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Kamatari Fujiwara
was a Japanese actor. Fujiwara worked regularly and extensively with Akira Kurosawa, and was known for both being adept at comic acting, as well as being able to take on serious roles. Early life and career Early life Fujiwara was born on January 15, 1905, in Tokyo, Japan. Fujiwara's parents ran a printing business. The business did not go well, so at the age of 10, Fujiwara started working at a local confectionery store. By the age of 14 he had started selling timber for building and manufacturing in Shizuoka prefecture. A year later he returned to Tokyo to study as a pharmacist. Asakusa Opera Movement The Movement was started in 1916, and was part of the mass culture of the time. By the 1920s it had become very popular. His early life focused initially focussed on music, before he was known as a comic actor Perhaps inspired by this, Fujiwara enrolled at the Takinoga actor/martial arts school. Following graduation, he approached actor Kenzo Kuroki at Asakisa's kinrukan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fujiwara Clan
was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. They held the title of Ason. The abbreviated form is . The 8th century clan history ''Tōshi Kaden'' (藤氏家伝) states the following at the biography of the clan's patriarch, Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–669): "Kamatari, the Inner Palace Minister who was also called ‘Chūrō'',''’ was a man of the Takechi district of Yamato Province. His forebears descended from Ame no Koyane no Mikoto; for generations they had administered the rites for Heaven and Earth, harmonizing the space between men and the gods. Therefore, it was ordered their clan was to be called Ōnakatomi" The clan originated when the founder, Nakatomi no Kamatari (614–669) of the Nakatomi clan, was rewarded by Emperor Tenji with the ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hidden Fortress
is a 1958 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' adventure film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of two peasants who agree to escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in return for gold without knowing that he is a general and the woman is a princess. The film stars Toshiro Mifune as General Makabe Rokurōta and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki while the role of the peasants, Tahei and Matashichi, are portrayed by Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara respectively. ''The Hidden Fortress'' was the fourth highest-grossing film of the year in Japan, and Kurosawa's most successful film up to that point. It was a significant influence on the 1977 American film '' Star Wars''. Plot Two bedraggled peasants, Tahei and Matashichi, sell their homes and leave to join the feudal Yamana clan, hoping to make their fortunes as soldiers. Instead, they are mistaken for soldiers of the defeated Akizuki clan, have their weapons confiscated, and are forced to help dig graves before being sent away wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. ''Star Wars'' is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The original film (''Star Wars''), retroactively subtitled '' Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977), was followed by the sequels '' Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' (1983), forming the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. Lucas later returned to the series to direct a prequel trilogy, consisting of '' Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' (1999), '' Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002), and '' Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' (2005). In 2012, Lu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend , provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical ''Star Wars'' films released to date, with the exception of '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'', where the character does not appear. Despite his oblivious nature, has played a pivotal role in the galaxy's history, appearing under the service of Shmi Skywalker, the Lars homestead, Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa, Raymus Antilles, Luke Skywalker, Jabba the Hutt, and Leia Organa. In the majority of depictions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoru Chiaki
was a Japanese actor who appeared in eleven of Akira Kurosawa's films, including ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''Throne of Blood'', and ''The Hidden Fortress''. He was also one of Kon Ichikawa's favorite actors. He attended, but did not graduate from, Chuo University. Later in his career, he appeared as a secondary actor in many Toei films. In 1986, he was given the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his performance in Toei's ''Gray Sunset'' (1985). He died of cardiac and pulmonary failure at age 82. His son Katsuhiko Sasaki is also an actor. Filmography Film *''Stray Dog'' (1949) - Girlie Show director *'' Rashōmon'' (1950) - Priest *''Nanairo no hana'' (1950) - Tahei Izumi *''Koi no Oranda-zaka'' (1951) - Suekichi *''The Idiot'' (1951) - Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary *''Araki Mataemon: Kettô kagiya no tsuji'' (1952) *''Mōjū tsukai no shōjo'' (1952) *''Bijo to touzoku'' (1952) - Takeichi no Takamaru *''Kyô wa kaisha no gekkyûbi'' (1952) - ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey One
