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Post by Fox in the Snow on Sept 1, 2018 1:19:37 GMT
For anyone in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra) the Japanese Film Festival Classics series will screen September – November. They will be playing some great classic Japanese films: Okoto and Sasuke (1935) (Yasujiro Shimazu) A Geisha (1953) (Kenji Mizoguchi) Nihonbashi (1956) (Kon Ichikawa) Crazed Fruit (Juvenile Jungle) (1956) (Ko Nakahira) Manji (1964) (Yasuzo Masumura) The Pornographers (1966) (Shohei Imamura) The Affair (1967) (Yoshishige Yoshida) Kagero-za (1981) (Seijun Suzuki) Full scheduleThanks Fox in the Snow What an exciting and diverse collection of classics scheduled !! Would love to see all on the big screen , unfortunately the closet venue for me is Sydney over 800 km's away. Okoto and Sasuke (1935) with its traditional music and dance would be sensational, big screen Ayako Wakao in Manji is an exciting consideration but Sydney is a logistic nightmare for us country folk to navigate, A Brisbane venue would have been doable . will you be taking part ? That's a shame you can't get to them Planet. Would be nice if they took the films to a few more cities. I'm in Sydney, so I'm going to try and get to as many as I can. I've already seen a couple of them, but will be great to see them on the big screen. Okote and Sasuke I'd not even heard of, but it sounds wonderful. I've really liked the 30s Japanese cinema I've seen so far.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 1, 2018 1:36:38 GMT
While talking Australia, we were thoroughly surprised and entertained last night with Koya no toseinin , The Drifting Avenger (1968) directed by Jun'ya Satô A Japanese western set in the old American west but filmed down here in Australia ! With some great local talent seamlessly dubbed into Japanese ! and with a uniquely Japanese slant it is a brutal tale of revenge. From ugly villains, saloon bar fights, to dramatic shootouts the exciting film covers all of the familiar territory of the western genre. Filmed on location in country near Tamworth NSW, it was a massive culture shock for the quiet rural area in 1968 OZ . The stunning Australian landscape settings are expansive and beautifully portrayed, Star Ken Takakura is an outstanding actor his every move captivating, here he replaces his yakuza weapon with a six shooter and rifle, which he uses for revenge with deadly proficiency, however he does get to draw upon his slain fathers samurai sword to fulfil his blood-drenched quest... A wonderfully entertaining action packed film, if you enjoy western film, Classic Japanese samurai yakuza , Ken Takakura, there is much to enjoy in this unusual, unique Toei production. Highly Recommended !
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Post by wmcclain on Sept 1, 2018 12:22:56 GMT
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 1, 2018 12:24:28 GMT
Absolutely awesome. Depicts flaw of Samurai culture and feudalism much like Harakiri. I do love to repeat watch this movie again. Kobayashi is possibly my fav Japanese director of all time.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Sept 1, 2018 22:28:18 GMT
Novelist Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962) was awarded the Cultural Order of Merit in 1960 the Order of the Sacred Treasure and the Mainichi Art Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts. He is cited as one of the greatest historical novelists of Japan. In 1935 Eiji Yoshikawa published Musashi an epic fictionalized account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, (1584–1645) author of The Book of Five Rings (1645) and The Path of Aloneness. Miyamoto Musashi, was also arguably the most renowned Japanese swordsman who ever lived, a philosopher, writer and rōnin. he was renowned for developing a unique double-bladed swordsmanship and for having an undefeated duelling record. There have been numerous works and over a dozen films made about or featuring the life of Musashi. Eiji Yoshikawa's novel was serialized in 1935 in the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun, it is perhaps the most definitive version on Musashi to draw from. In the 50s director Hiroshi Inagaki made the well known popular series Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) It is an excellent trilogy which follows the character growth of Musashi from brash young idealist to thoughtful and introspective samurai, culminating in Musashi's toughest duel with the greatest opponent he would ever face. Samurai I won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, however another more faithful adaptation was produced in the early 60s from the masterful directional hand of Tomu Uchida. Miyamoto Musashi began the series in 1961 aka Zen and Sword , the excellent film is the first part of a 10-hour long epic, starring with terrific wild and animalistic energy Nakamura Kinnosuke, true to the character of Musashi who is still known here as Shinmen Takezo. With longer run times each film is more deeply drawn than the all the previous versions, Uchida created a nuanced and philosophically charged film whilst remaining very faithful to the source material. He creates a multi faceted richly textured adaptation. Humanist Uchida understands and presents the material at a level no others can match, a supreme stylist he fills each scene with a captivating unique sense of wonder. Highly Recommended Classic Japanese Cinema !!
