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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jun 22, 2020 18:19:05 GMT
Hi all,late last week I found out that subtitles had just appeared for this film, which the poor lone reviews on IMDb & Letterboxd gave little info over what the film was about. For the first time in ages,I actually spent two days writing this review, due to spending time exploring all blog posts I could find for info. River of the Night (1956) 10. Turning to colour for the first time by being inspired from kimono patterns, directing auteur Kozaburo Yoshimura makes an immaculate entrance, drawing with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (cinematographer for Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) a lush water colour design, surrounding Kiwa’s family workplace in bright, luxury material lining the walls being colour coded with the Kimono patterns the family put their soul in making, bringing out a refined elegance to Kiwa’s romantic drama. Revealing later that the use of red, white and blue in his works is to represent “liberty, equality and fraternity.” and printed in the middle of his 1951-1960 period of works on working women in the ancient capital city of Kyoto, (a city Miyagawa called “A film makers dream.”) Yoshimura gazes on the remains of Kyoto’s wooden architect landscape in beautiful wide-shots which descend on the family textile workplace, where they continue to work the traditional way with rustic colours,as Yoshimura keeps the glossy colours of the modern world seeping towards them, as the sunbeam of Yoshimura’s red,white and blue blazes across the skyline in a dazzling closing shot. The first of two times he would work with Yoshimura, (the other being Onna no saka (1960)) Hisao Sawano is joined by female screenwriter Sumie Tanaka in weaving a delicate screenplay. Tanaka’s touch brings a sharp focus to Yoshimura’s major recurring theme of the personal drama experienced by women exploring the dilemma of a country in the midst of frantic and irreversible transformations, as Kiwa starts a passionate affair with Professor Takemura, placing Kiwa in the middle of keeping to tradition with the family workplace, and that of the modern scientist/ professor. Lighting up the family workplace the moment she walks on screen,Fujiko Yamamoto gives a incredibly subtle performance as Kiwa,thanks to Yamamoto expressing in her body language the underlying love she has for Takemura, (played by a terrific, measured Ken Uehara)and the strings of care which connect her to the family business, as Kiwa watches the river by night.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jun 23, 2020 8:06:12 GMT
Waga koi no tabiji , Epitaph to My Love (1961) Masahiro Shinoda A disenchanted young man rushes to hail a cab, his detination the hospital having just heard a news flash that a woman was found floating face down in the harbour. As he peers out of the cab into the rain soaked dark & dreary night he recalls, his Journey in love... Masahiro Shinoda follows on from his pop art sensation Killers on Parade with this dramatic love story, finishing off a productive year with another excellent film, Love Old & New. Adapting from conservative author Ayako Sono, the melodramatic tale while touching on related social issues never deviates too far from the personal plight of it's two main protagonists. Opening with a wonderful musical accompaniment, stars Sô Yamamura and Shima Iwashita are impressive together, their persuasive performances the very heart of this entertaining drama. Through flashback memories Shinoda illustrates many changing moods; the journey of love. With much stylish expertise, he composes within an evocative backdrop, a compelling & touching love story.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jun 23, 2020 23:09:34 GMT
Director Kiyohiko Ushihara (1897-1987) The pioneering director/screenwriter was one of the leading Japanese filmmakers of the pre-war era. His gendaigeki (contemporary drama) films of the silent era are noted for their modern romance, comedy, music & sumptuous detail. Ushihara's creative output throughout the 30s included an exploration of the supernatural in Kaibyô nazo no shamisen. He made his last film as director, the fantasy horror Nijiotoko; Rainbow Man in 1949. Already successfully established in Japan, to further his development & understanding of the medium, Ushihara decided to familiarize himself firsthand with American cinema. In 1926 he journeyed to America and studied alongside Charlie Chaplin for many months, an invaluable worldly experience that would greatly influence his cinematic direction and career in filmmaking.... One of Kiyohiko Ushihara's most notable talkies