Mikko Niskanen

Mikko Niskanen

Mikko Niskanen was a Finnish film director and actor. He was born in Äänekoski, Central Finland in 1929. He was the third of six children, and his father worked as a timber barge pilot. His mother too had a job outside the home, so the children often spent summers with their grandmother in Viitasaari. At the age of 13, Mikko Niskanen started working in timber felling and floating. Two years later he enrolled in a vocational school in Jyväskylä to become a car mechanic. He took a serious interest in amateur theatre and was accepted to study at the Finnish Theatre Academy in Helsinki from 1947 until 1950. He then acted in Jyväskylä and Kuopio theatres until 1954 when he landed an actor's job at the film studios of Suomen Filmiteollisuus in Helsinki. One of his first film roles was in Edvin Laine's The Unknown Soldier (1955). Between 1958 and 1961 Niskanen studied at the Moscow Film School in the Soviet Union. Niskanen's 1962 film The Boys was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. He continued his directing career focusing on themes such as rural life and youth. His second breakthrough was Under Your Skin (Käpy selän alla, 1966), a story of two young couples spending a weekend camping in the countryside. The film received six Jussi Awards and was followed by another story about young lovers, Asfalttilampaat (1968). Niskanen's tour de force as both actor and director was the five-hour television drama Eight Deadly Shots which was also released as a 145-minute theatrical version edited by Jörn Donner. Based on a true story from late 1960s Finland, it is a naturalistic drama about a poor farmer struggling to make a living for his family. He gradually becomes a violent alcoholic who goes on killing spree when the police arrive to calm him down. Besides directing, Niskanen gave a powerful and intense performance in the leading role. The film, like many of Niskanen's works were shot on locations around his home province north of Jyväskylä. Mikko Niskanen died of cancer at the age of 61.

  • Title: Mikko Niskanen
  • Popularity: 1.585
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1929-01-31
  • Place of Birth: Äänekoski, Finland
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Kalervo Lehto
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Mikko Niskanen Movies

  • 1955
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    Tähtisilmä

    Tähtisilmä

    1 1955 HD

    Poor orphan coffee delivery girl loves a poor painter who can't sell his artworks. Painter likes delivery girl, but has stuck in a friend zone....

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  • 1968
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    Here, Beneath the North Star

    Here, Beneath the North Star

    6.9 1968 HD

    Täällä Pohjantähden alla is based on the book with the same title. It is a story of the little village. The movie starts in the...

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  • 1971
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    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    5.5 1971 HD

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  • 1950
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    Tanssi yli hautojen

    Tanssi yli hautojen

    4 1950 HD

    In the early 1800s, Finnish governor's daughter first detests but soon falls in love with Russian Czar Alexander I who has just taken Finland over...

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  • 1955
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    Kaunis Kaarina

    Kaunis Kaarina

    1 1955 HD

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  • 1957
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    1918

    1918

    7 1957 HD

    Pastor Samuel Bro has lost his faith in God. He is in conflict with the Church Council and is rejected from his priesthood. He moves away to a...

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  • 1958
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    Autuas eversti

    Autuas eversti

    1 1958 HD

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  • 1958
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    Kahden ladun poikki

    Kahden ladun poikki

    1 1958 HD

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  • 1958
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    Verta käsissämme

    Verta käsissämme

    3 1958 HD

    After returning home from being a prisoner of war Viktor gets a job from his friend Rolf with whom he had served. The men trust each other until...

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  • 1960
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    Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut

    Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut

    1 1960 HD

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  • 1950
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    Köyhä laulaja

    Köyhä laulaja

    7 1950 HD

    Sisters Irma and Airi Ranna's café Iltatähti has run into financial trouble. Touring musicians Heikki and Jussi end up as tenants in the...

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  • 1966
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    Skin, Skin

    Skin, Skin

    5.9 1966 HD

    A movie about summer, youth, the difficulty of love, and a camping trip to the countryside by four young people from Helsinki.

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  • 1967
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    Girl of Finland

    Girl of Finland

    6.6 1967 HD

    A theater group is training for the play Lapualaisooppera. We see these young people hanging out and talking about what goes on around them. Also...

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  • 1962
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    Naiset, jotka minulle annoit

    Naiset, jotka minulle annoit

    1 1962 HD

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  • 1962
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    Hän varasti elämän

    Hän varasti elämän

    5.7 1962 HD

    A government official decides to steal a $25-million payroll and then fake his own death. However, in the process he is forced to kill an innocent...

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  • 1988
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    Nuoruuteni savotat

    Nuoruuteni savotat

    6.8 1988 HD

    Lumberjacking is a second part of saga about young author, Kalle Päätalo. It's a story about growing up and becoming a storyteller in hard...

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  • 1962
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    Älä nuolase…

    Älä nuolase…

    5.7 1962 HD

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  • 1958
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    Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla

    Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla

    4.6 1958 HD

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  • 1986
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    Elämän vonkamies

    Elämän vonkamies

    7 1986 HD

    Portrait of rural life in 1920s Northern Finland. The film follows the early life of a boy called Kalle and his family in the shores of river Iijoki.

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  • 1967
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    Elokuva jalostavasta rakkaudesta

    Elokuva jalostavasta rakkaudesta

    1 1967 HD

    Based on Edvard Radzinsky's play, the story critically examines the difficulties of a Soviet film production.

