Ryûnosuke Tsukigata

  • Nobuo Nakagawa – Maboroshi Tengu AKA The Phantom Goblin (1962)

    1961-1970ActionJapanMysteryNobuo Nakagawa

    The great Okawa Hashizo plays a double role in this thrilling tale of intrigue and corruption within the capital city of Edo. When Moriya Shuma, an injured Edo officer is rescued by a vassal whose appears to be his exact double, he swears to sweep out all the criminals from the city. Directed by one of Japan’s most revered filmmakers, Nakagawa Nobuo, this story is filled with twists and turns, and loaded with surprises. Plenty of realistic swordplay highlights this exciting motion picture.Read More »

  • Hiroshi Inagaki – Hiken AKA The Secret Sword (1963)

    1961-1970ActionDramaHiroshi InagakiJapan

    Set in the 17th century when all forms of swordplay were banned, Hiken (Young Swordsman) stars Shogoro Ichikawa as Tenzen – a young swordsman who believes the ban is unfair. By contrast, his brother Chojuro (Hiroyuki Nagato) is a conformist, and keeps his opinions about the law to himself.

    When Tenzen becomes possessed by his own evil sword style and is later banished, it falls to Chojuro to restore the family’s lost honor, and to challenge Tenzen to a death-duel!Read More »

  • Tomu Uchida – Koiya koi nasuna koi AKA The Mad Fox [+ commentary] (1962)

    Tomu Uchida1961-1970DramaFantasyJapan

    Colourful, wildly stylised, immense captivating fable, including animation, kabuki and butoh and collapsing sets. About a soothsayer at court who was driven to insanity by the murder of his lover and will marry her likeness. And indeed, she’s a fox in human form!Read More »

  • Tomu Uchida – Koiya koi nasuna koi AKA The Mad Fox (1962)

    1961-1970AsianDramaJapanTomu Uchida

    At once reserved and utterly unhinged, Tomu Uchida’s The Mad Fox has garnered praise for its fervent theatricality and haywire visuals. But the very structure of the thing possesses a lopsided attractiveness as well and not only due to a twisty narrative that does justice to its alternative title, Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow (although a review claims it’s roughly translated as Love, Love, Don’t Play With Love). The first 25 or so minutes were taken up with what my friend Bill called cabinet meetings, some sort of medieval court power play that reminded me of the overnarrativization of The Phantom Menace (or, better, its laser-pointed parody in a hilarious episode of The Simpsons).Read More »

  • Tomu Uchida – Chiyari Fuji AKA A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji (1955)

    1951-1960AdventureAsianJapanTomu Uchida

    Synopsis:
    Tomu Uchida’s A Bloody Spear at Mt. Fuji is the story of an unassuming samurai who is more interested in a person’s actions than his social standing. In spite of the rigid class divide that exists between himself and his servants he tends to treat them as his equals even when they themselves feel that they are inferior to him. The film features remarkable subplots that add scope and depth to the social criticism offered by the main plot. Among these is the story of a male orphan who idolizes the samurai’s spear bearer and a young woman who is sold into prostitution because her family is too poor to support her.Read More »

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