A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron’s deceased wife.

Ian Johnston, Not Coming to a Theater Near You wrote:
Zigeunerweisen, the first film in Seijun Suzuki’s Taisho trilogy, proved something of a surprise success in Japan, both commercially (this was very definitely unplanned) and critically—it took the Japanese Academy Awards for best picture, director, and supporting actress, and the prestigious Kinema Jumpo awards for best director, film, screenplay, actress, and supporting actress. So, Suzuki teamed up again with producer Genjiro Arato to double the budget for the follow-up Kagero-za.

Again, the setting is the 1920s Japan of the Taisho area, and again a literary work is the source for the screenplay. In this case, the basis is a short story by Kyoka Izumi, a writer most famous now for his idiosyncratic Gothic-flavoured ghost stories, published in the main in the early years of the twentieth century. From this has been fashioned a screenplay which rather resists any attempt at a synopsis—or is it Suzuki’s treatment that deliberately muddies the waters of character and narrative consistency?

The protagonist is playwright Matsuzaki, who one day encounters a mysterious woman, Shinako, on her way to a hospital. This appears to be the (late?) wife of his wealthy patron Tamawaki, and Matsuzaki becomes obsessed with Shinako, pursuing her out of Tokyo into rural Kanazawa, where he is drawn into a love-suicide pact encouraged if not orchestrated by the shotgun-toting Tamawaki. The story is further complicated by the way Matsuzaki’s obsession shifts between Shinako and the blue-eyed, blonde-haired Ine, apparently Tamawaki’s first (also deceased?) wife, and the story reaches its climax — if no great clarification — via a bizarre ceremony whereby dolls are draped in white cloths and hidden sexual organs are viewed and then via a lengthy sequence in a kabuki theatre where performers and audience are all children.

Even this synopsis makes the narrative connections clearer than they actually are. Shinako remains unnamed for almost the first half of the film, as is her identity as Tamawaki’s wife, if Tamawaki’s wife and the “bladder cherry lady” are the same—as they seem to be, except that Matsuzaki tells Tamawaki that Shinako reminds him of a beautiful lady he met long ago: is this the lady from the encounter at the beginning of the film?

So, the details of the story and the precise status of the characters are consistently unclear (as Matsusaki himself is when narrating parts of the story to Tamawaki), which is the point of a film deliberately aiming to replicate a dream-state. This feeling is established right from the start with the film’s second shot (Matsuzaki’s meeting with Shinako), where Shinako is presented frontally, still and facing the audience, standing in the centre of a flight of stone steps. There’s an unreal quality accentuated by the contrast between her pale skin, her light-coloured clothing and the basket of white flowers she is carrying as opposed to the dark greens of the surroundings and Matsuzaki’s dark clothes; and the contrast between her stillness and Matsuzaki’s constant movement. (Although the case on Kino’s DVD claims a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, as with Zigeunerweisen it’s actually full frame, which judging from the composition of this shot, as with the film generally, seems right.)

This is the scene where Shinako asks Matsuzaki to accompany her to the hospital, out of fear of a bladder cherry (whatever they may be!) vendor on the way there. Matsuzaki refuses; but the next sequence shows Matsuzaki at the hospital in conversation with her. We assume he has come looking for her, but in keeping with Suzuki’s general approach neither the connections between sequences nor a character’s motivation are made clear. Furthermore, the construction of the sequence, that is, the matching of one shot to the next, is equally oblique. Consider this series:

A low-angle shot of Matsuzaki searching, interrupted by a strange squelching sound.

A medium-shot from the rear of Shinako turning slightly and sitting down.

A long-shot, a 180°-match on the previous shot, of Shinako facing us in middle distance (the centre of the frame) with Matzusaki looking on from the right.

A medium close-up of Shinako, shot from the side but not from Matsuzaki’s point-of-view.

And so on.

