Yoshiko Sakuma

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A film depicting the construction of the Kasumigaseki Building, which was the tallest building in Japan at the time in 1969.Read More »

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Set against the dramatic backdrop of the tragic downfall of an old aristocratic family, it depicts the conflicts among three men revolving around the beautiful and eerily alluring Lady Yuki. This is a film adaptation of the novel of the same title by Seiichi Funahashi. The screenplay and direction were handled by Masashige Narusawa, while cinematography was done by Tōichirō Narushima. Although the film was shot and completed in 1968, Toei, then fully committed to yakuza films and ero-guro fare, found it difficult to distribute, and it languished unreleased with no premiere date in sight. It was eventually loaned out for theatrical release as a supporting feature to Nikkatsu’s song-driven mainstream film Erimo Misaki (1975), produced after the studio’s shift to Roman Porno. Commercially, however, it was a complete failure.Read More »

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Hishakaku asks his woman, Otoyo, a former geisha, to move to Tokyo, where they are taken in by Boss Kokin. Due to his obligation to Kokin, he is involved with a gang war and is arrested.Read More »

The unexpected death of Fujishima Motoharu, president of a medium-sized firm, triggers a fierce battle over his estate inheritance among family members.Read More »

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The young Sonny Chiba is fabulous in this wildly entertaining Kinji Fukasaku film. It’s the 4th movie in the very loosely related Gang series. This instalment sees former gangster (Koji Tsuruta) brought back to action when the police needs his help to bring down a dangerous gang lead by Tetsuro Tamba. Chiba plays an enthusiastic young man who goes undercover even though it’s obviously more than he can handle. Critic Mark Schilling aptly described his character as “the seventh samurai” of this story. Though not an all time classic like some of Fukasaku’s later movies, it’s a very stylish and entertaining film full of 1960s cool. Chiba, bursting with youthful charm and energy, is the film’s biggest asset. This is one of his best performances, often leaving superstars like Tamba and Tsuruta in his shadow, and marked the beginning of his best era as an actor.Read More »

This lyrical adaptation of the beloved novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for director Kon Ichikawa. Structured around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters (Sasame-yuki) follows the lives of four siblings who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business, in the years leading up to the Pacific War. The two oldest have been married for some time, but according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, conservative and terribly shy, finds a husband. This graceful study of a family at a turning point in history is a poignant evocation of changing times and fading customs, shot in rich, vivid colors. (~Criterion)Read More »