At Shizumoto, a geisha shop not far from Ginza, a group of geisha are going about their day, putting up a modest resistance to the tragedies of life. The proprietress, Ikuyo, is a ridiculously good-natured woman who gives money to a poor but brilliant young man, Eisaku Yanoguchi, to attend college on the condition that he will take care of her in the future.Read More »
This is the first of three major film adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki’s famous novel from the 1940s, the second one being the 11959 version directed by Koji Shima, the third one being Kon Ichikawa’s The Makioa Sisters from 1983. Abe’s version stars Hideko Takamine, Hisako Yamane, Yukiko Todoroki and Ranko Hanai in the roles of the sisters. Yukiko Todoroki would also appear in Shima’s version of the film, here in the role of a different sister.Read More »
Three daughters have graduated from the music school and have gone their separate ways. On the day of the outbreak of war, the three girls meet again for the first time since their graduation ceremony.
This film was made at the end of the war to promote the military song “Song of the Annihilation of the United States and Great Britain” and to raise the will to fight. It was made in 1945. There are some expressions in this film that would be considered inappropriate today, but in light of the historical value of the film, they have been omitted.
Because the original film and the video master are old there are some parts which are unsightly and some parts are missing. Thank you for your understanding in advanceRead More »
The story of a young girl (Sachiko Hidari) who moves from a farm to the city of her dreams – Tokyo. Once settled as a maid, she realizes that the superiority of city life is only relative. Her employer’s son flees from Tokyo to the farm to see all the wonderful things the girl has told him about. When her employers go to pick up their son, the girl realizes that city folk are as ignorant of rural life as she was of city life.Read More »
Masahiro Makino’s attempt at a Busby Berkeley-style musical. Quality is mediocre (much better than the older version we had though), but the film is a true revelation! It combines the elaborate kaleidoscopic choreography of Berkeley musicals with a charming down-to-earth comedy narrative.Read More »
Synopsis:
Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita) wants to learn jujitsu. But after he witnesses the power of judo firsthand, he abandons his jujitsu training to study with judo master Shogoro Yano (Denjirô Ôkôchi). Under Yano, Sanshiro learns the combative elements of the art, and he also masters satori — the quiet, meditative aspects of judo style. With both in hand, he fights for the respect of his former teacher and for the love of his teacher’s daughter, Sayo (Yukiko Todoriki).Read More »