Ryuichi Sakamoto was thought to have delivered his final performance last December after succumbing to a nearly-decade-long battle with cancer in March. Today, Deadline revealed his true final performance in a teaser for the concert film Opus, which is due to premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5.
Directed by Sakamoto's son, Neo Sora, Opus will showcase the legendary Japanese composer performing 20 carefully curated compositions from his storied career — joined by only his piano.
In a posthumous statement shared by the production team, Sakamoto revealed that the movie was a long time in the making:
I played every piece at home which we recorded on an iPhone to construct the overall composition of the concert that will express the progression of time from morning into night. Everything was meticulously storyboarded so that the camera positions and the lighting changed significantly with each song. I went into the shoot a little nervous, thinking this might be my last chance to share my performance with everyone in this way. We recorded a few songs a day with a lot of care.
Watch Deadline's exclusive short clip of Sakamoto performing his award-winning music from the 1990 film The Sheltering Sky, and check out a fan-shared clip of what was previously thought to be his final performance in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022 below.
Directed by Sakamoto's son, Neo Sora, Opus will showcase the legendary Japanese composer performing 20 carefully curated compositions from his storied career — joined by only his piano.
In a posthumous statement shared by the production team, Sakamoto revealed that the movie was a long time in the making:
I played every piece at home which we recorded on an iPhone to construct the overall composition of the concert that will express the progression of time from morning into night. Everything was meticulously storyboarded so that the camera positions and the lighting changed significantly with each song. I went into the shoot a little nervous, thinking this might be my last chance to share my performance with everyone in this way. We recorded a few songs a day with a lot of care.
Watch Deadline's exclusive short clip of Sakamoto performing his award-winning music from the 1990 film The Sheltering Sky, and check out a fan-shared clip of what was previously thought to be his final performance in Ryuichi Sakamoto: Playing the Piano 2022 below.