is Kaibyô nazo no shamisen , The Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen (1938). An eerie exploration into the supernatural, crated with some fabulous innovative surreal touches, the film as the title suggests has plenty of wonderfully evocative shamisen moments. An exquisite beautifully filmed story it tells of a love triangle, jealous rage and a black cat, Bakeneko that returns from the grave... A mean tempered actress Mitsue is engaged to the budding master shamisen player Seijiro. Popular with the ladies, the handsome musician has been warned to keep his focus on his study & playing. Seijiro’s beloved cat runs away one day, when returned by a beautiful stranger Okiya, the two instantly fall in love. Jealousy completely consumes Mitsue driving her to treacherous acts, deeds so heinous, the dark forces of revenge are summoned... Mitsue, (Sumiko Suzuki) considered to be Japan’s first “Scream Queen”Toho company visit America Jan -July 1926 LtoR Mori Iwao ,CC and Kiyohiko Ushihara
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Post by Aj_June on Jun 27, 2020 17:16:34 GMT
Hi Guys, I watched Black Cat Mansion (1958) yesterday. The movie has a theme that is not rare for Japanese movies - someone letting a cat lick their blood and asking it to take revenge. But I found the movie reasonably good for one watch. The film starts in modern day but flashback takes us to old times of samurai. It's dark and has ominous atmosphere. 6/10 morrisondylanfanAny affordable website you know where I can watch Japanese movies at cheap price? I do not mind watching in average print but the price I want to pay should not be too high.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jun 29, 2020 2:41:39 GMT
Hi Guys, I watched Black Cat Mansion (1958) yesterday. The movie has a theme that is not rare for Japanese movies - someone letting a cat lick their blood and asking it to take revenge. But I found the movie reasonably good for one watch. The film starts in modern day but flashback takes us to old times of samurai. It's dark and has ominous atmosphere. 6/10 morrisondylanfan Any affordable website you know where I can watch Japanese movies at cheap price? I do not mind watching in average print but the price I want to pay should not be too high. Hi Aj,I hope you had a good weekend,and it sounds like you lapped up a fun viewing with Black Cat. Although it is sadly not in the UK,I have read a lot of praise for the Criterion streaming service, which I assume features Japanese title. Whilst most of the titles are more recent, I would recommend Shudder, (and if you use the code SHUTIN you get a free 30 days) due to it featuring Horror titles from across the globe that I never heard of before: From the Lao Dearest Sister and the German Neo-Noir Cold Hell,to the J-Horror epic One Cut of the Dead.
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Post by Aj_June on Jun 30, 2020 19:09:28 GMT
Hi Guys, I watched Black Cat Mansion (1958) yesterday. The movie has a theme that is not rare for Japanese movies - someone letting a cat lick their blood and asking it to take revenge. But I found the movie reasonably good for one watch. The film starts in modern day but flashback takes us to old times of samurai. It's dark and has ominous atmosphere. 6/10 morrisondylanfan Any affordable website you know where I can watch Japanese movies at cheap price? I do not mind watching in average print but the price I want to pay should not be too high. Hi Aj,I hope you had a good weekend,and it sounds like you lapped up a fun viewing with Black Cat. Although it is sadly not in the UK,I have read a lot of praise for the Criterion streaming service, which I assume features Japanese title. Whilst most of the titles are more recent, I would recommend Shudder, (and if you use the code SHUTIN you get a free 30 days) due to it featuring Horror titles from across the globe that I never heard of before: From the Lao Dearest Sister and the German Neo-Noir Cold Hell,to the J-Horror epic One Cut of the Dead. Hi MDF, Thanks and hope you are doing well. I have been away from Japanese cinema for a while now so I am hoping to see some in the coming days. I Lived in UK and Australia previously so Japanese movies were more accessible. It's quite difficult to get them here in India and so I have unwillingly gotten away from watching movies from my fav film industry, Okay, it seems I will have to wait a bit. But still thanks for recommending the site. I will probably scan through youtube for some of the Japanese horror. I will make sure to eventually see most of your and Manromplanetx's recommendations.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 5, 2020 0:56:42 GMT
