Nagisa Ōshima (1932-2013)

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MichaelB · #1 Post by **MichaelB** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:46 am

Nagisa Oshima.

Link to follow, but I heard the news from Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, so it's probably legit.

Roger Ryan · #2 Post by **Roger Ryan** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:44 pm

MichaelB wrote:Nagisa Oshima.
Link to follow, but I heard the news from Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, so it's probably legit.

Wikipedia already notes that he died earlier today (?) of pneumonia.

Michael Kerpan · #3 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:55 pm

MichaelB wrote:Nagisa Oshima.

Link to follow, but I heard the news from Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp, so it's probably legit.

Guardian UK obituary: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jan ... isa-oshima" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

#4 Post by **mfunk9786** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:02 pm

One of the best ever. R.I.P.

Good time to revisit the Criterion essay on Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.

knives · #5 Post by **knives** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 6:00 pm

Though to bring up the barely there silver lining he was very sick for decades so this is not entirely a miserable thing.

#6 Post by **zedz** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 6:54 pm

A very sad loss. I'd strongly argue that for several years in the late sixties he was the greatest working film director, and that amazing stretch of work has still yet to be properly released and appreciated.

criterion10 · #7 Post by **criterion10** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:52 pm

Only one of his films that I've seen was In the Realm of the Senses, which I personally wasn't a fan of. How do his other films compare?

#8 Post by **mfunk9786** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:00 pm

He has made a very eclectic body of work - a lot of very different films. In the Realm of the Senses can be polarizing, but it's unfortunate to see that, dislike it, and stop there. Quite a few of his films are streaming on Hulu Plus - I'd recommend watching Empire of Passion, or Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence if you want to take a complete left turn from the sexual themes.

knives · #9 Post by **knives** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:02 pm

I find that to be one of his weakest films. He changes pretty drastically from film to film with only the clear eye for experimentation and leftist politics being consistent. The films in the eclipse set offer a good variety and are mostly great (even Double Suicide has many passionate fans) though Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is easily his most accessible film on disc and features one of the best scores of all time though the film is largely ordinary.

criterion10 · #10 Post by **criterion10** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:04 pm

I was definitely planning on continuing to see his film regardless of not liking In the Realm of the Senses. It's simply unfair to judge a director based solely on one film. I'll probably give Empire of Passion and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence watches sometime in the near future, as I've been meaning to check those out for a while now. Boy looks pretty intriguing as well.

Ashirg · #11 Post by **Ashirg** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:07 pm

I really love his 1960's films still unreleased by Criterion - Cruel Story of Youth, The Sun's Burial, Night & Fog in Japan, Boy, Death by Hanging. Most of these are available on HuluPlus.

Gregory · #12 Post by **Gregory** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:11 pm

In case anyone's unaware of it, we have a good Oshima thread already, here, with good write-ups by zedz of a lot of the ’60s works.

Michael Kerpan · #13 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:12 pm

Oshima was not a leftist -- except maybe rather early in his career. He wasn't really a rightist either.

I would have to say I "admired" (some of) his films but didn't "love" any of them.

#14 Post by **zedz** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:33 pm

criterion10 wrote:I was definitely planning on continuing to see his film regardless of not liking In the Realm of the Senses. It's simply unfair to judge a director based solely on one film. I'll probably give Empire of Passion and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence watches sometime in the near future, as I've been meaning to check those out for a while now. Boy looks pretty intriguing as well.

I'm not alone in feeling that Oshima's work took a big dive after The Ceremony, so I wouldn't make a final judgement on him until you've seen some of the ATG work. The best available films of his are, in my opinion, in the Eclipse set, particularly Three Resurrected Drunkards and Violence at Noon.

knives · #15 Post by **knives** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:34 pm

I'd actually put Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs at the head of the class otherwise fully agreed.

hearthesilence · #16 Post by **hearthesilence** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:41 pm

I didn't realize how much of his work remained unavailable here in the U.S. I saw one of those films, Death by Hanging, as part of MoMA's exhibition on the Japanese avant-garde - excellent print and a great film, never saw anything like it before. Was hoping to see Boy and The Ceremony someday soon - hopefully Criterion can put them out?

Steven H · #17 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 9:51 pm

zedz wrote:
criterion10 wrote:I was definitely planning on continuing to see his film regardless of not liking In the Realm of the Senses. It's simply unfair to judge a director based solely on one film. I'll probably give Empire of Passion and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence watches sometime in the near future, as I've been meaning to check those out for a while now. Boy looks pretty intriguing as well.
I'm not alone in feeling that Oshima's work took a big dive after The Ceremony, so I wouldn't make a final judgement on him until you've seen some of the ATG work. The best available films of his are, in my opinion, in the Eclipse set, particularly Three Resurrected Drunkards and Violence at Noon.

I agree. If you live in the US and have Hulu+, I can't recommend his film Boy (1969) highly enough. I took some screenshots of the stream.

whaleallright · #18 Post by **whaleallright** » Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:47 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Oshima was not a leftist . . .

He seemed constitutionally unable to stay in the same place politically (much less to join any movement wholeheartedly), but I'd say that his written (and filmed) critiques early in his career definitely place him on the left of the Japanese political spectrum. Even if he was fiercely critical of leftist groups, that's in a great Left tradition.

manicsounds · #19 Post by **manicsounds** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:35 am

Akiyuki Nosaka VS Nagisa Oshima

Ouch, that had to hurt!

#20 Post by **Mr Sausage** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:49 am

manicsounds wrote:Akiyuki Nosaka VS Nagisa Oshima

Ouch, that had to hurt!

The hell? The reaction of the audience and that woman on stage makes it seem like a set-up, but that punch was real and it was not pulled. Oshima was lucky he wasn't knocked out.

SpiderBaby · #21 Post by **SpiderBaby** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:58 am

^The audience sounds like it's coming from the show that the clip is being shown on, like a funniest home videos type deal.

#22 Post by **Mr Sausage** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:10 am

SpiderBaby wrote:^The audience sounds like it's coming from the show that the clip is being shown on, like a funniest home videos type deal.

Ah. Still doesn't explain why the woman appears to be smiling through the whole thing.

hearthesilence · #23 Post by **hearthesilence** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:29 am

Gishiki (Ceremony) will be playing tomorrow night at MoMA (Wed., Jan. 16) at 7pm as well as Sunday, Jan. 20, at 2:30pm. These screenings were already scheduled as part of MoMA's exhibition on the Art Theater Guild and Japanese Underground Cinema (1960-1986).

Lowry_Sam · #24 Post by **Lowry_Sam** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:59 am

I really didn't care for In The Realm Of The Senses either. But, everything else I have seen by him, I've enjoyed. I really wish Criterion would get a hold of Taboo, since it looks like New Yorker will never release blu-rays of their older titles.

FerdinandGriffon · Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:12 am

manicsounds wrote:Akiyuki Nosaka VS Nagisa Oshima

Ouch, that had to hurt!

It's a clip from a televised celebration of the anniversary of Oshima's wedding to Akiko Koyama. That's her in the background. The assailant is probably best known as the screenwriter for Grave of the Fireflies.

I only know that much because I've stumbled across the clip before. Beyond that, I'm as stumped as the next guy.

Michael K, I'm curious as to what you mean when you say Oshima was not a leftist? A liberal, no, a radical, perhaps not always, but that he was a leftist seems beyond argument to me.

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