Masato Harada

Masato Harada

Birth : 1949-07-03, Numazu, Prefettura di Shizuoka, Giappone

History

Masato Harada is a Japanese film director, film critic, and sometimes an actor; he is best known to foreign audiences as Omura in The Last Samurai and as Mr Mita in Fearless.

Profile

Masato Harada

Movies

Bad Lands
Screenplay
A grifter and her loose-cannon brother get their hands on a massive amount of money, but their ill-gotten gains puts a huge target on their back.
Bad Lands
Producer
A grifter and her loose-cannon brother get their hands on a massive amount of money, but their ill-gotten gains puts a huge target on their back.
Bad Lands
Director
A grifter and her loose-cannon brother get their hands on a massive amount of money, but their ill-gotten gains puts a huge target on their back.
HELL DOGS
Director
Adapted from the manga Hell Dogs by Fukamachi Akio.
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai
Screenplay
Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata. He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai
Director
Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata. He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.
Killing for the Prosecution
Screenplay
Young public prosecutor Keiichiro Okino is assigned to the department of the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office that deals with violent cases, where he will work with Takeshi Mogami, whom he admires. When a money lender is killed and it is suspected that someone from Mogami’s past is the perpetrator, the team prepares to do his best in order to prove the alleged criminal’s guilt.
Killing for the Prosecution
Director
Young public prosecutor Keiichiro Okino is assigned to the department of the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office that deals with violent cases, where he will work with Takeshi Mogami, whom he admires. When a money lender is killed and it is suspected that someone from Mogami’s past is the perpetrator, the team prepares to do his best in order to prove the alleged criminal’s guilt.
Sekigahara
Screenplay
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
Sekigahara
Editor
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
Sekigahara
Director
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
The Emperor in August
Screenplay
In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can't do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
The Emperor in August
Director
In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can't do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
Kakekomi
Screenplay
Kakekomi tells the stories of Edo women in the 1800s that escape abusive husbands and lovers by taking refuge in Tokeiji, a monastery in Kamakura.
Kakekomi
Director
Kakekomi tells the stories of Edo women in the 1800s that escape abusive husbands and lovers by taking refuge in Tokeiji, a monastery in Kamakura.
Chronicle of My Mother
Producer
Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior has taken on his increasingly distant family and resolve his own long-simmering resentments. Evocative of classic Ozu, this gorgeously wrought epic family portrait explores the tenderness and trappings of familial bonds.
Chronicle of My Mother
Screenplay
Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior has taken on his increasingly distant family and resolve his own long-simmering resentments. Evocative of classic Ozu, this gorgeously wrought epic family portrait explores the tenderness and trappings of familial bonds.
Chronicle of My Mother
Director
Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior has taken on his increasingly distant family and resolve his own long-simmering resentments. Evocative of classic Ozu, this gorgeously wrought epic family portrait explores the tenderness and trappings of familial bonds.
Climber's High
Adaptation
On August 12, 1985, a jumbo jet crashes, causing 520 fatalities, making the accident the biggest single-plane accident in the world. The local press reporters are tossed about by the waves of facts and rumors. While overwhelmed by the magnitude of the accident, Yuuki, in charge of this crash report at a local newspaper, faces a string of decision-making moments. What are news and a reporter? How should a man do his work and survive in a corporate hierarchy? What do family and friends mean to him? An intriguing story, which keeps the audience on the edge of tension and reality.
Climber's High
Director
On August 12, 1985, a jumbo jet crashes, causing 520 fatalities, making the accident the biggest single-plane accident in the world. The local press reporters are tossed about by the waves of facts and rumors. While overwhelmed by the magnitude of the accident, Yuuki, in charge of this crash report at a local newspaper, faces a string of decision-making moments. What are news and a reporter? How should a man do his work and survive in a corporate hierarchy? What do family and friends mean to him? An intriguing story, which keeps the audience on the edge of tension and reality.
The Shadow Spirit
Writer
A series of murders of beautiful girls occur in Tokyo not long after the end of the war. Also the daughter of a retired actress, Yuzuki Yoko, has gone missing. In the meantime, a religious cult that claims to shut away misfortunes in a box has been gaining popularity, displaying an eerie aspect. Yoko's daughter is alleged to have been run over by a train, and taken into a research institute situated in a gigantic box-shaped building. A private detective Enokizu (Abe Hiroshi), a writer Sekiguchi (Shiina Kippei), a journalist Atsuko and a police detective Kiba each pursues their own case, and Chuzenji (Tsutsumi Shinichi), an owner of a secondhand bookshop, "Kyogoku Do" suspects that all cases are linked to the box-shaped research institute.
