Takao Saitō

Cinematographer. Born 5 March 1929 in Kyoto, Japan. Died 6 December 2014.

Titles on Fi1m

Average Fi1m score

Born

5 March 1929, Kyoto, Japan

Died

6 December 2014

Active

1963–1985

Frequent collaborators

Akira Kurosawa, Asakazu Nakai, Hideo Oguni, Yoshirō Muraki

Biography

Takao Saitō (also credited as Takao Saito or 斎藤孝雄) was a Japanese cinematographer. He joined Toho Studios in 1946 as a camera assistant and worked on numerous films directed by Akira Kurosawa, initially as an assistant or on secondary cameras.

He served as cinematographer or co-cinematographer on Kurosawa films including Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Dodes'ka-den (1970), Kagemusha (1980), Ran (1985) and Dreams (1990). Saitō received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography for Ran. He died in 2014.

Compiled from published sources (en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, imdb.com) · 15 September 2026How we write and check

Films and series

Beyond what we have reviewed, Takao Saitō is known for Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), Kagemusha (1980), Sanjuro (1962), Dreams (1990), Red Beard (1965), The Bad Sleep Well (1960) and Dodes'ka-den (1970).

Ran

1985 · Cinematography

High and Low

1963 · Cinematography