Kenji Tanigaki: Art of Action – The Furious Director's Secrets
Video Overview & Insights
Dive deep into the electrifying world of cinematic action with the legendary Kenji Tanigaki!
The final fight with the bald tall guy in Jet Li's Unleashed - We just interviewed him. You can find the podcast episode here :) -
https://youtu.be/V41N9XiRRxQ&list=PLuKvgahD9z_wiinikz086hNOAZZ0e4gik
In this exclusive interview, the director of The Furious and world-renowned action choreographer for the Rurouni Kenshin series and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In joins host Troy Sandford to reveal the secrets behind his iconic career.
From his early training in Shorinjin Kempo to becoming Donnie Yen’s "secret weapon," Kenji shares the discipline, artistry, and technical innovations that have redefined martial arts storytelling.
Coming now after seeing his latest masterpiece. Amazing listen, great interview!
In this episode, we discuss:
-The Power of Discipline: How training under Kurata Sensei shaped his rigorous approach.
加油👏
您真的了不起❤
-Character-Driven Action: Why movement must serve the character over the story.
-Innovation on Set: Inventing rubber swords for Kenshin and spike shoes for The Furious.
Just 2 more days to The Furious haha Cant wait mang hehe👹✊🔥💥
-Working with Legends: Collaborating with Donnie Yen on Blade 2, Flashpoint, and SPL.
-The "Unplugged" Style: Moving away from CGI and quick cuts toward raw, physical cinema.
And this has only 2.4K views ? This is pure Gold... even for a comic book artist.
-Golden Advice: Kenji’s ultimate tip for aspiring actors and action designers: Be Unique.
Whether you are a filmmaker, stunt performer, or a fan of Hong Kong cinema, this interview is a masterclass in action design from a true visionary.
Man it's trule Awesome 👌 amazing interview with kenji tanigaki u did a great great job by pick pointing from his early age of learning martial arts world to landing now director chair Of upcoming hard hitting brutal Blast movie The Furious love it man i appreciate ur this podcast 💯💯💯🤟🤟🤟kudos
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00:00 - Intro & The Master of Cinematic Action
Awesome Interview man! New subscriber 👊❤️
0:00:54 - Welcome Kenji Tanigaki: Martial Arts Storyteller
0:01:46 - The Furious & Award-Winning Work
When's this coming out? Can't wait to see it.
0:02:29 - Early Beginnings: Martial Arts to Stuntman
0:03:34 - Shorinjin Kempo: Choreographic Martial Arts
Помнишь как за него плакал нашла его ты рад
0:04:55 - Influence of Jackie Chan & Sammo Hung
0:06:07 - Why Stuntman Over Actor?
Лепс и есть Чарльз третий
0:07:52 - Teamwork in Filmmaking
0:08:17 - Discipline from Kurata Sensei
Master Kenji is wonderful, Bro...
0:09:54 - Favorite Training & Daily Routine
0:11:47 - Overcoming Procrastination
It is always a pleasure to listen to Kenji speak. To see someone with such profound knowledge express himself with such humility is truly inspiring. A true master and a visionary in action cinema. What a wonderful interview, filled with so many wise words. Amituofo.
0:13:10 - Passion for the Craft
0:14:13 - Filmmaking as a Gift to the Audience
Holy shit a 25-minute fight scene in The Furious?! A friend of mine said it's every bit as good as they say and the finale is comparable to the climax of Dragons Forever. I'm hoping to not overhype it for myself. I'm expecting it to be not just a great ensemble action piece but bring some new ideas to martial arts cinema. Triple Threat was a great team-up of the best contemporary movie martial artists at the time but I feel like it was more of a tribute to each individual star's prior work than being something brand new. Here's to hoping The Furious brings together some of the genre's greatest yet also pushes forward their action abilities. Kenji Tanigaki's got a very unique action aesthetic rooted in Yasuaki Kurata's hybrid Hong Kong-Japanese style and Donnie Yen's choreographically chameleonic flavor. I can go on and on defining it in detail. But the main fight choreographer being Kensuke Sonomura who early on adopted an updated form of Kurata action then went on to create his own avant-garde approach in Hydra which took elements of Kurata, Kenji, and Tak Sakaguchi? I've never seen Sonomura work with so many international martial arts stars aside from mainly his own Japanese stunt team. To be honest I don't think I've ever seen such a diverse mix of martial action. Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia. I absolutely cannot wait for a wider release......