Chikuzan hitori tabi , The Life of Chikuzan (1977) Tsugaru-jamisen… Written, directed and independently produced by Kaneto Shindo this outstanding film is an absorbing biopic of renowned musician & composer Takahashi Chikuzan. Opening the film, shamisen in hand, the elderly musician recalls his past & the cause of his childhood blindness. A naturally gifted musician, his fate & destiny, a life as a beggar on a wandering musical path. Shifting from a brief documentary style opening, interweaving re-enactments reveal the past, & eventually form to dramatize the compelling life story of Takahashi Chikuzan. Criss-crossing Japan, his travels from home to the far north and beyond become a fascinating road trip journey, highlighting along the way many of Japan's spectacular geographical locations. Stunning cinematography captures the raw beauty, portraying in varying colour tones the many moods of the meandering tale with exquisitely beautiful portraits. Featured throughout Tsugaru-jamisen, a unique Japanese genre of shamisen music originating from the Tsugaru Peninsula. A master of the instrument Takahashi Chikuzan's composition & folk song are incredibly enchanting, an absolute delight to experience. As the last frame dissolved, tears of heartfelt joy, profoundly expressed closing thoughts on this beautifully composed, classic cinematic wonder. Highly Recommended !! black and white promo still...
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Post by manfromplanetx on Jul 11, 2020 0:47:34 GMT
Robô no ishi , The Stone on the Sidelines (1964) Directed & written by Miyoji Ieki Wayside Pebble--"I am who i am"...An excellent touching classic drama tells the plight of Goichi a bright young teen who has just passed his elementary exams with honours. Desperate to further his higher education in the capital Tokyo, Goichi however is constrained by poverty, hindered by a tyrannical father and his submissive mother. Set at the turn of the century on the eve of war between Japan & Russia, it is the 36th year of the Meiji era. This turbulent epoch was a period of rapidly changing social/class structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations.. Presenting a number of themes the film's multi faceted composition was inspired by author Yuzo Yamamoto it is a popular story "The Stone on the Sidelines" first filmed in 1938.. Filmmaker Miyoji Ieki was an outstanding independent writer director of socially conscious cinema, this film from his work at Toei 1958-65. Ieki's films are admired for their intelligence and humanity, for their dynamic visual and poetic expression. With a tremendous lead role from young Suite Ikeda, beautifully composed black & white cinematography and a pensive, emotionally charged screenplay this wayside pebble is a highly recommended gem to behold... Director Writer Miyoji Ieki (1911-1976)
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Post by Aj_June on Jul 11, 2020 14:22:28 GMT
I watched Demons (1971). The original title is Shura and it is directed by Toshio Matsumoto. This film has a very high rating on IMDB (8) and not for no reason as it definitely did impress me. It doesn't properly in any category. It's different from your typical 50s and 60s movies and it's not a J-horror. It is what would be called a revenge movie but not a simple revenge movie. What differentiates Shura is psychological/philosophical study of the lead and what steps he takes based on how he perceives other people's actions that may have harmed him. The story is quite believable because of good acting by the characters involved and also because of really good direction that makes you feel you are really living in the time in which the story is set. Background music doesn't disappoint either. I watched it on youtube. Not a very a high quality print but good enough to watch. If any of you have already seen it then please share your opinions.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:51:51 GMT
Hi all,on another thread on this board you might have seen me say that I was taking a little dip into Seijun Suzuki's works after having only seen 3 films by him before. Well.I understated it,hope you enjoy the notes to these sets: Note:Due to the number of films,these are the only images I'm posting for 'em! Let's do this! 1: Eight Hours of Terror (1957)7 On the fifth title he made being credited under his real name and working with regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka for the third time, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki takes an early surf on the Japanese New Wave (JNW) with his distinctive, hip and quirky ultra-stylisation,listening to the conversations the passengers have before they set off behind the long leg of a woman placed at the centre of the screen. Getting on the bus with a excellent ensemble cast,Suzuki displays a wonderful early ease of twisting the looming shadows of a Film Noir atmosphere with his unique off-beat comedic asides, rolling the bus down in stark strands of light turning the tension among the passengers to boiling point, and rolling it up with panning shots towards a couple trying to keep their words under breath, not only due to being worried about a trench coat-wearing baddie, but also afraid their partners will catch them red handed having a affair. Cheekily having a passenger say she is travelling to attend a "New Faces" contest being held by a major studio, (Nikkatsu used New Faces contest to find the next upcoming stars) the screenplay by Goro Tanada,Rokuro Tsukiji & Koichi Saito (who later directed the magnificent The Rendezvous (1972-also reviewed) ticket the shuttle bus takeover by two hard-nose Noir gangsters, with a thrilling Road Movie microcosm of post-war Japanese society. Igniting a row on the bus from a passenger telling others to stop singing "Red Songs", the writers listen in on sharp JNW- flavoured dialogue and situations, openly dropping Westerns references in exchanges,a baby being held at gunpoint (!) and a bickering old timer telling a younger passenger that he should not be unemployed, due to the man (wrongly) believing the same chances he had still exists on the eight hour ride of terror.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:53:23 GMT
2: The Boy Who Came Back (1958)8
Bringing the boy back at a crossroads between Nikkatsu's sun-tribe/teenager genre and the incoming Diamond Guys/ Film Noir, the screenplay by Nobuyoshi Terada and Tatsuto Okada brilliantly thread both genres together, by placing Kasahara between being a rebellious sun-tribe teen firmly on the wrong side of the tracks, and increasingly edging towards being a Diamond Guys/ Film Noir loner, who along with running the odds of facing the long arm of the law, also risks washing away the few people he holds dear.
Joined by Jo Shishido working with the film maker for the first time before he got branded to kill, Akira Kobayashi gives a terrific, agitated performance as Kasahara, whose angry young man Kobayashi has touch on the isolating state of the Film Noir loner, that is balanced by a melancholy thoughtfulness Kobayashi has Kasahara bring out when near Midorikawa. Reaching her hand out to Kasahara, Sachiko Hidari gives a elegant performance as Midorikawa, who Hidari has hold firm a sincerity of helping to improve his life, even against the multiple times Kasahara pushes her away.
Dancing with Midorikawa and Kasahara in the Jazz clubs left by American forces, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki & cinematographer Yoshihiro Yamazaki find tunes within the studio system to play early Japanese New Wave notes, hit in hand held camera tracking shots running down with Midorikawa, which twists to a ultra-stylised beat-down Kasahara takes on a outdoor steel staircase. Tapping the lively mood gripping the couple in the Jazz clubs with slick panning shots across the dance floor, Suzuki brings them together on both sides of the tracks with graceful long wide-shots following the couple along the urban landscape as the boy comes back.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:54:39 GMT
3:The Sleeping Beast Within (1960)10
The first of two back to back productions that use a newsroom as a prominent setting, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki goes to the printers with occasional collaborator of this period cinematographer Shigeyoshi Mine for hot off the presses Film Noir atmosphere. Looking down the starboard as a drug bundle sails into the country, Suzuki twists his distinctive surrealist Japanese New Wave motifs into Film Noir grit, peeling back the flashbacks with mesmerising in-camera tricks dissolves frames of the person talking onto the overlapping flashbacks taking place.
Continuing to build on his major recurring motifs by rolling the camera with Kasai and Keiko out of the hip youthful Jazz clubs and out to the brittle urban landscape, where the stench of corruption hangs on the thick cut black and white shadows lining the streets, Suzuki burns down the façade of moral authority with a blazing final that destroys each level of corruption Kasai found. Casting a uncomfortable smile across his face like Joker, Shinsuke Ashida gives a thrilling performance as Junpei,who Ashida has mask his activates with a false fatherly calm towards his daughter Keiko, (played by a wonderfully understated Kazuko Yoshiyuki) which cracks at the edges each time Keiko's boyfriend reporter Kasai (played by a energetic Hiroyuki Nagato) gets closer to breaking the story.
Spoofing Nikkatsu's "Sun-Tribe" genre flicks with a crime syndicate run by a "Sun God" cult inside a temple, the screenplay by Ichiro Ikeda (who joined with Suzuki on Youth of the Beast (1963)) & Itaru Kikumura brilliantly continue to build the major theme of Suzuki's credits from this era, of the generational divide and the youth challenging the false authority of the prior generation, as the crusading Kasai chips at Junpei's grin,to expose the sleeping beast.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:55:59 GMT
4:Smashing the 0-Line (1960)8
Being the one crew member who remained with the director across his Nikkatsu period, editor Akira Suzuk'si collaboration with directing auteur Seijun Suzuki takes a whirlwind progression in their experimental Film Noir stylisation, with a striking French New Wave-flavoured influence of razor sharp jump-cuts, smash-cuts and fluid hand held panning shots getting up-close to Katori's rush to grab the big story. Sailing to the rusting port of Yokohoma, Seijun Suzuki lands and continues to explore his major recurring theme from this era of Film Noir pessimism in the outdoor locations of urban Japan.
Suzuki unleashes a storming set-piece tracking Katori (played by a excellent,brittle Hiroyuki Nagao) slithering the docks to a smugglers ship, where Suzuki brings in a smog Film Noir atmosphere, made from shoving Katori and the camera into the piles of coal covering the ship, only picking up Katori to take him down long claustrophobic corridor shots, where black and white grime covers the walls as the shipmates confront Katori when his motives for being on the ship are found.
Reuniting with Suzuki after Eight Hours of Terror (1957-also reviewed) Goro Tanada takes the sliver of hope from The Sleeping Beast Within, and along with Yasuro Yokoyama (the other credited writers are aliases for unknowns) wipes it all out. The writers present the upstanding morals of fellow journalist Nishina, get stamped over by Katori's amoral arrogance, which reveals itself when Katori plants drugs on a dame he has just bedded, allows his sister to be abused by gangs, and sees little wrong about working with a drug smuggler, as long as the one thing that remains intact,Is his singular vision to smash the o line.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:57:13 GMT
5:Tokyo Knights (1961)7
In only the second title he had made in colour at the time, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki and occasional cinematographer collaborator Kazue Nagatsuka display an infectious love for the format by using it to expand on Suzuki's early Japanese New Wave (JNW) surrealist stylisation. Marking a end to his earlier gritty Film Noir era, Suzuki casts a Pop Art atmosphere of hip wipes and pop-up shots darting across the screen to the beat of Matsubara's (played by a lively Koji Wada) Jazz club arrangement, (Jazz being a major recurring theme in Suzuki's credits) which rolls out to a psychedelic JNW song number, and a Caper-style chase with a Noh theater mask.
Originally titled The Lost Cufflinks, the screenplay by Kenzaburo Hara & Iwao Yamazaki slickly presents the constant genre-crossing flux that Suzuki would later become known for. The writers bring the young loner, multi-talented Matsubara back to Japan to hit the top marks in a high school Drama, which crosses over to a jaunty Caper mystery of Matsubara discovering during his break from classes the cause of his dad "accidentally" falling to his death,when he gets hold of the lost cufflinks.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 1:58:23 GMT
6:The Man with a Shotgun (1961)6
Building on his surrealist styling, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reunites with his regular cinematographer of the era Shigeyoshi Mine for a open borders Western, where Suzuki and Mine criss-cross bright burning colours between the Wild West and modern society,which jump from traditional shoot outs to target practice of alarm clocks and modern-dressed outlaw bikers.
Continuing his long collaboration with editor Akira Suzuki (no relation) Suzuki continues to show an eye for filming outdoors with fluid camera moves running across the floor to the outlaws, which hit a ultra-stylised use of mirrors, as Suzuki creates two-shots with small mirrors reflecting the face of the second person. Sending Ryoji into a sleepy lawless mountain town, the screenplay by Satoru Suyama,Takeo Matsuura & Yoshikazu Ishii has a chance to hit the bullseye on a off-beat Western, but sadly miss the mark by due to a sleepy casualness being given to Ryoji confrontation with the local outlaws, instead a much needed shot of urgency for the man with a shotgun.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:00:26 GMT
7:The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961)7
Returning to the roaming road movie he had touched on with Eight Hours of Terror (1957-also reviewed), directing auteur Seijun Suzuki continues to display a keen interest in his early colour era of breaking away from his gritty black and white Film Noir era, with a surprisingly jaunty atmosphere.
Reuniting with cinematographer Saburo Isayama, Suzuki continues to expand in his interest in filming on real locations, with glorious wide-shots scanning the skyline as wandering student Shintaro (played with a sweet warmth by Koji Wada,who made 7 films with Suzuki) runs into a travelling magic troupe.
Taking full advantage of the troupes job, Suzuki continues to paint his distinctive colourful surrealist styling,with an outstanding set-piece throwing colour tinted lighting into the middle of a punch-up, and the magic troupe catching the eyes of all costumers, with their shimmering bright outfits against lively festive locations. Pushing miss-dealings with a gangster right to the sidelines, the screenplay by GAMERA franchise writer Niisan Takahashi, Yoshihiko Morimoto & Ichiro Ikeda instead go for a Road Movie with a adorable zest, as the writers follow the troupe from town to town struggling to turn their act into a success, as Shintaro succeeds in building a bond with them across the wind of youth.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:01:19 GMT
8: Teenage Yakuza (1962)7
Returning to filming in black and white along with going back to build upon his gritty, youthful Film Noir era, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki makes a huge progression in his eye for shooting in outdoor locations with outstanding deep space scope staging for the final fight sequence, hit by the long, deep scope panning down the hillside as Jiro (played by a debonair Tamio Kawaji) is slammed into the dirt.
Entering a hip Jazz club with a toe-tapping number that gets everyone's feet swaying (a major regular recurring setting and visual motif of Suzuki) Suzuki is joined by cinematographer Kenji Hagiwara and his regular editor Akira Suzuki, who he closely works with to build on his distinctive stylisation, via tracking Jiro's attempts to clean the streets of Ota with fluid zoom-ins, slick panning shots across the dance floor, and hard jump-cuts keeping Jiro's fights on a knife edge.
Set in the city of Ota that sits between Tokyo and Yokohama, the screenplay by Mamoru Okusono & Nozomu Yoshimura reflect the location by fittingly place Jiro between the Sun Tribe teen flicks and the rough edge of Film Noir, as the pure youthful exuberance Jiro displays in keeping the streets safe, is tainted by a growing, regretful awareness of receiving underhanded payouts from shopkeepers to keep their stores safe, as Jiro looks out across the city and sees the arrival of the teenage Yakuza.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:02:15 GMT
9:The Incorrigible (1963)10
For his first historical production set in the Taisho period, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki continues his long collaborations with editor Akira Suzuki & cinematographer Shigeyoshi Mine,whilst at the same time starting a future long-term collaboration with art director Takeo Kimura, all of which builds a rich lyrical atmosphere, as Suzuki continues to expand his eye for outdoor location shooting, with beautifully composed raining set-pieces scanned in Suzuki's long wide-angle shots.
Getting inside away from the rain, Suzuki continues to build on his surrealist stylisation flourishes in long, stilted shots framed to keep the characters backs to the audience or partly obscured by them standing in the shadowy corners of rooms.crafting a mood of the audience listening in on private conversations.
The first of two times he would work with Suzuki,Ryozo Kasahara's adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel by Toko Kon (who would later work with the duo) takes the rebellious teenage man Togo Konno (played with a thoughtful quality by Ken Yamauchi) who finds himself in the middle of a huge cultural shift taking place, (a major recurring theme of Suzuki)and instead of moving him towards Noir, delicately places Konno in understated Melodrama.
Kasahara wonderfully draws Konno's rebellious edge with a blossoming romance Konno forms with Emiko Okumura (played by a enticing Masako Izumi) over a love of the newly translated Western books entering Japan during the Taisho period,turning the pages to a divide between the traditionalist locals,and the free-spirited incorrigibles.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:03:22 GMT
10:Born Under Crossed Stars (1965)7
Reuniting with the lead actor,production designer,composer, editor and the scriptwriters from The Incorrigible (1963-also reviewed), this extensive reunion leads to directing auteur Seijun Suzuki visibly having a confidence to brilliantly expand on his Japanese New Wave surrealist stylisation motifs.
Gripping the screen wipes featured in his past works, Suzuki and his long time editor Akira Suzuki and his regular cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka brilliantly twist them, into being based around the actions of the characters, as Suzuki tracks a wipe across the screen behind people walking across it,and uses the darkness of wipes to change morning into night. Spun on a breezy score by his then regular composer Hajime Okumura,that would turn out to be the last ever score Okumura did, Suzuki continues to build upon his major use of filming in outdoor locations, with a outstanding depth of field sequence taking Jukichi deep into the bamboo groves wilderness of the village.
Censored by the UK film board due to animal cruelty, Suzuki continues to flourish in the off-beat staging of fight set-pieces, standing out in the inter-cutting of chickens fighting with Jukichi's free-wheeling battle against a macho tattooed manic in a dojo. Reuniting with Suzuki on screen,Ken Yamauchi gives a gleeful performance as Jukichi, whose serious, head-strong beliefs gets spilt by the playful Taneko (played by a enticing Yumiko Nogawa.)
Having written the novel The Incorrigible (1963) was based on,Toko Kon here joins with returning scriptwriter Ryozo Kasahara for a excellent screenplay,which builds upon the entry of Western and Russian novels entering Japan during the Taisho period, (a period Suzuki would return to) and a semi- autobiographical examination of Kon's life, the writers turn the youthful rebellion Melodrama of The Incorrigible inside out with a spike-driven cynical edge of Jukichi brushing off any lessons he could learn from his time with the locals under crossed stars.
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Jul 22, 2020 2:04:30 GMT
11: Tokyo Drifter (1966)10
Cindering his gritty black and white Film Noir's of the past with objects flickering into colour during the opening sequence, directing auteur Seijun Suzuki reunites with his regular cinematographer of the era Shigeyoshi Mine,and continues his long collaboration with production designer Takeo Kimura for a successful explosion into the Japanese New Wave (JNW). Continuing to build upon his distinctive surrealist stylisation, Suzuki gloriously dips the obscured framing of his Film Noir loners into vivid colour, heightening the surrealism into experimental avant-garde, as Suzuki and Mine dart the camera at razor-sharp zoom-ins on the bright red shirts and close-ups on faces only partially visible.
Drifting into a hip Jazz club, (a major recurring location in his works) Suzuki moves to the beat of Hajime Kaburagi's brittle Jazz score, punching loner Tetsu's ( played by a excellent, cynical Tetsuya Watari) return to Tokyo with a startling minimalist edge, pulling the locations bare,until shards of JNW colours burst out landing on the screen to each shot Tetsu hands out to a gang led by Otsuka (played with a great simmering tension by Eimei Esumi-a recurring actor in Suzuki's works.)
One of just three film credits to before he went to do Japanese superhero TV shows (programs not listed on movie sites) in the early 1970's, the screenplay by Yasunori Kawauchi superbly matches Suzuki's heightened surreal directing, by loading it with cracking Pop-Art dialogue which takes the dialogue to a absurdest,comedic level, pushing youthful Film Noir loner Tetsuya to the edge in order to display loyalty to his former boss, which Tetsuya gets rewarded for, by being left to drift.
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