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  • 1983
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    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    5.6 1983 HD

    Growing up story of a high school girl that struggles with the emptiness of her life.

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  • 1978
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    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    5.8 1978 HD

    A small Finnish town bank manager gets caught in the midst of local politics, with dire effects on his family and himself.

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  • 1972
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    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    7.8 1972 HD

    Small-scale farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. Rest of the movie is a long flashback examining the...

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  • 1977
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    Pulakapina

    Pulakapina

    1 1977 HD

    Based on a true story about the so called 1932 Horse Rebellion in Nivala, Finland. The decision to put down a sick horse owned by a poor farmer rises...

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  • 1957
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    Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä

    Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä

    3 1957 HD

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  • 1957
    imgMovies

    Herra sotaministeri

    Herra sotaministeri

    1 1957 HD

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  • 1955
    imgMovies

    The Unknown Soldier

    The Unknown Soldier

    7.4 1955 HD

    It is the summer of 1941. An eastern-Finnish machine gun company receives an order to turn in their surplus equipment. The company is transferred to...

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  • 1955
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    Ryysyrannan Jooseppi

    Ryysyrannan Jooseppi

    5 1955 HD

    Jooseppi Kenkkunen becomes a moonshiner in order to provide for his wife Kaisa-Reetta and his large family during the Prohibition era in Finland.

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  • 1982
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    Gotta Run!

    Gotta Run!

    6 1982 HD

    Juuso, Late, and Pyry return from military service to their small village in the Finnish countryside. Finding work is difficult there, so Juuso...

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Elämän vonkamies

    Elämän vonkamies

    7 1986 HD

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  • 1958
    imgMovies

    Verta käsissämme

    Verta käsissämme

    3 1958 HD

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  • 1972
    imgMovies

    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    7.8 1972 HD

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  • 1972
    imgMovies

    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    7.8 1972 HD

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  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Girl of Finland

    Girl of Finland

    6.6 1967 HD

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  • 1968
    imgMovies

    Asfalttilampaat

    Asfalttilampaat

    5.9 1968 HD

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  • 1956
    imgMovies

    Juha

    Juha

    1 1956 HD

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  • 1966
    imgMovies

    Skin, Skin

    Skin, Skin

    5.9 1966 HD

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  • 1962
    imgMovies

    The Boys

    The Boys

    7 1962 HD

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  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Elokuva jalostavasta rakkaudesta

    Elokuva jalostavasta rakkaudesta

    1 1967 HD

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  • 1972
    imgMovies

    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    7.8 1972 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    5.8 1978 HD

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  • 1988
    imgMovies

    Nuoruuteni savotat

    Nuoruuteni savotat

    6.8 1988 HD

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  • 1963
    imgMovies

    Commando Assault

    Commando Assault

    6.8 1963 HD

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  • 1963
    imgMovies

    Hopeaa rajan takaa

    Hopeaa rajan takaa

    6 1963 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Gotta Run!

    Gotta Run!

    6 1982 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Gotta Run!

    Gotta Run!

    6 1982 HD

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  • 1963
    imgMovies

    Commando Assault

    Commando Assault

    6.8 1963 HD

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  • 1968
    imgMovies

    Asfalttilampaat

    Asfalttilampaat

    5.9 1968 HD

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  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Girl of Finland

    Girl of Finland

    6.6 1967 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Gotta Run!

    Gotta Run!

    6 1982 HD

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  • 1963
    imgMovies

    Hopeaa rajan takaa

    Hopeaa rajan takaa

    6 1963 HD

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    Elämän vonkamies

    Elämän vonkamies

    7 1986 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    5.8 1978 HD

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  • 1972
    imgMovies

    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    7.8 1972 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    Syksyllä kaikki on toisin

    5.8 1978 HD

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    5.6 1983 HD

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika

    5.6 1983 HD

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  • 1977
    imgMovies

    Pulakapina

    Pulakapina

    1 1977 HD

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    5.5 1971 HD

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  • 1988
    imgMovies

    Nuoruuteni savotat

    Nuoruuteni savotat

    6.8 1988 HD

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  • 1977
    imgMovies

    Pulakapina

    Pulakapina

    1 1977 HD

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta

    5.5 1971 HD

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  • 1977
    imgMovies

    Pulakapina

    Pulakapina

    1 1977 HD

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  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Ihmisiä elämän pohjalla

    Ihmisiä elämän pohjalla

    1 1967 HD

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  • 1962
    imgMovies

    The Boys

    The Boys

    7 1962 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    The Accident

    The Accident

    1 1976 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    The Accident

    The Accident

    1 1976 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    17. kesä

    17. kesä

    1 1976 HD

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  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Kyläkauppa

    Kyläkauppa

    1 1979 HD

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  • 1972
    imgS1 E4

    Eight Deadly Shots

    Eight Deadly Shots

    9 1972 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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  • 1982
    imgS1 E4

    The Age of Iron

    The Age of Iron

    7.3 1982 HD

    Rauta-aika (The Age of Iron) is a dramatic four-part miniseries completed in 1982 by Finnish broadcast network Yle TV2. The production attempts to...

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  • 1982
    imgS1 E3

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    6 1982 HD

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    9 1970 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    9 1970 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    9 1970 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    9 1970 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E4

    Hamsterit

    Hamsterit

    9 1970 HD

    Small-farmer Pasi shoots four policemen who have come to arrest him for raged drunkenness. The movie is a flashback examining the events that finally...

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