0:14:53 - Magic of Audience Reaction
0:16:40 - World-Class Action Standards
Great interview thank you!! Kenji has been a great friend of mine for over 30 years!! He is awesome!!
0:17:19 - Seeking Different Perspectives
0:18:32 - The Pressure of Peer Respect
Thank you both!
0:19:14 - Working with Cinematographer Raoul SIM
0:20:50 - Evolution of Style
Beautiful interview.
0:23:29 - Valuing Actor Input
0:24:19 - Storytelling vs. Character Development
awesome podcast! thank you Troy and Kenji ! legends
0:25:50 - What Makes a Great Fight? (Drunken Master 2 vs. SPL)
0:28:33 - Minimalism of SPL's Alley Fight
🎬 Wow — this was 🔥! Kenji Tanigaki’s passion for action cinema really comes through in every clip and insight here. It’s amazing to see how his journey from martial artist to legendary action director has shaped modern fight choreography — from Hong Kong classics to The Furious! 👏🔥 Can’t wait to see what incredible innovations he brings next to action films! 💥🍿 #ActionLegend #KenjiTanigaki #TheFurious
0:29:31 - Clarity in Fight Scenes
0:30:25 - The 25-Minute Ending of The Furious
Great Interview from start to finish. So many NUGGETS!
0:31:55 - Choreographing 5 Fighters at Once
0:33:00 - Innovation Born from Tough Situations
Blade 2. That was one of my favorite films ever!
0:36:45 - Origins of Power Powder
0:38:11 - Kenji's Appearance in Tony Jaa's "Chakra"
Great interview. Kenji is a legend!
0:41:00 - Acting Skills for Longevity
0:43:02 - Beijing Opera vs. Athletes
A loooot of interesting information here.
0:43:52 - Charisma of Action Stars
0:44:17 - Camera Awareness for Actors
Kenji is cool 😎
0:46:07 - Kurosawa’s Telephoto Influence
0:47:00 - Master Shot vs. Pickup Shot
Thats Awesome!!
0:48:03 - Casting: What Kenji Looks For
0:48:22 - Bradley Lee's Performance
Kenji - a legend!
0:50:20 - Directing: Framing & Movement
0:50:52 - Embracing Unexpected Shots
There again, how do you top Blade 2! A masterpiece for action movie!
0:52:11 - Inspirations: Keaton to Bruce Lee
0:53:55 - Raw Action vs. CGI & Quick Cuts
Hidden Man is my favorite. Kenji is one of a kind. A true master and great Director!
0:55:00 - The Danger of Blindly Following Pre-Vis
0:57:17 - The Art of "Sentung" (On-Set Innovation)
What's your favourite Kenji Tanigaki film?
1:01:44 - Donnie Yen’s "Treasure in Garbage" Philosophy
1:03:11 - Animation Inspiring Live-Action
1:04:51 - Working on "Blade 2" & "Flashpoint"
1:06:12 - Donnie Yen's "Nasty" Approval
1:07:21 - Rurouni Kenshin vs. The Furious
1:10:47 - Kenji's Directorial Debut
1:11:09 - Genesis of The Furious
1:12:31 - Assembling the Dream Cast
1:14:47 - Freedom with Responsibility
1:16:48 - Director as Generalist, Team as Specialists
1:19:59 - Donnie Yen's Enduring Hunger
1:21:40 - The Hong Kong Industry Advantage
1:22:00 - Favorite Movie: A Better Tomorrow
1:22:53 - All-Time Favorite: The Godfather
1:23:55 - Legacy of Bruce Lee
1:25:50 - The Power of Charisma
1:28:12 - Keeping Passion High
1:29:22 - Sharing the "Craziness"
1:31:54 - Learning from Mistakes
1:33:41 - Golden Advice: Be Unique!
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