production.
The scene is extreme and full of tension with enemies trying to attack and slice me with their full power. On a thin knife’s edge I flipped, dodge and beat 588 people. It’s a compilation of real action, which I have been thinking about doing for 18 years. Please enjoy this production, which I almost shaved my life short on.
I will be happy to continue making good productions and being supported by fans. Because of them and you all I was able to donate a big amount of money to victims in Tohoku. Thank you.
Sakaguchi-san, arigatou. Tanjobi omedeto gozaimasu!
If you are not familiar with the first movie, you can view the trailer below or click HERE if the embed fails to load. You can
You can currently purchase the DVD or download/stream the film wherever available.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKAGUCHI-SAN!
Photo Credits: Hollywood Hates Me, CD Universe