The sum effect is quite disconcerting. Spatial relationships seem awry, or disturbed by such devices as cutting within a conversation from, say, a medium shot to an extreme long shot, both filmed from the same angle. Figures will be placed at the edge of the frame to emphasise the sense of being off-centre, or arrayed flatly in a formal and unrealistic line across the frame. All in all, there’s a fascinating willful aestheticism at play here, but one which works to underpin the dream logic of Kagero-za’s narrative. There are frequent unexplained abrupt shifts from one scene to the next; for example, we see Matzusaki in the alley outside the inn stop, the lighting suddenly brightens unnaturally, and he turns in a circle to the sound of festival drums, at which point there is sudden cut to him standing in a country road with the anarchist, who in fact taps him as if to wake him from one dream state to the next. Or alternatively, a scene never develops, but is simply replaced by a new one.

One brief moment sums up the spirit of the whole film: Tamawaki leaves the kabuki theatre, stands in the alley facing us, his shotgun over one shoulder, and states, “Who talks of realism here?” while laughing gleefully. The bizarre juxtapositions, the lack of narrative consistency, the startling visual tropes are all both the strength and the weakness of Kagero-za. It’s invigorating to allow oneself to be seduced by the flow of images, to give up trying to make logical, intellectual sense of things. But the process ends up being so long drawn-out and frustrating of any true emotional/intellectual investment in the film, that when we finally learn of Tamawaki and Shinako’s double suicide, we’re pretty much unmoved. Matsuzaki may end the film with his declaration that “since I saw my lover in a dream, I have depended on dreams”, but our feeling is more likely to be that in Kagero-za Suzuki himself has depended too much on them.

Kagero-za (1981) BDRIP 4K Restoration 1080p x264 FLAC KJNU.mkv

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Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	2 h 19 min
Size: 	15.7 GiB
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#1:  	Japanese 2.0ch FLAC @ 1 043 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/58C1DEB357498BB/Kagero-za_(1981)_BDRIP_4K_Restoration_1080p_x264_FLAC_KJNU.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Seijun Suzuki – Kagero-za AKA Heat-Haze Theatre (1981) (HD) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
A father decides to put his delinquent daughter into a temple in Kyoto known for its austere novitiate. Initially resistant to all forms of discipline, she ends up falling in love with the nun who is in charge of her.

The.Virgin.Witness.1966.DVDRip.DD2.0.x264-PTer .mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 23 min
Size: 	1.12 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	720x372 ~> 837x372
Aspect ratio:  	2.25:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	1 723 kb/s
BPP: 	0.268
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/9624EA14F574726/The.Virgin.Witness.1966.DVDRip.DD2.0.x264-PTer_.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:Chinese

The post Kenji Misumi – Shojo ga mita AKA The Virgin Witness (1966) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

As the war escalates, Omiya and Arita join the reinforcement troops stationed in Northern Manchuria. While waiting for Soviet attack, the duo still manage to rankle their superiors.

Heitai.yakuza.daidasso.1966.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264.mkv

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Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 27 min
Size: 	5.90 GiB
Video
Codec: 	h264
Resolution: 	1920x800 
Aspect ratio:  	2.40:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	9 377 kb/s
BPP: 	0.255
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 2.0ch E-AC-3 @ 224 kb/s (日本語)

https://nitro.download/view/EB58EBF7298C962/Heitai.yakuza.daidasso.1966.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Tokuzô Tanaka – Heitai yakuza daidasso AKA Hoodlum Soldier’s Flight to Freedom (1966) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Synopsis:
Ichi seeks out on a pilgrimage to 81 temples, exploring spirituality to atone for his bloody past. On the way, Ichi stumbles into a village that’s being bullied by a violent Yakuza boss and his henchmen. After killing a young, hired assassin, Ichi is led back to the young man’s village by his peculiar horse. Upon learning that her brother is dead, Okichi (Yasuda Michiyo) grabs a sword and attacks Ichi, either in an attempt to avenge her brother or in an attempt to commit suicide by forcing Ichi to defend himself. After injuring Ichi, Okichi tends to his wounds, nurses him back to health, and begins to have feelings for him. The Yakuza boss still wants Ichi dead in order to take over the village and now Ichi alone must deal with the boss and his gang, the young woman’s feelings and a village full of cowards, who will not stand up for themselves!

