PLOT:
Shohei Imamaura’s debut film follows a man who joins a troupe of traveling actors, and becomes involved with one of the married actresses and her younger sister.Read More »
Japan
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Shôhei Imamura – Nusumareta yokujô AKA Stolen Desire (1958)
1951-1960ClassicsComedyJapanShohei Imamura -
Kon Ichikawa – Kaettekite Kogarashi Monjirô AKA Kogarashi Monjiro Returns (1993)
1991-2000ActionDramaJapanKon IchikawaSynopsis:
Although five years have passed since the reported death of roving gambler Kogarashi Monjiro, the rumors of his survival has struck fear into the heart of Gorozo, the biggest boss in the Joshu area. Having been rescued from drowning by a woodsman, Monjiro had given up the sword to lead a straight life cutting down trees in the Owari clan’s home territory. His newly found life unravels when his benefactor asks him to return to his former lifestyle and retrieve his son from the grasps of Gorozo’s yakuza family before tragedy can befall him. As Monjiro, superstar Nakamura Atsuo gives the performance of a lifetime as he reprises his signature role.Read More » -
Yôji Yamada – Natsukashii furaibo AKA The Lovable Tramp (1966)
1961-1970AsianComedyJapanYôji YamadaSaotome is a white-collar worker and he was neglected by his wife and children at home. He met Gen, a blue-collar worker and they became good friends.Read More »
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Shirô Toyoda – Kôkotsu no hito AKA The Twilight Years (1973)
1971-1980ClassicsDramaJapanShirô Toyoda -
Hiroshi Inagaki – Chûshingura AKA The 47 Ronin (1962)
1961-1970AsianClassicsHiroshi InagakiJapanThe story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master’s honor after patiently waiting and planning for over a year to kill Kira. In turn, the ronin were themselves forced to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder.Read More »
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Sadao Nakajima – Amadera maruhi monogatari AKA Nunnery Confidential (1968)
1961-1970AsianDramaJapanSadao NakajimaThird film in the Maruhi series. Focuses on the life of Buddhist nuns during the Edo Period.Junko Fuji in leading role for the first time.Read More »
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Kon Ichikawa – Pu-san AKA Mr.Pu (1953)
Kon Ichikawa1951-1960ComedyDramaJapanIntroduction
A dark satire of a contemporary Japan still exhausted from the aftermath of war, hunger, poverty and unemployment.And just as its people are recovering, there is a threat during these Cold War years of renewed militarism and rearm…Read More » -
Kon Ichikawa – Ana AKA Hole In One (1957)
1951-1960ComedyDramaJapanKon IchikawaEccentric film about female reporter fired for writing about police corruption. To make money she hides while a weekly magazine offers a prize for her discovery. A bank embezzler and his underlings take advantage of her disappearance to pin the theft on her, as well as the murder of the weak link in their gang. Meanwhile, the cop she got fired is now a private detective and he gets involved in the investigation. Another example of Ichikawa’s mixing of farcical genre filmmaking with perspicacious visual design. Comic highlights include an intentions of murder scene in which each shot reveals the gap in knowledge between potential perpetrator and victim, and the role of unseen objects in accidentally protecting the latter from the former. Another cynical film that finds in cinema a model for the superficial image society of 1950s Japan.Read More »
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Shinichirô Watanabe – Kaubôi bibappu: Tengoku no tobira AKA Cowboy Bebop the Movie (2001)
2001-2010ActionAnimationJapanShinichirô WatanabeA tanker truck is blown to smithereens in the middle of a busy street, and a deadly viral infection is released with the explosion. The Bebop crew – Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV – are instantly after the culprit when the gargantuan reward of 300,000,000 woolongs is announced. But the case gets stranger and stranger as the cold-blooded Vincent Volaju, who supposedly has been dead for ten years, seems to be the prime suspect. Meanwhile, Spike encounters the dangerous Electra, who too seeks the madman. Conspiracies and secrets better left alone are uncovered, and Vincent’s reign or terror is nowhere near over yet..Read More »