''Mickey One'' is a 1965 American neo noir crime film starring Warren Beatty and directed by Arthur Penn from a script by Alan Surgal. Plot After incurring the wrath of the Mafia, a stand-up comic (Warren Beatty) flees Detroit for Chicago, taking the name Mickey One (from the ethnic name Miklos Wunejeva on a Social Security card he steals from a homeless man). He uses the card to get a job at a seedy diner hauling garbage. He saves up enough money from his low wages to rent a room at a local flop house and buy himself some new clothes. Eventually he returns to the stage as a stand-up comic, but is wary of becoming successful, afraid that he will attract too much attention. When he gets a booking at the upscale club Xanadu, he finds that his first rehearsal has become a special "audition" for an unseen man with a frightening, gruff voice ( Aram Avakian). Paranoid that the mob has found him, Mickey runs away. He decides to find out who "owns" him and square himself with the mob. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American director and producer of film, television and theater. Closely associated with the American New Wave, Penn directed critically acclaimed films throughout the 1960s such as the drama '' The Chase'' (1966), the biographical crime film ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967) and the comedy '' Alice's Restaurant'' (1969). He also received attention for his acclaimed revisionist Western '' Little Big Man'' (1970). '' Night Moves'' (1975) and ''The Missouri Breaks'' (1976) which were commercial flops, though the first generated positive reviews. In the 1990s he returned to stage and television direction and production, including an executive producer role for the crime series ''Law & Order''. By his death in 2010, he had been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Director, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, two Emmys, and two Directors Guild of America Awards. He was the recipient of several honorary accolades, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sazae-san
is a Japanese yonkoma manga series written and illustrated by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the , on April 22, 1946. When the ''Asahi Shimbun'' wished to have Hasegawa draw the four-panel comic for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to Tokyo as well. The first ''Sazae-san'' strip run by the ''Asahi Shimbun'' was published on November 30, 1949. The manga dealt with everyday life and contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the series, with the final comic published on February 21, 1974. ''Sazae-san'' won the 8th Bungeishunjū Manga Award in 1962. An anime television adaptation by TCJ (later renamed Eiken) began airing in Japan in October 1969 and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running animated television series. It has also been adapted into a radio show, theatrical plays and songs. Plot In the beginning, Sazae was more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Twilight
is a 1957 Japanese drama film by Yasujirō Ozu. It is the story of two sisters (played by Ineko Arima and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara) who are reunited with a mother who left them as children. The film is considered amongst Ozu's darkest postwar films; it is well received though lesser known. It is his last film shot in black and white. Synopsis Akiko Sugiyama ( Ineko Arima) is a college student learning English shorthand. Her elder sister Takako ( Setsuko Hara), running away from an unhappy marriage, has returned home to stay with Akiko and their father Shukichi (Chishū Ryū) in Tokyo, together with her toddler girl. Shukichi works in a bank in Tokyo. Akiko has a relationship with her college boyfriend Kenji (Masami Taura), which results in an unwanted pregnancy. Later, Akiko has an abortion, after an encounter in which she realizes that her boyfriend does not love her. While going to a mahjong parlour to look for Kenji, Akiko comes across its proprietress Kisako (Isuzu Yamada) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are marriage and family, especially the relationships between generations. His most widely beloved films include ''Late Spring'' (1949), '' Tokyo Story'' (1953), and ''An Autumn Afternoon'' (1962). Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest and most influential filmmakers, Ozu's work has continued to receive acclaim since his death. In the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' poll, Ozu's ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the third-greatest film of all time by critics world-wide. In the same poll, ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the greatest film of all time by 358 directors and film-makers world-wide. Biography Early life Ozu was born in the Fukagawa, Tokyo, the second son of merchant Toranosuke Ozu and his wif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lower Depths (1957 Film)
is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, the screenplay by Hideo Oguni and Akira Kurosawa was based on the 1902 play ''The Lower Depths'' by Maxim Gorky. The setting was changed for the film from late 19th-century Russia to Edo period Japan. Plot In a run-down Edo tenement, an elderly man and his bitter wife rent out rooms and beds to the poor. The tenants are gamblers, prostitutes, petty thieves and drunk layabouts, all struggling to survive. The landlady’s younger sister who helps the landlords with maintenance, brings in an old man and rents him a bed. Kahei, who dresses as a Buddhist pilgrim, quickly assumes the role of a mediator and grandfatherly figure, though there is an air of mystery about him, and some of the tenants suspect his past is not unblemished. Sutekichi, thief and self-appointed tenement leader, is having an affair with Osugi the landlady, though he is gradually shifting his attention to her sweet-tempered sister. Okayo thinks little of him, ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to have originated in the very early Edo period, when founder Izumo no Okuni formed a female dance troupe who performed dances and light sketches in Kyoto. The art form later developed into its present all-male theatrical form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theatre in 1629. Kabuki developed throughout the late 17th century and reached its zenith in the mid-18th century. In 2005, kabuki theatre was proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value. In 2008, it was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Etymology The individual kanji that make up the word ''kabuki'' can be read as , , and . ''Kabuki'' is therefore sometimes t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