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 2, 2018 0:40:22 GMT
manfromplanetxI think I have said it before too that I am a great fan of Sasaki Kojiro. I often read about him and Miyamoto on different websites. Mushashi Miyamoto lived in Edo period and is often claimed to be the greatest samurai in Japan's history and although his legend is often exaggerated his story is very human as well as very interesting. His also wrote The Book of Five Rings which is still considered very relevant among lovers of martial arts. Loved Mifune's characterisation of Mushashi in the samurai trilogy. They were quite excellent to be honest. My next hope is to see the series made by Uchida. To be honest I am going to see it soon! Thanks for your post, planet. This is one of my subjects inside Japanese movies/culture/history.
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Post by petrolino on Sept 14, 2018 21:31:58 GMT
Saw a trilogy I feel is worth recommending for fans of Japanese horror cinema.
Michio Yamamoto's vampire trilogy consists of 'The Vampire Doll' (1970), 'Lake Of Dracula' (1971) and 'Evil Of Dracula' (1974). Yamamoto directed all three films for Toho studios. The vampire action is calm, clinical and ice cool. Yamamoto maintains a relaxed ambiance for the vampires to glide through. Hypnotic vampire action.
For anybody interested, Arrow Films released this trilogy in a Blu-ray box-set entitled 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy' in 2018. It comes with a booklet.
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Post by Aj_June on Sept 15, 2018 1:29:13 GMT
Saw a trilogy I feel is worth recommending for fans of Japanese horror cinema.
Michio Yamamoto's vampire trilogy consists of 'The Vampire Doll' (1970), 'Lake Of Dracula' (1971) and 'Evil Of Dracula' (1974). Yamamoto directed all three films for Toho studios. The vampire action is calm, clinical and ice cool. Yamamoto maintains a relaxed ambiance for the vampires to glide through. Hypnotic vampire action.
For anybody interested, Arrow Films released this trilogy in a Blu-ray box-set entitled 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy' in 2018. It comes with a booklet. Didn't know vampire species existed outside of Europe and America. I do be very interested in taking Japanese take on cult of vampire. Thanks for your recommendations, Petrolino.
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Post by petrolino on Sept 15, 2018 1:42:54 GMT
Saw a trilogy I feel is worth recommending for fans of Japanese horror cinema.
Michio Yamamoto's vampire trilogy consists of 'The Vampire Doll' (1970), 'Lake Of Dracula' (1971) and 'Evil Of Dracula' (1974). Yamamoto directed all three films for Toho studios. The vampire action is calm, clinical and ice cool. Yamamoto maintains a relaxed ambiance for the vampires to glide through. Hypnotic vampire action.
For anybody interested, Arrow Films released this trilogy in a Blu-ray box-set entitled 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy' in 2018. It comes with a booklet. Didn't know vampire species existed outside of Europe and America. I do be very interested in taking Japanese take on cult of vampire. Thanks for your recommendations, Petrolino.
Oh nice. I'm planning to order some new Japanese titles when I get paid.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Sept 15, 2018 2:06:26 GMT
Saw a trilogy I feel is worth recommending for fans of Japanese horror cinema.
