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Shōhei Imamura
was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from Japan to win two Palme d'Or awards. Biography Early life Imamura was born to an upper-middle-class doctor's family in Tokyo in 1926. For a short time following the end of the war, Imamura participated in the black market selling cigarettes and liquor. He studied Western history at Waseda University, but spent more time participating in theatrical and political activities. He cited a viewing of Akira Kurosawa's ''Rashomon'' in 1950 as an early inspiration, and said he saw it as an indication of the new freedom of expression possible in Japan in the post-war era. Upon graduation from Waseda in 1951, Imamura began his film career working as an assistant to Yasujirō Ozu at Shochiku Studios on films like ''Early Summer'' and ''Tokyo Story''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shochiku
() is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all, anime films produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks). Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada. It has also produced films by highly regarded independent and "loner" directors such as Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano, Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi and Taiwanese New Wave director Hou Hsiao-hsien. Shochiku is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and the oldest of Japan's "Big Four" film studios. History As Shochiku Kinema The company was founded in 1895 as a kabuki production company and later began producing films in 1920. Shochiku is considered the oldest company in Japan involved in present-day film production, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Second Brother
is a 1959 Japanese drama film by Shōhei Imamura. The screenplay is based on the diary of ten-year-old zainichi (ethnic Korean Japanese) Sueko Yasumoto, which became a bestseller upon publication. Plot The film tells the story of four orphans living in an impoverished mining town. Cast * Hiroyuki Nagato as Kiichi Yasumoto, eldest brother * Kayo Matsuo as Yoshiko, eldest sister * Takeshi Okimura as Kōichi, second brother * Akiko Maeda as Sueko, younger sister * Kō Nishimura as Gorō Mitamura * Yoshio Ōmori as Seki * Toshio Takahara as shop assistant (bicycle shop) * Taiji Tonoyama as Gengorō Henmi * Shinsuke Ashida as Sakai * Kazuko Yoshiyuki as Kanako Hori * Shōichi Ozawa as Haruo Kanayama Reception Film scholar Alexander Jacoby called ''My Second Brother'' an "uncharacteristically tender film" for the director. Awards * Mainichi Film Award – Best Supporting Actress (Kanako Hori), Best Sound (Fumio Hashimoto) * Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endless Desire
is a 1958 Japanese black comedy and crime film by Shōhei Imamura. Plot Ten years after the end of the war, a group of ex-soldiers meets to dig up a supply of morphine which had been hidden in an air-raid shelter: Onuma, pharmacist Nakata, professional criminal Yamamoto, and teacher Sawai. As the men had once been informed by their superior, Lieutenant Hashimoto, that only three men knew of the morphine, not four, they are at first suspicious of Sawai to be an intruder. They are joined by a woman, Shima, who declares that she is the younger sister of the Lieutenant who has died in the meantime. The area around the shelter has been turned into a shopping district, while the shelter itself now lies in the basement of a butcher shop. The group rents an empty store from corrupt local landlord Kinzō and starts digging a tunnel to the butcher shop. Shima announces that she will sleep with the man who digs up the most during their venture. Later, she seduces Kinzō's son Satoru, altho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Nagai
Frank Nagai (フランク 永井; March 18, 1932 – October 27, 2008) was a Japanese singer. Known for his attractive baritone voice. His real name was Kiyoto Nagai (永井 清人 ''Nagai Kiyoto''). Life Frank Nagai was born in Matsuyama, Miyagi, Japan. He had his major debut in 1954 when he was discovered by composer Tadashi Yoshida (吉田 正). He had many hit songs such as ''Yurakucho de Aimasho'', '' Tokyo Night Club'', ''Kimi Koishi'', and ''Omae ni''. He also appeared in motion pictures, including the film ''Nishi Ginza Eki Mae'' (1958), for which he sang the title song. He enjoyed immense popularity as a singer in Japan. He is credited with discovering female singer Kazuko Matsuo (松尾 和子), who later became quite famous. The two often sang duets together. He attempted suicide on October 21, 1985, attempting to hang himself, distressed that his lover bore his illegitimate child. He survived, but was left with permanent brain damage. Notable songs * （有楽 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nishi Ginza Station
