is a 1955 Japanese film directed by

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 44 feature films in a career spanning 59 years. The most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki, his films have had a significant influence on the film industry. Honda enter ...

based on the story ''Fukeyo kawakaze'' by

Hidemi Kon was a literary critic and essayist active in Japan during the Shōwa period. Early life Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Kon Hidemi was the younger brother of writer, politician and Buddhist priest Kon Tōkō. His father was a captain of a steamer o ...

. The film is set in a post-War Tokyo where two of its citizens are lovers who reunite after being separated by the war.

Production

''Lovetide'' was director

's follow-up to his film ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' and was his first film specifically made for female audiences. The film was made with the studio promoting it as "a gorgeous love melodrama with Toho's best cast, meant for all the women-fans." The film is based on the story ''Fukeyo kawakaze'' by

. The film's story and cast (specifically Mariko Okada and Chieko Nakakita, the wife of producer

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer. He is best known for co-creating the ''Godzilla'' franchise and its associated spin-offs. Early life Tanaka was born on April 26, 1910, in Kashiwara, Osaka. As a child, he would often walk miles to the nearest th ...

) have been described Honda authors Steve Rylfe and Ed Godziszewski as being similar to the film '' Floating Clouds'' that was directed by

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki ("common people drama") films with female protagonists, ...

and released a few weeks after ''Lovetide''. Tanaka had mentioned that if he had not steered Honda towards predominantly making science fiction films, Honda would have become "a director like Mikio Naruse."

Release

''Lovetide'' was distributed theatrically by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

on 9 January 1955.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* 1955 films Films directed by Ishirō Honda Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Toho films Japanese comedy films 1955 comedy films Japanese black-and-white films 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub

Production

Release

See also

References

Bibliography

External links