Michio Yamamoto's vampire trilogy consists of 'The Vampire Doll' (1970), 'Lake Of Dracula' (1971) and 'Evil Of Dracula' (1974). Yamamoto directed all three films for Toho studios. The vampire action is calm, clinical and ice cool. Yamamoto maintains a relaxed ambiance for the vampires to glide through. Hypnotic vampire action.
For anybody interested, Arrow Films released this trilogy in a Blu-ray box-set entitled 'The Bloodthirsty Trilogy' in 2018. It comes with a booklet. Sounds very cool, will look into that. Never met an Arrow Box Set I don't like.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Oct 4, 2018 23:26:48 GMT
Hi all,with it being October,I hope some J-Horror titles appear on this excellent thread. After trying to watch a terrible print 5 years ago, (it was so bad I could only watch 5 mins or so) I finally found a good print of this J-Horror: The Snow Woman (1968) 9 Freezing up the screen in Snow Woman’s (SW) introduction, director Tokuzô Tanaka & cinematographer Chikashi Makiura crack open an incredibly icy Gothic Horror/dark Fantasy atmosphere, whipped up by startling close-ups on SW’s eyes,that unleash (still very effective) special effects killing those who catch her gaze, against a snowy wilderness. Bringing compassion to SW (“Yuki’s”) eyes, Tanaka gives her family life lush, water colour stylisation, freeing the camera to elegant panning shots against the closed fist threats Yuki and her family get from the locals. Tanaka also displays a real subtle quality, by framing Yuki’s eyes as out of view or looking downwards. Expanding the short story in Lafcadio Hearn’s novel, (which also featured in Kwaidan (1964)- a film I’ve not yet seen)the adaptation by Fuji Yahiro expands on the origins with incredible ease that brings a soulfulness to the struggles Yuki and her husband Shigetomo face from the locals. Haunting the couple with a statue whose face Shigetomo is unable to prefect, Yahiro brilliantly keeps the poetic Gothic Horror chills woven to the outbursts of death the Snow Woman makes to those threaten what she most holds dears. Giving her face the appearance of eyes without a face when being Yuki, Shiho Fujimura gives a magnificent, expressive performance, capturing the fragility Yuki holds her family in, and the icy screams of fear that are heard across the village from the appearance of The Snow Woman.
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Post by Aj_June on Oct 4, 2018 23:48:22 GMT
Hi all,with it being October,I hope some J-Horror titles appear on this excellent thread. After trying to watch a terrible print 5 years ago, (it was so bad I could only watch 5 mins or so) I finally found a good print of this J-Horror: The Snow Woman (1968) 9 \ Oh, I am glad you liked the movie and rated it 9/10. I am madly in love with the Japanese folk character of Yuki-Onna. This movie really really compounded my love for her. I also told Fox in the Snow to watch it. There is something in the movie that touches your heart and the background music is very captivating. Thanks for your review Dylan.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Oct 5, 2018 11:23:10 GMT
Hi all,with it being October,I hope some J-Horror titles appear on this excellent thread. After trying to watch a terrible print 5 years ago, (it was so bad I could only watch 5 mins or so) I finally found a good print of this J-Horror: The Snow Woman (1968) 9 \ Oh, I am glad you liked the movie and rated it 9/10. I am madly in love with the Japanese folk character of Yuki-Onna. This movie really really compounded my love for her. I also told Fox in the Snow to watch it. There is something in the movie that touches your heart and the background music is very captivating. Thanks for your review Dylan. Yes, still yet to see that one, hopefully will catch it soon.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Oct 5, 2018 21:31:51 GMT
Hi all,with it being October,I hope some J-Horror titles appear on this excellent thread... The Snow Woman (1968) 9 Freezing up the screen in Snow Woman’s (SW) introduction, director Tokuzô Tanaka & cinematographer Chikashi Makiura crack open an incredibly icy Gothic Horror/dark Fantasy atmosphere, Hi there MDF great to read your wonderful descriptive thoughts on the chilly beautifully crafted atmospheric classic Kaidan yukijorô . The adaptation is from the writings of a fascinating much travelled character Lafcadio Hearn described as a "Professional misfit and muckraking novelist an antiquarian and iconoclast, a bohemian aesthete with a scholarly relish for ethnography and the occult, a "wandering ghost," there is a wealth of essays and articles on him. Director Tokuzô Tanaka followed up the with Hiroku kaibyô-den , The Haunted Castle (1969) an excellent highly recommended J Horror Classic I know you will love !!. (pic) I watched his samurai film Daisatsujin orochi, Betrayal (1966) last week I also recently watched two J Horrors Onna kyûketsuki , The Vampire Woman (1959) Nobuo Nakagawa it was a surprising disappointment, with high expectations having seen a number of truly great films from Nakagawa, it was bit of a muddled mess... petrolino inspired me to finally watch a film that has sat on the shelves for some time Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me, Lake Of Dracula (1971) It was an enjoyable watch with some genuinely creepy moments, a non traditional Japanese set vampire tale, I must admit got a bit silly for me, but I will be interested to get a hold of that box set to see the other two films recommended. Will be most interested to read of your J Horror October Viewings, Happy Viewing...