The Shadow Spirit
Director
A series of murders of beautiful girls occur in Tokyo not long after the end of the war. Also the daughter of a retired actress, Yuzuki Yoko, has gone missing. In the meantime, a religious cult that claims to shut away misfortunes in a box has been gaining popularity, displaying an eerie aspect. Yoko's daughter is alleged to have been run over by a train, and taken into a research institute situated in a gigantic box-shaped building. A private detective Enokizu (Abe Hiroshi), a writer Sekiguchi (Shiina Kippei), a journalist Atsuko and a police detective Kiba each pursues their own case, and Chuzenji (Tsutsumi Shinichi), an owner of a secondhand bookshop, "Kyogoku Do" suspects that all cases are linked to the box-shaped research institute.
The Suicide Song
Writer
Original story by Yasushi AKIMOTO, writer of the mega hit movie One Missed Call (Chakushin Ari) series. As the project was in development with an idea of an "infectious song (Densen-Uta)", one of the staff called out..."There was a real Densen-Uta!" He discovers on the internet of a song back in 1933, Hungary, which caused mysterious deaths of many people. In "Densen-Uta", high school girls get mixed up in the Japanese version of this infectious song, and with the help of third rate gossip magazine reporter, tries to solve the mystery and horror behind the song. They come to know just how real, an urban legend can become.
The Suicide Song
Director
Original story by Yasushi AKIMOTO, writer of the mega hit movie One Missed Call (Chakushin Ari) series. As the project was in development with an idea of an "infectious song (Densen-Uta)", one of the staff called out..."There was a real Densen-Uta!" He discovers on the internet of a song back in 1933, Hungary, which caused mysterious deaths of many people. In "Densen-Uta", high school girls get mixed up in the Japanese version of this infectious song, and with the help of third rate gossip magazine reporter, tries to solve the mystery and horror behind the song. They come to know just how real, an urban legend can become.
Fearless
Mita
Huo Yuan Jia became the most famous martial arts fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness, defining the true spirit of martial arts and also inspiring his nation. The son of a great fighter who didn't wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, Huo resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win.
Beat Kids
Writer
A school brass band gets a new member.
Bluestockings
Writer
Set during Japan's Taisho Era (1912-1926), "Bluestockings" tells the tale story of a love triangle between wealthy businessman Yuichiro (Etsushi Toyokawa), his wife Akiko (Kyoko Hasegawa), and Kiyoko (Yoshino Kimura).
Bluestockings
Director
Set during Japan's Taisho Era (1912-1926), "Bluestockings" tells the tale story of a love triangle between wealthy businessman Yuichiro (Etsushi Toyokawa), his wife Akiko (Kyoko Hasegawa), and Kiyoko (Yoshino Kimura).
The Last Samurai
Omura
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
The Choice of Hercules
Writer
When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.
The Choice of Hercules
Director
When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.
Inugami
Screenplay
Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
Inugami
Writer
Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
Inugami
Director
Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
Jubaku: Spellbound
Director
When a major bank is caught paying off a corporate extortionist, the media and prosecutors begin to dig, breaking open a money-and-favours scandal that threatens to rock the entire structure of business and government to its core. While the bank's top executives continue to vacillate, a quartet of middle-management reformers, led by straight-arrow Kitano (Koji Yakusho), decide to stage a boardroom coup and install a new, clean management team. With the aid of a hotshot news anchor (Miho Wada) and a hard-nosed prosecutor (Kenichi Endo), heads begin to roll.
Ring 2
Producer
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. When her boyfriend’s son, Yoichi, starts to develop the same psychic abilities as Sadako, Takano must find a way to keep the boy and herself from becoming the next victims.
The Spiral
Producer
A young pathologist seeks answers to the mysterious death of a friend and soon comes into contact with the same cursed videotape that caused the death of the friend's wife and son, which is haunted by the curse of Sadako, a relentless spirit.
Bounce Ko Gals
Writer
Filmed somewhat in documentary style, it follows three girls over the span of one day and night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating, Raku is a street dancer, and Togo was brought up in the US and back in Japan for one year wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts and yakuza places them in danger.
Bounce Ko Gals
Director
Filmed somewhat in documentary style, it follows three girls over the span of one day and night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating, Raku is a street dancer, and Togo was brought up in the US and back in Japan for one year wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts and yakuza places them in danger.
The President's Christmas Tree
Adaptation
Rowing Through
Director
