Legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away after a bout with cancer in 2023, but his legacy and presence are still being felt and celebrated. The new concert film, “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” which features his final Performance, is directed by his son, Neo Sora, and is coming out in March. The movie was executive produced by Jeremy Thomas, who worked on arguably two of the most important films in Sakmoto’s film-scoring career. “The Last Emperor,” “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,”
Following his seminal work with the pioneering electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra, Sakamoto went on to have a fantastic career scoring movies. Sakamoto won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and two Golden Globe Awards, and his career really launched with the classic score to Nagisa Ōshima’s film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” (1983), which co-starred David Bowie. Sakamoto worked with venerated filmmakers like Bernardo Bertolucci— he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for “The Last Emperor” (1987)— Pedro Almodóvar (“High Heels “), Oliver Stone (“Wild Palms”), Brian De Palma (“Snake Eyes” and “Femme Fatale”) Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) and many more. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster,” released in 2023, was Sakamoto’s final score, and the film is dedicated to his memory.
Here’s the synopsis for ‘Opus.’
A celebration of an artist’s life in the purest sense, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus is the definitive swan song of one of the world’s greatest musicians. In late 2022, as a parting gift, Ryuichi Sakamoto mustered all of his energy to leave us with one final performance: a concert film featuring just him and his piano. Curated and sequenced by Sakamoto himself, the twenty pieces featured in the film wordlessly narrate his life through his wide-ranging oeuvre. The selection spans his entire career, from his pop-star period with Yellow Magic Orchestra and his magnificent scores for filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci to his meditative final album,12. Intimately filmed in a space he knew well and surrounded by his most trusted collaborators, including director Neo Sora, his son, Sakamoto bares his soul through his exquisitely haunting melodies, knowing this was the last time he would be able to present his art.
“Ryuichi Sakamoto Opus” opens Friday, March 15, In New York at Film At Lincoln Center. A national rollout will follow. Watch the new trailer below.