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Oct 8, 2018 2:06:24 GMT
Hi all,with it being October,I hope some J-Horror titles appear on this excellent thread. After trying to watch a terrible print 5 years ago, (it was so bad I could only watch 5 mins or so) I finally found a good print of this J-Horror: The Snow Woman (1968) 9 \ Oh, I am glad you liked the movie and rated it 9/10. I am madly in love with the Japanese folk character of Yuki-Onna. This movie really really compounded my love for her. I also told Fox in the Snow to watch it. There is something in the movie that touches your heart and the background music is very captivating. Thanks for your review Dylan. Hi AJ,I hope you had a good weekend,and thank you for the very kind words. After waiting years to see it, (I got an unwatchable DVD off eBay years-ago-the picture was half the size of a normal ruler!) the Snow Woman surpassed all my expectations. I was wondering which out of SW and Kwaidan would you pick for featuring the best version of the tale. On J-Horror, if you are looking for one to catch this year, I rec a gripping one I've just seen: Bairokêshon (2013)
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Post by manfromplanetx on Oct 8, 2018 6:00:13 GMT
Narazumono , An Outlaw (1964) Teruo Ishii Charismatic antihero Ken Takakura playing a solitary social outcast heads a fabulous cast in this exciting crime drama. The lone assassin embarks on a desperate trail of revenge after he is used as the fall guy in an elaborate frame up. His quest leads him into the sordid world of drug trafficking and the exploitation and abuse of young women. The complex tale twists and turns much like the setting, the tight back alleys and lane ways of Hong Kong. It is fabulous on location filming which beautifully captures, with superb cinematography, the natural and city scapes from the excessive wealth to the lowest social depths. Yokohama is the Japanese setting with a only brief stopover, most of the action is in Hong Kong, where a number of expats are also based. Writer Director Teruo Ishii's early crime/noir dramas are all very good. I think they culminate here in " Narazumono" which is exceptional, an outstanding gem. It seems that all the director's mastery, his writing, his creative flair, has come together for this super stylish super cool thriller. Surprisingly little known, a shout out for this wonderfully entertaining excellent Classic Japanese film. Highly Recommended !!
