Japan

  • Mikio Naruse – Aki tachinu AKA Autumn Has Already Started (1960)

    Drama1951-1960AsianJapanMikio Naruse

    Shigeko, a recently widowed mother from Nagano,brings Hideo,her sixth-grade son,to live with his uncle in Tokiyo.Shigeko soon gets a job at the Mishima hotel.The shy Hideo doesn´t respond wellto his newsurroundings,preferring the companyof hisKabutomushi (helmet beetle ) to that of other people.He does,however,meet Junko,daughter of the woman who runs the Mishima and the two become goods friends.Junko´s mother has a patron who supports her and one day he comes to the city with his legitimate family. Junko feels inferior to his real children.Hideo too experiences the sorrow ot wathching his mother Shigeko prepare to go out with one of her patrons (Tomioka).Meanwhile,his beetle disappears and he depends more and more on Juko for companionship.hideo´s aunt sends him a replacement beetle.Elated,he runs to tell Junko,only to discover that she has left Tokyo and the Mishima has been sold.Saddened,Hideo brings his beetle to the roof of a building and looks out on the Tokyo skyline.Read More »

  • Yasuo Furuhata – Gokuchu no kaoyaku AKA Prison Boss (1968)

    Drama1961-1970ActionJapanYasuo Furuhata

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    Synopsis:
    Ken Takakura stars in yet another bad-ass Prison film, in “Prison Boss”. Here, rival gangs battle it out over ownership of a bicycle race track. The outside life for the yakuza mimics prison life in two respects,…. First, there are rules that must never be crossed and second, when opportunity arises, the rules will always be broken.Read More »

  • Kôji Wakamatsu – Yuke yuke nidome no shojo aka Go go second time virgin (1969)

    1961-1970ArthouseAsianJapanKoji Wakamatsu

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    ゆけゆけ二度目の処女

    Quote:
    A girl (Mimi Kozakura) is forcibly carried to a rooftop and gang-raped, as a boy of similar age (Michio Akiyama) stands to the side watching the events unfold. The boy remains on the roof until the next morning, waiting for the girl to wake. When she does finally rise, the two teens begin sharing intimate details about their lives, including the fact that the boy has recently killed four people that forced him to take part in an orgy. As the two kindred spirits sink lower and lower into depression and delusion, they exact revenge for the crimes against the girl and take a bold, tragic step to end their misery once and for all.Read More »

  • Masao Adachi – Gingakei AKA Galaxy (1967)

    1961-1970ArthouseExperimentalJapanMasao AdachiThe Films of May '68

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    Galaxy (Gingakei), in many ways, embodies a transitional point in Adachi’s direction as a filmmaker. Many of his fellow society members offered production support, and in a sense the film could be construed as a continuation of the activities of the Nihon University Film Studies Club. Although at this point Adachi was already involved with Wakamatsu, the film was produced as the inaugural title for the Theatre Scorpio, where people began to take pink cinema seriously. Yet, Galaxy is quite unlike anything else Adachi has been involved in before or since, a substantial piece of art cinema that reveals the singularity of the filmmaker’s vision.Read More »

  • Hirokazu Koreeda – Umi yori mo mada fukaku AKA After the Storm (2016)

    2011-2020ArthouseDramaHirokazu KoreedaJapan

    A prize-winning author that wastes his money on gambling struggles to take back control of his existence as his aging mother and ex-wife move on with their lives, until a stormy summer night offers him a chance to bond with his young son once again.Read More »

  • Seijun Suzuki – Yajû no seishun AKA Youth of the Beast (1963)

    1961-1970ActionCrimeJapanSeijun Suzuki

    Quote:
    When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo’s underworld explodes with violence. Youth of the Beast (Yaju no Seishun) was a breakthrough for director Seijun Suzuki, introducing the flamboyant colors, hallucinatory images, and striking compositions that would become his trademark.Read More »

  • Sadao Yamanaka – Ninjô kami fûsen aka Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)

    1931-1940AsianDramaJapanSadao Yamanaka

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    A poor, masterless Samurai who depends on the paper balloons his wife makes to feed his family becomes tempted by a criminal opportunity.

    Widely regarded as Yamanaka’s greatest achievement, Humanity & Paper Balloons was, tragically, his last film and only one of three that survive today.Read More »

  • Sadao Yamanaka – Tange Sazen yowa: Hyakuman ryo no tsubo AKA Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935)

    1931-1940AsianComedyJapanSadao Yamanaka

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    Tange Sazen is the story of a one eyed one armed swordsman his nagging wife and an orpan who upsets their routine while clutching a ceramic pot worth one million ryo. We know the value of that pot, but none of the film’s characters know that which sets into motion some great sight gags and wonderful bits of action. First conceived as a series of films in 1927 this film has not been seen since 1935, and the wait has been certainly worth it. Gorgeous scenery, fabulous costumes, quick comic pacing and enough action to keep you interested this film hopefully is the first of a new series. Clear English subtitles allow the viewer to be caught up in the daily lives of this family, and the constant bickering of the wife who is not sure about the orphan, and that pot. A subtle comic masterpiece!Read More »

  • Seijun Suzuki – Sandanju no otoko AKA The Man With A Shotgun (1961)

    1961-1970AsianJapanSeijun SuzukiWestern

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    Ryoji, a wanderer, arrives in a remote mountain town, carrying a shotgun and claiming to be a hunter. He quickly becomes embroiled in a web of trouble surrounding the town’s mill. Read More »

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