SABU

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

0.4919

Gender

Male

Birthday

18-Nov-1964

Age

(62 years old)

Place of Birth

Wakayama, Japan

Also Known As
  • Hiroki Tanaka
  • 田中博行
  • サブ
  • Hiroyuki Tanaka
  • 田中博樹

SABU

Biography

Sabu (サブ, Sabu, born November 18, 1964) is the pseudonym of Japanese actor and director Hiroyuki Tanaka. Born in Wakayama Prefecture, Sabu studied at an Osaka fashion school before deciding to go to Tokyo to become a professional musician. It was suggested he try acting and in 1986 he made his film debut in Sorobanzuku. He earned his first starring role in the 1991 World Apartment Horror, a live-action film directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo of Akira fame. Working from a script he wrote himself, he made his directorial debut with the 1996 Dangan Runner, a film that set his early style of "quirky action-comedies propelled by characters who hurtle headlong though squirming narratives steered more by the forces of incidence and coincidence than the actions of the protagonists themselves." Shin'ichi Tsutsumi played the lead in Sabu's first five films. Blessing Bell, starring Susumu Terajima (who has played minor roles in nearly all of Sabu's films), was a turn away from his kinetic, parodic, and black comedy narratives, and earned the NETPAC Award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. Later films featured the J-pop band V6. In 2009, he directed The Crab Cannery Ship, a modern adaptation of a classic of Japanese proletarian literature written by Takiji Kobayashi. He has continued to work as an actor, such as in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). His film Chasuke's Journey was selected to be screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.


Credits

(裏) 盗撮ナンパ道 (裏) 盗撮ナンパ道 (1996) Character: N/A
Although he graduated from the Department of Photography at a university, Tatsuya, who had been living a agonizing life without getting a job, accidentally ended up working as a photographer for a sex posting magazine. Pick-up, Aokan, SM, soap, but all the sex photos taken by Tatsuya are inked on the model's face, processed as amateur posts and incorporated into the magazine...
武闘派仁義 全面抗争篇 武闘派仁義 全面抗争篇 (1994) Character: N/A
Takeshi Kojima, who once killed a corrupt economic yakuza boss, has been hiding out in the doya district to escape the gang and the police. Then he is approached by the local yakuza, the Kamata clan. However, the residents don't like the Kamata gang's outrageous tactics, and he refuses their offer...
イメクラ戦争 天使のすまた イメクラ戦争 天使のすまた (1995) Character: N/A
The ultimate sex appeal wars have begun between the two shop girls working opposite each other in this adult entertainment and image club! Dressed in various costumes, they torment men with their mind-blowing techniques!
妖闘地帯KIRIKO 妖闘地帯KIRIKO (1994) Character: N/A
1994 sequel to Satoru Kobayashi's "The Blind Cat". Yakuza drug dealers lure the blind Kiriko into town to take revenge on her. However, Kiriko is a master swordswoman and has plans of her own.
新書ワル3 激情篇 新書ワル3 激情篇 (1993) Character: N/A
Third movie of the series starring Hakuryu.
くまちゃん くまちゃん (1993) Character: N/A
Kuma-chan, an alien who looks just like a stuffed bear, helps a middle-aged sculptor fall in love with a young actress from a theater company.
野獣都市 天使の囁き 野獣都市 天使の囁き (1991) Character: N/A
A corrupt cop teams up with an unlikely partner to protect the city from a gang of ruthless drug addicts.
勝手にしやがれ!! 逆転計画 勝手にしやがれ!! 逆転計画 (1996) Character: N/A
Having lost everything to horse racing, Yûji accidentally gets 10 million yen. But this sum belongs to a Yakuza.
Silence Silence (2016) Character: Samurai #1
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Ichi the Killer - Making Of Ichi the Killer - Making Of (2013) Character: Self
The making of the most controversial scenes of Takashi Miike's cult film, Ichi the Killer.
800 Two Lap Runners 800 Two Lap Runners (1994) Character: Kyoichi Nakazawa
A coming-of-age story about two runners, Kenji and Ryuji, tangled in love, loss, and rivalry, as they navigate complex emotions and relationships.
さくらん さくらん (2006) Character: Patron
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
女優霊 女優霊 (1996) Character: Sekikawa
A filmmaker and crew slowly go insane after being continually haunted by the ghost of a dead actress.
Ichi the Killer - Behind the Scenes Ichi the Killer - Behind the Scenes (2013) Character: Self
The behind the scenes of Ichi the Killer, included in its Bluray release.
新宿黒社会 チャイナマフィア戦争 新宿黒社会 チャイナマフィア戦争 (1995) Character: Shusuke Shimada
Tatsuhito, a cop, pursues Chinese warlord Wang through the underworld of Shinjuku and over to Taiwan.
アンラッキー・モンキー アンラッキー・モンキー (1998) Character: Bank Robber
A dark and strange comedy about a bank robber with bad luck. Bungling a bank robbery turns out to be a profitable mistake for Yamazaki, an amateur crook who ends up with 80 million yen after a string of improbable accidents. But having so much cash doesn't make his life is any easier. In fact, it gets much more complicated when Yamazaki stabs a hairdresser by mistake and instantly becomes a hunted fugitive. He's just one unlucky monkey but can he turn his luck around?
ポストマン・ブルース ポストマン・ブルース (1997) Character: Kurokawa
Sawaki is a postman who's not quite thrilled about his boring way of life. But his life is about to change when he delivers mail to his old schoolmate Noguchi, who's now a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia, and just finished cutting his little finger off.
ジョゼと虎と魚たち ジョゼと虎と魚たち (2003) Character: Patron
A part-time employee in a mahjong parlour runs across a young woman, who is unable to walk, in baby carriage. He becomes friends with the woman and begins to feel enamoured with her.
殺し屋1 殺し屋1 (2001) Character: Kaneko
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
修羅の伝説 修羅の伝説 (1992) Character: N/A
A story about the development of a bright and strong yakuza. Otaki is an old-fashioned respectful yakuza who tries to protect his small yakuza family. When his boss gets shot, he decides to go after the plotters.
ワールドアパートメントホラー ワールドアパートメントホラー (1991) Character: Ita
A Yakuza underling is given the assignment to rid an apartment of its tenants within a week. He tries a variety of desperate tactics to no avail. Soon his problems get worse as an evil spirit makes its presence known.
ゼイラム 2 ゼイラム 2 (1994) Character: Fujikuro (as Sabu)
Intergalactic bounty hunters Iria and Bob return to track down an ancient mystical relic. When a second Zeiram unit shows up and goes berserk, it takes all of Iria's resources to survive a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the fearsome space creature.
Eli on Ichi Eli on Ichi (2007) Character: Self
Eli Roth, horror director talks about the influence of Ichi the Killer on him, how he made the cast of Hostel watch it before filming his torture film, and of course he talks about the infamous title sequence: the title of the film rising out of Ichi's spilled seed.
弾丸ランナー 弾丸ランナー (1996) Character: Assassin
A would-be bank robber forgets his mask on his first big heist, and then botches an attempt to shoplift a replacement mask from a nearby convenience store. The store's clerk, a washed-up rock star, chases the thief and literally runs into a Yakuza to whom he owes money. Thus begins an all-night, three-way pursuit through the streets of Tokyo.



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