is a 1958 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. This was Imamura's second film as director. Plot This short comedy concerns the attempts by the henpecked husband of a drugstore manager to have an extramarital affair while his wife is away for the weekend. It is based on a popular song by Frank Nagai, who sings and narrates in the film. See also * 1958 in film The year 1958 in film in the US involved some significant events, including the hit musicals '' South Pacific'' and '' Gigi'', the latter of which won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The ... References External links * movie poster Films directed by Shohei Imamura 1958 films 1958 comedy films 1950s Japanese-language films Japanese comedy films Nikkatsu films 1950s Japanese films Films scored by Toshiro Mayuzumi {{1950s-Japan-film-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to such notable film publications as ''Cahiers du cinéma'' and ''Film Comment''. Regarding Rosenbaum, French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard said, "I think there is a very good film critic in the United States today, a successor of James Agee, and that is Jonathan Rosenbaum. He's one of the best; we don't have writers like him in France today. He's like André Bazin." Early life Rosenbaum grew up in Florence, Alabama, where his grandfather had owned a small chain of movie theaters. He grew up with his father Stanley and mother Mildred in the Rosenbaum House, designed by notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the only building by Wright in Alabama. As a teenager, he attended The Putney School in Putney, Vermont, where his cl ... [...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 Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, 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 . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stolen Desire
is a 1958 Japanese film directed by Shōhei Imamura. It was Imamura's debut as a director. Cast * Osamu Takizawa as Taminosuke Yamamura * Shinichi Yanagisawa as Ezaburo Yamamura * Hiroyuki Nagato as Shinichi Kunida * Kō Nishimura as Kanji Takada * Toshio Takahara as Eisuke Katō * Shojiro Ogasawara as Tominachiro Kobayashi * Tomio Aoki ''aka'' was a Japanese film actor. Aoki became famous as a child actor after debuting at the age of six in silent films directed by Yasujirō Ozu. His leading role in Ozu's 1929 short comedy ''Tokkan kozo'' gave Aoki his nickname. '' I Was Bor ... * Nobuo Kawakami as Policeman * Hayao Takamura References External links * * * 1958 films Films directed by Shohei Imamura Nikkatsu films 1958 directorial debut films 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun In The Last Days Of The Shogunate
is a 1957 Japanese comedy film directed by Yūzō Kawashima with a screenplay by Kawashima, Shōhei Imamura and Keiichi Tanaka. It was voted the fifth best Japanese film of all time in a poll of 140 Japanese critics and filmmakers conducted by the magazine ''Kinema Junpo'' in 1999. Plot It is set during the last days of the Bakumatsu era (1862), six years before the shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned power to the Emperor. The plot is centered around the rogue city dweller Saheiji (played by comedian Frankie Sakai), who arrived to have fun with three friends. They visit a brothel in the Shinagawa entertainment district. After spending the night, he was forced to admit that he lacked money to pay. So he must stay in order to settle his debt. Saheiji seeks to outwit the inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive in straitened times. Meanwhile, a group of samurai seek to destroy any foreigners that cross their path. Saheiji attracts all employees, from brothel owners to prostitute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Richie
Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also directed a number of experimental films, the first when he was seventeen. Biography Richie was born in Lima, Ohio. During World War II, he joined the United States Merchant Marine and served aboard Liberty ships as a purser and medical officer. By then he had already published his first work, "Tumblebugs" (1942), a short story.''Introduction'' by Leza Lowitz, in ''Botandoro'' by Donald Richie In 1947, Richie first visited Japan with the American occupation force, a job he saw as an opportunity to escape from Lima, Ohio. He first worked as a typist, and then as a civilian staff writer for the ''Pacific Stars and Stripes''. While in Tokyo, he became fascinated with Japanese culture, particularly Japanese cinema. He was soon writing movie rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yūzō Kawashima
was a Japanese film director, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires. Career Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was educated at Meiji University, where he was a member of the film study circle. He entered the Shōchiku studios in 1938 and served as an assistant director under Minoru Shibuya and Keisuke Kinoshita before directing his first film, '' The Man Who Has Returned'', in 1944. At Shōchiku after the war, he made many comedies before switching to Nikkatsu in 1955, when the studio resumed film production. There he made such notable works as '' Burden of Love'' (1955), '' Suzaki Paradise: Red Light District'' (1956), and ''Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate'' (1957), which was later voted the fifth best Japanese film of all time in Kinema Junpō's poll of 140 film critics and filmmakers in 1999. In his remaining years, Kawashima worked at multipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