Zatoichi.umi.o.wataru.AKA.Zatoichis.Pilgrimage.1966.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

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Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1h 22mn
Size: 	1.98 GiB
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Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x436 
Aspect ratio:  	2.35:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	3 246 Kbps
BPP: 	0.303
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 1.0ch AC-3 @ 192 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/3F91900F4579847/Zatoichi.umi.o.wataru.AKA.Zatoichis.Pilgrimage.1966.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English (muxed)

The post Kazuo Ikehiro – Zatôichi umi o wataru AKA Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman’s Pilgrimage AKA Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage (1966) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

letterboxd:
In late 1940 the Japanese were anxious to conclude peace in China and to that end sent Colonel Hidaka to inaugurate negotiations. He was mysteriously assassinated, however, when his car was blown up. The General Staff Headquarters in Japan, sends Lieutenant Shiina, a graduate of the famed Nakano School of Spies inaugurated by Colonel Kusanagi, to investigate the matter. Arriving in Shanghai, he disguises himself as a Chinese coolie and sets out to watch for developments, the only clue being a silver dollar found beside what was left of the victim.

Rikugun.Nakano.gakko.Ryu-sango.shirei.1967.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-LA.mkv

General
Container:	Matroska
Runtime:	1h 27mn
Size:	3.81 GiB
Video
Codec:	h264
Resolution:	1280x544
Aspect ratio:	2.35:1
Frame rate:	23.976 fps
Bit rate:	6 000 kb/s
Audio
Japanese 2.0ch E-AC-3 @ 224 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/D3C41B89356882E/Rikugun.Nakano.gakko.Ryu-sango.shirei.1967.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-LA.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Tokuzô Tanaka – Rikugun Nakano gakko: Ryu-sango shirei (1967) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

A complete documentary about the secret of the birth of Ponyo. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea was a cultural phenomenon that swept Japan in the summer of 2008. The film asks, ‘How did Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of the character, come up with the character Ponyo?’

For about two and a half years from the preparation period of the work to the completion of the storyboard, a single camera remained in close contact with Hayao Miyazaki. The films follows Miyazaki’s travels and extended periods of isolation in order to find inspiration. No moments is left undocumented, particularly as Miyazaki expresses frustration, cynicism and anger at the creative process. In the end, nearly 200 hours of video footage had been recorded. This documentary distills the entire process in roughly 12 hours and 30 minutes.

Part.01.mkv

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Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	5 h 46 min
Size: 	8.20 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1022x576 
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	29.970 fps
Bit rate: 	3 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.170
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 2.0ch AC-3 @ 384 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/6CED2741636A02F/How.Ponyo.Was.Born.2009.Part.01.mkv https://nitro.download/view/B8F2D307152B909/How.Ponyo.Was.Born.2009.Part.02.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Kaku Arakawa – Ponyo wa Koushite Umareta AKA How Ponyo Was Born (2009) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Ogin is a concubine of a powerful feudal lord (Tayu). The evil woman Ogin tries to gain power by killing all the people who disturb her.

Naked Ambition 1970 1080i HDTV AAC MPEG2 JPTVclub.ts

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Container:  	MPEG-TS
Runtime: 	1 h 30 min
Size: 	5.71 GiB
Video
Codec: 	MPEG-2
Resolution: 	1440x1080 ~> 1920x1080
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	29.970 fps
Bit rate: 	Variable
BPP: 	
Audio
#1:  	2.0ch AAC

https://nitro.download/view/7991AE3FBF14FB5/Naked_Ambition_1970_1080i_HDTV_AAC_MPEG2_JPTVclub.ts
https://nitro.download/view/941555A3CE858DF/Onna.Gokuakucho.aka.Naked.Ambition.1970.eng.01-24-00.BYjls001999.rev1.srt

Language(s):Malay, Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Kazuo Ikehiro – Onna gokuakucho AKA Naked Ambition (1970) first appeared on Cinema of the World.