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Post by Aj_June on Oct 8, 2018 6:11:11 GMT
Oh, I am glad you liked the movie and rated it 9/10. I am madly in love with the Japanese folk character of Yuki-Onna. This movie really really compounded my love for her. I also told Fox in the Snow to watch it. There is something in the movie that touches your heart and the background music is very captivating. Thanks for your review Dylan. Hi AJ,I hope you had a good weekend,and thank you for the very kind words. After waiting years to see it, (I got an unwatchable DVD off eBay years-ago-the picture was half the size of a normal ruler!) the Snow Woman surpassed all my expectations. I was wondering which out of SW and Kwaidan would you pick for featuring the best version of the tale. On J-Horror, if you are looking for one to catch this year, I rec a gripping one I've just seen: Bairokêshon (2013) Thanks, Dylan. I had a good weekend and I hope so had you. Answering your question is a bit difficult because I last saw Kwaidan in 2010 but saw the Snow Woman just a few months ago. I remember that the snow woman segment was my favourite when I had seen kwaidan. But I have to say that I probably like The Snow Woman (1968) more than the Kwaidan for the depiction of the particular folk tale that we are discussing. It presented SW in a more humanitarian light and the love story was developed more because it didn't have as big time constrain as anthology horror Kwaidan had. Thanks for your other rec. I am participating in October Horror Challenge on horror board and I might take a few recs from this thread that you, Planet and Petrolino have provided so far.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2018 5:14:01 GMT
Hi AJ,I hope you had a good weekend,and thank you for the very kind words. After waiting years to see it, (I got an unwatchable DVD off eBay years-ago-the picture was half the size of a normal ruler!) the Snow Woman surpassed all my expectations. I was wondering which out of SW and Kwaidan would you pick for featuring the best version of the tale. On J-Horror, if you are looking for one to catch this year, I rec a gripping one I've just seen: Bairokêshon (2013) Thanks, Dylan. I had a good weekend and I hope so had you. Answering your question is a bit difficult because I last saw Kwaidan in 2010 but saw the Snow Woman just a few months ago. I remember that the snow woman segment was my favourite when I had seen kwaidan. But I have to say that I probably like The Snow Woman (1968) more than the Kwaidan for the depiction of the particular folk tale that we are discussing. It presented SW in a more humanitarian light and the love story was developed more because it didn't have as big time constrain as anthology horror Kwaidan had. Thanks for your other rec. I am participating in October Horror Challenge on horror board and I might take a few recs from this thread that you, Planet and Petrolino have provided so far. I really liked Kwaidan. I saw a glimpse years ago on TCM that made me seek it out, then seek out others like it. The next nearest movies I came by in my travels were Onibaba, Ugetsu, Kuroneko and Throne of Blood, all of which I think are excellent.
After that, ghost stories seemed to lead to Samurai stories and it was Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion, then it went from genre to director so I IMDb'd my way through Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kaneto Shindo and pretty much liked everything I saw. My Shindo trail of crumbs peaked with Onibaba, Kuroneko and Naked Island. With Mizoguchi I got as far as Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, Street of Shame, A Story from Chikamatsu, and the wonderfully uplifting The Life of Oharu. Just kidding, it's wrist-slitting depressing but so good. Oh and Masaki Kobayashi, he did Kwaidan, Harakiri, The Samurai Rebellion and The Human Condition Trilogy (that I know of and have seen). From Akira Kurosawa I've seen and recommend Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Redbeard, The Bad Sleep Well, Scandal, The Idiot, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, The Hidden Fortress, High and Low, Stray Dog and Ran.
Later I came across The Face of Another, which led me to Hiroshi Teshigahara which led me to Woman in the Dunes and Pitfall. The only other one I know of enough to want to see is Rikyu, but the above three were all great. Then I came across The Story of Floating Weeds, which led me to Yasujirô Ozu which led me to find Tokyo Story, Tokyo Twilight (which I haven't watched yet), The Equinox Flower, Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, I think that's it.
Other worthwhile movies I remember but not in connection with directors I've come to recognize include Conflagration, The Wolves, Tampopo (incredible thumbs up from me on that one), The Funeral, Tokyo Drifter, The Beladonna of Sadness and The Ballad of Narayama. There's another one that I liked a lot but can't remember the name or director. It was a detective story, something to do with a man murdered at a train station and that leading into investigating an opera singer. In the meantime, the Japanese cinema I have waiting in the wings, either by DVD, VHS or DVR includes: Sisters of the Gion, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, Boy, Odd Obsession, No Regrets for our Youth, Cruel Gun Story, A Colt is my Passport, Funeral Parade of Roses, Fighting Elegy, The Warped Ones and Osaka Elegy. Funeral Parade of Roses is fucked up; it's like a reverse Oedipus Rex deal where a man kills his mother and sleeps with his father.