Based on the real-life story of American rower Tiff Wood (Colin Ferguson), an athlete determined to realize his goal of winning gold at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Wood's dream is shattered when the U.S. boycotts the games, and he must refocus his life towards making the team four years later, with the odds against him.
Kamikaze Taxi
Writer
A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician; along the way, he acquires the aid of a taxi driver who has recently returned to Japan after living in South America for several decades and is struggling to cope with poverty and the prejudices of native-born Japanese.
Kamikaze Taxi
Director
A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician; along the way, he acquires the aid of a taxi driver who has recently returned to Japan after living in South America for several decades and is struggling to cope with poverty and the prejudices of native-born Japanese.
The Painted Desert
Producer
In the middle of the desert, a solipsistic Japanese-American woman, along with her elderly and paralysed friend Barbara, runs the Desert Rose Cafe. Things liven up with the arrival of a mafia henchman (whose boss is hiding out at a nearby ranch), a battered Japanse man (who turns out to be a terrific chef, but who also triggers Barbara's memories of internment during WWII), and an attack on the mob boss' camp.
The Painted Desert
Writer
In the middle of the desert, a solipsistic Japanese-American woman, along with her elderly and paralysed friend Barbara, runs the Desert Rose Cafe. Things liven up with the arrival of a mafia henchman (whose boss is hiding out at a nearby ranch), a battered Japanse man (who turns out to be a terrific chef, but who also triggers Barbara's memories of internment during WWII), and an attack on the mob boss' camp.
The Painted Desert
Director
In the middle of the desert, a solipsistic Japanese-American woman, along with her elderly and paralysed friend Barbara, runs the Desert Rose Cafe. Things liven up with the arrival of a mafia henchman (whose boss is hiding out at a nearby ranch), a battered Japanse man (who turns out to be a terrific chef, but who also triggers Barbara's memories of internment during WWII), and an attack on the mob boss' camp.
Tuff Part V
Screenplay
Tuff Part V
Director
Tuff Part IV
Screenplay
Tuff Part IV
Director
Tuff Part III
Screenplay
Tuff Part III
Director
Tuff Part II
Screenplay
Tuff Part I
Screenplay
Tuff Part I
Director
Monster Heaven: Ghost Hero
Writer
A major electronics company on the verge of developing technology to create a 3D image that can be physically handled is thrown into turmoil when a murderous demon is unleashed in the headquarters office. Can the slow witted son of the company founder and a punk rock band of monsters (don’t ask) stop the evil forces before the employees are butchered?
Gunhed
Writer
High-concept Sci-Fi adventure about an island that actually is a computer called Kyron 5, itself created to design and manufacture super-advanced robots to be used as slaves for the rest of the world. One day Kyron decides that human beings are unnecessary, so it declares war on the world. But Kyron cannot be tamed, and after many lives are lost in the attempt, mankind decides to leave Kyron to its own devices.
Gunhed
Director
High-concept Sci-Fi adventure about an island that actually is a computer called Kyron 5, itself created to design and manufacture super-advanced robots to be used as slaves for the rest of the world. One day Kyron decides that human beings are unnecessary, so it declares war on the world. But Kyron cannot be tamed, and after many lives are lost in the attempt, mankind decides to leave Kyron to its own devices.
The Heartbreak Yakuza
Screenplay
A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare.
The Heartbreak Yakuza
Director
A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare.
Onyanko the Movie - One Shot Crisis!
Director
The story revolves around a hardcore Onyanko Club fanatic who decides he wants to kill the girls to prevent the young, cute idols from getting old and married - in a sense, to preserve their youth for eternity.
Onyanko the Movie - One Shot Crisis!
Screenplay
The story revolves around a hardcore Onyanko Club fanatic who decides he wants to kill the girls to prevent the young, cute idols from getting old and married - in a sense, to preserve their youth for eternity.
Paris/Dakar 1500
Writer
Plot missing
Paris/Dakar 1500
Director
Plot missing
Terra Warrior Ψ BOY
Writer
Six year old Momoko and Motoharu are turned suddenly into High school students. And more than that they have now psychic powers.
Out of Focus
Director
A magazine publisher called Out Of Focus hires a new female camerawoman. This company is located in Tokyo. The new photographer moves from outside the city to Tokyo and upon arrival and on her first day is tasked with immediately snapping pictures. Her boss sends her on a mission with a senior colleague. The senior cameraman uses rogue ways surprising his new colleague. A new assignment related to a former Japanese Prime Minister falls on her lap. The court does not look fondly at photography of this kind.
Windy Story
Writer
Windy Story
Director
Goodbye, Flickmania
Screenplay
Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friendship between two very different men—a fortyish film maniac who spends nearly all his time at the movies and a 19-year-old going through the final rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood.
Goodbye, Flickmania
Director
Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friendship between two very different men—a fortyish film maniac who spends nearly all his time at the movies and a 19-year-old going through the final rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood.