Post by RickSanchez on Feb 27, 2017 17:00:53 GMT
Cult Japanese director Seijun Suzuki dies aged 93
RIP. Anyone here seen Branded to Kill or Tokyo Drifter?
For the next decade Suzuki was assigned to a string of B-movies and programme fillers, largely genre material which he sought to enliven through elaborate design (supplied by regular collaborator Takeo Kimura) and surreal, colourful imagery. However, his instincts did not prove popular at the cost-conscious Nikkatsu, and Suzuki was continually ordered to tone things down. Tokyo Drifter, released in 1966, combined pop art visuals with a dreamy, off-kilter study of a yakuza hitman. Branded to Kill, a year later, was another yakuza story, this time rendered in beautiful black and white.
However, Branded to Kill proved the last straw for Nikkatsu, and Suzuki was fired in 1968. He launched an action for unfair dismissal and won a settlement, but was effectively blacklisted for a decade. “They said my film was incomprehensible,” Suzuki told the Guardian in 2006. “It didn’t matter whether I thought it was a good film. I couldn’t disagree. I just had to take it. And once Nikkatsu sacked me, none of the other film companies would hire me.”
Suzuki engineered a return to film-making in 1977 with Shochiku’s A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, before making a trilogy of surreal ghost stories set in the early 20th century Taishō period: Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991).
In the early 90s, Suzuki’s reputation began to climb after a touring film season, entitled Branded to Thrill, and associated book and DVD releases, brought his films to an international audience. His cult status was established immediately, with directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Baz Luhrmann and Jim Jarmusch vocal in their praise.
However, Branded to Kill proved the last straw for Nikkatsu, and Suzuki was fired in 1968. He launched an action for unfair dismissal and won a settlement, but was effectively blacklisted for a decade. “They said my film was incomprehensible,” Suzuki told the Guardian in 2006. “It didn’t matter whether I thought it was a good film. I couldn’t disagree. I just had to take it. And once Nikkatsu sacked me, none of the other film companies would hire me.”
Suzuki engineered a return to film-making in 1977 with Shochiku’s A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, before making a trilogy of surreal ghost stories set in the early 20th century Taishō period: Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991).
In the early 90s, Suzuki’s reputation began to climb after a touring film season, entitled Branded to Thrill, and associated book and DVD releases, brought his films to an international audience. His cult status was established immediately, with directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Baz Luhrmann and Jim Jarmusch vocal in their praise.
RIP. Anyone here seen Branded to Kill or Tokyo Drifter?