I also really liked The Snow Woman. Beautiful background, beautiful painted skies, the colors, the icy blue tone. I've never seen it on its own, outside of Kwaidan, but I know that its winter icy blue color palette makes for a big change in weather from that story to Hoichi the Earless. My understanding is the stories each represent a season of the year, which makes it an appropriate segue between The Black Hair and Hoichi the Earless. It's difficult not to put Hoichi the Earless at the top because the Snow woman herself is my favorite character of all four stories.
I feel like I've just only scratched the surface of Japanese cinema.
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Post by Aj_June on Oct 9, 2018 14:28:41 GMT
Thanks, Dylan. I had a good weekend and I hope so had you. Answering your question is a bit difficult because I last saw Kwaidan in 2010 but saw the Snow Woman just a few months ago. I remember that the snow woman segment was my favourite when I had seen kwaidan. But I have to say that I probably like The Snow Woman (1968) more than the Kwaidan for the depiction of the particular folk tale that we are discussing. It presented SW in a more humanitarian light and the love story was developed more because it didn't have as big time constrain as anthology horror Kwaidan had. Thanks for your other rec. I am participating in October Horror Challenge on horror board and I might take a few recs from this thread that you, Planet and Petrolino have provided so far. I really liked Kwaidan. I saw a glimpse years ago on TCM that made me seek it out, then seek out others like it. The next nearest movies I came by in my travels were Onibaba, Ugetsu, Kuroneko and Throne of Blood, all of which I think are excellent.
After that, ghost stories seemed to lead to Samurai stories and it was Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion, then it went from genre to director so I IMDb'd my way through Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kaneto Shindo and pretty much liked everything I saw. My Shindo trail of crumbs peaked with Onibaba, Kuroneko and Naked Island. With Mizoguchi I got as far as Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, Street of Shame, A Story from Chikamatsu, and the wonderfully uplifting The Life of Oharu. Just kidding, it's wrist-slitting depressing but so good. Oh and Masaki Kobayashi, he did Kwaidan, Harakiri, The Samurai Rebellion and The Human Condition Trilogy (that I know of and have seen). From Akira Kurosawa I've seen and recommend Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Redbeard, The Bad Sleep Well, Scandal, The Idiot, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, The Hidden Fortress, High and Low, Stray Dog and Ran.
Later I came across The Face of Another, which led me to Hiroshi Teshigahara which led me to Woman in the Dunes and Pitfall. The only other one I know of enough to want to see is Rikyu, but the above three were all great. Then I came across The Story of Floating Weeds, which led me to Yasujirô Ozu which led me to find Tokyo Story, Tokyo Twilight (which I haven't watched yet), The Equinox Flower, Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, I think that's it.
Other worthwhile movies I remember but not in connection with directors I've come to recognize include Conflagration, The Wolves, Tampopo (incredible thumbs up from me on that one), The Funeral, Tokyo Drifter, The Beladonna of Sadness and The Ballad of Narayama. There's another one that I liked a lot but can't remember the name or director. It was a detective story, something to do with a man murdered at a train station and that leading into investigating an opera singer. In the meantime, the Japanese cinema I have waiting in the wings, either by DVD, VHS or DVR includes: Sisters of the Gion, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, Boy, Odd Obsession, No Regrets for our YoutThe Ballad of Narayama (1958)h, Cruel Gun Story, A Colt is my Passport, Funeral Parade of Roses, Fighting Elegy, The Warped Ones and Osaka Elegy. Funeral Parade of Roses is fucked up; it's like a reverse Oedipus Rex deal where a man kills his mother and sleeps with his father.
I also really liked The Snow Woman. Beautiful background, beautiful painted skies, the colors, the icy blue tone. I've never seen it on its own, outside of Kwaidan, but I know that its winter icy blue color palette makes for a big change in weather from that story to Hoichi the Earless. My understanding is the stories each represent a season of the year, which makes it an appropriate segue between The Black Hair and Hoichi the Earless. It's difficult not to put Hoichi the Earless at the top because the Snow woman herself is my favorite character of all four stories.
