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Mark Schilling wrote:Film directors are often "in production" to the last, even when they're breathing on a respirator (John Huston) or recovering from a stroke (Nagisa Oshima). There's something valiant about this, even if the late films are a falling off from the best work.

Sometimes, though, they are a precious final statement about saying farewell to the passion of your life.

Kazuo Kuroki, who died of a stroke at age 75 last April, summed up an era for his entire generation in his last four films, starting with "Tomorrow" (1988), about the Nagasaki atomic bombing, and concluding with "Kamiya E-tsuko no Seishun (The Youth of Etsuko Kamiya)," which became a posthumous film -- and a fitting coda to Kuroki's four-decade career.

...But "Kamiya Etsuko" is also austere -- hardly any music, mostly long takes and only straight cuts -- in a way identifiably Kuroki. It is as though, knowing the end was approaching, he concentrated his remaining energies to make a strong-but-simple drama, with maximum efficiency and minimum distractions.

fred wrote:Yazaki Hitoshi's Strawberry Shortcakes is due April 25th, reportedly with English subs.

putney wrote:Hitoshi's last feature film "march comes out like a lion" is already on dvd with English subs, on uplink. personally, i still think it's his best...

Michael Kerpan wrote:Uchida's 1958 "Mori to mizumi no matsuri" (called "The Outsiders" in the west) is due out soon.

putney wrote:Hitoshi's last feature film "march comes out like a lion" is already on dvd with English subs, on uplink. personally, i still think it's his best...

cdjapan.co.jp wrote:A blind witness, a lurking fugitive. When a boy with a dark past sneaks into the room of a blind woman, the two begin an odd form of mutual living where the woman can sense the boy and yet he refuses to show himself.

Maybe Abe's version of the Tanizaki novel was an inspiritation for Ichikawa's own attempt.

ab-514 wrote:I've never seen Abe's version, but I suspect Hideko Takamine would make a very good Taeko, as it's the kind of rebellious role she played so well for Naruse.

"Ichikawa Kon Monogatari" (The Ichikawa Kon Story) will take a somewhat unorthodox approach, mixing text, rare photographs, and interviews on the set of the director's self-remake "Murder of the Inugami Clan" (Inugami-ke no Ichizoku) to tell the story of his life from infancy to the present day. He also talks about his days as an animator before becoming a film director. Directed, scripted and edited by Iwai, it'll no doubt bear his distinct sensibility.

BrightEyes23 wrote:these aren't very likely to have english subtitles are they?
R2 Japanese discs drive me crazy, they're expensive as hell and usually don't have english subs. When they do happen to have them (Masahiro Shinoda's films for example) its great (for everthing except my wallet).

Le plus célèbre drame amoureux de l'époque est Quel est ton nom? (1953-1954) d'Oba Hideo, film en trois parties sur deux amants se rencontrant pendant le grand bombardement de Tokyo. Kishi Keiko joue la jeune femme et Sada Keiiji joue un nimaime (jeune homme faible, souffrant, incapable de conquérir une femme).