Takeshi Kitano's recent work, with Zatoichi and Takeshi's, has broken new ground. But whether he tackles a legend of chambara—the Japanese swordplay film—in the former or delves into dream autobiography in the latter, Kitano remains true to himself: burlesque, violence, and colorful shimmering blend into a waking dream atmosphere unlike any other. The musical is never far away, and the actor's formidable body, with its stillness and tension, even aged and weathered by time, retains its ability to move with a blink of an eye, a dance step, or a lightning-fast blow.

Tension, grace, explosiveness: filmmaker Kitano and actor Beat Takeshi are ageless.