I feel like I've just only scratched the surface of Japanese cinema.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Japanese cinema, The Cat. You are being humble in saying you just scratched the surface of Japanese cinema. But that may be true for me too. It is definitely among my top list for Japanese cinema. I wonder which version you saw ? The Ballad of Narayama (1958) or The Ballad of Narayama (1983)? I personally liked both of them a lot.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2018 6:01:26 GMT
I really liked Kwaidan. I saw a glimpse years ago on TCM that made me seek it out, then seek out others like it. The next nearest movies I came by in my travels were Onibaba, Ugetsu, Kuroneko and Throne of Blood, all of which I think are excellent.
After that, ghost stories seemed to lead to Samurai stories and it was Harakiri, Samurai Rebellion, then it went from genre to director so I IMDb'd my way through Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kaneto Shindo and pretty much liked everything I saw. My Shindo trail of crumbs peaked with Onibaba, Kuroneko and Naked Island. With Mizoguchi I got as far as Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, Street of Shame, A Story from Chikamatsu, and the wonderfully uplifting The Life of Oharu. Just kidding, it's wrist-slitting depressing but so good. Oh and Masaki Kobayashi, he did Kwaidan, Harakiri, The Samurai Rebellion and The Human Condition Trilogy (that I know of and have seen). From Akira Kurosawa I've seen and recommend Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Redbeard, The Bad Sleep Well, Scandal, The Idiot, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, The Hidden Fortress, High and Low, Stray Dog and Ran.
Later I came across The Face of Another, which led me to Hiroshi Teshigahara which led me to Woman in the Dunes and Pitfall. The only other one I know of enough to want to see is Rikyu, but the above three were all great. Then I came across The Story of Floating Weeds, which led me to Yasujirô Ozu which led me to find Tokyo Story, Tokyo Twilight (which I haven't watched yet), The Equinox Flower, Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice, I think that's it.
Other worthwhile movies I remember but not in connection with directors I've come to recognize include Conflagration, The Wolves, Tampopo (incredible thumbs up from me on that one), The Funeral, Tokyo Drifter, The Beladonna of Sadness and The Ballad of Narayama. There's another one that I liked a lot but can't remember the name or director. It was a detective story, something to do with a man murdered at a train station and that leading into investigating an opera singer. In the meantime, the Japanese cinema I have waiting in the wings, either by DVD, VHS or DVR includes: Sisters of the Gion, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, Boy, Odd Obsession, No Regrets for our YoutThe Ballad of Narayama (1958)h, Cruel Gun Story, A Colt is my Passport, Funeral Parade of Roses, Fighting Elegy, The Warped Ones and Osaka Elegy. Funeral Parade of Roses is fucked up; it's like a reverse Oedipus Rex deal where a man kills his mother and sleeps with his father.
I also really liked The Snow Woman. Beautiful background, beautiful painted skies, the colors, the icy blue tone. I've never seen it on its own, outside of Kwaidan, but I know that its winter icy blue color palette makes for a big change in weather from that story to Hoichi the Earless. My understanding is the stories each represent a season of the year, which makes it an appropriate segue between The Black Hair and Hoichi the Earless. It's difficult not to put Hoichi the Earless at the top because the Snow woman herself is my favorite character of all four stories.
I feel like I've just only scratched the surface of Japanese cinema.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Japanese cinema, The Cat. You are being humble in saying you just scratched the surface of Japanese cinema. But that may be true for me too. It is definitely among my top list for Japanese cinema. I wonder which version you saw ? The Ballad of Narayama (1958) or The Ballad of Narayama (1983)? I personally liked both of them a lot.It was definitely the 1958 version. I remember noticing there was a 1983 version when I looked it up after I watched it. I'd love to watch that too. The 1958 version as well as Belladonna of Sadness are two of my next intended purchases so I'll keep an eye out for the 1983 version.
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