Seijun Suzuki

, (Seitaro Suzuki; 鈴木 清太郎; Suzuki Seitarō; 24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017) was a Japanese movie director, actor, and screenwriter. He made 40 B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre.
He won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō Trilogy, "Zigeunerweisen" (1980), "Kagero-za" (1981) and "Yumeji" (1991). His movies remained widely unknown outside Japan until a series of theatrical movies beginning in the mid-1980s, home video releases of key movies such as "Branded to Kill" and "Tokyo Drifter" became popular outside of Japan.
Suzuki died on 13 February 2017 at a Tokyo hospital from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, aged 93.