North America's largest Japanese film festival presents two weeks of contemporary movies from Japan, including opening film The First Slam Dunk directed by Takehiko Inoue, centerpiece film Under The Turquoise Sky directed by Kentaro, closing film The Three Sisters Of Tenmasou Inn directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 16th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America, set for July 26–August 6. This year's edition will present 29 films and mark the first fully in-person Japan Cuts since 2019. This year's festival spans 12 days and features 24 feature-length films and five short films across Feature Slate, Next Generation, and Short Film Spotlight sections, as well as a special tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres and three New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan Cuts...
Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 16th annual Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film, the largest festival of its kind in North America, set for July 26–August 6. This year's edition will present 29 films and mark the first fully in-person Japan Cuts since 2019. This year's festival spans 12 days and features 24 feature-length films and five short films across Feature Slate, Next Generation, and Short Film Spotlight sections, as well as a special tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Among the festival's lineup are five International Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, seven U.S. Premieres, three East Coast Premieres and three New York Premieres. Additionally, Japan Cuts...
- 6/22/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
One of only three surviving films to be directed by Sadao Yamanaka, “Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo” is a Japanese comedy that has endured through the ages. A spin-off of the popular Tange Sazen series that features one of the 1930’s most famous chanbara actors, Denjiro Okochi, the film presents a merry misadventure filled with colorful characters.
Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo is screening as part of Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2023
Genzaburo Yagyu (Kunitaro Sawamura) inherits nothing from his father but an old pot that is supposedly a family heirloom. However, he soon discovers that the seemingly worthless pot contains a map leading to worth one million Ryo, but not before his wife pawns it off to some junk dealers. The pot eventually lands in the hands of a young boy named Yasu, who uses it to house his precious goldfish.
Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo is screening as part of Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2023
Genzaburo Yagyu (Kunitaro Sawamura) inherits nothing from his father but an old pot that is supposedly a family heirloom. However, he soon discovers that the seemingly worthless pot contains a map leading to worth one million Ryo, but not before his wife pawns it off to some junk dealers. The pot eventually lands in the hands of a young boy named Yasu, who uses it to house his precious goldfish.
- 2/16/2023
- by Tom Wilmot
- AsianMoviePulse
After a hiatus as theaters in New York City and beyond closed their doors during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, there’s a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings taking place.
Roxy Cinema
Prints of Speed Racer, Nightmare Alley, Batman Returns, and Amadeus screen through the weekend.
Metrograph
Films by Stanley Donen, Jonathan Glazer, Melvin Van Peebles and others are playing in a series curated by Diamantino director Daniel Schmidt; the Wachowskis’ Bound screens Friday night.
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big: Extravaganzas!” offers films by Hype Williams, Ulrike Ottinger, and Zhang Yimou.
Japan Society
A fantastic 4K restoration of Priest of Darkness, by one of Japanese cinema’s great figures, Sadao Yamanaka, plays on Friday, while films by Naomi Kawase, Junji Sakamoto,...
Roxy Cinema
Prints of Speed Racer, Nightmare Alley, Batman Returns, and Amadeus screen through the weekend.
Metrograph
Films by Stanley Donen, Jonathan Glazer, Melvin Van Peebles and others are playing in a series curated by Diamantino director Daniel Schmidt; the Wachowskis’ Bound screens Friday night.
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big: Extravaganzas!” offers films by Hype Williams, Ulrike Ottinger, and Zhang Yimou.
Japan Society
A fantastic 4K restoration of Priest of Darkness, by one of Japanese cinema’s great figures, Sadao Yamanaka, plays on Friday, while films by Naomi Kawase, Junji Sakamoto,...
- 12/17/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy is exclusively showing on Mubi in many countries.Late in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, a gripping espionage thriller set in Kobe on the eve of World War II, the film’s titular heroine Satoko Fukuhara (Yu Aoi) and her well-to-do merchant husband Yusaku (Issey Takahashi)—whose clandestine activities have aroused the suspicion of the Kempeitai, Japan’s feared military police—go on an outing to a local cinema, as if to evade their surveillance and to keep up a veneer of normalcy. There, at the downtown movie house, the couple catches a screening of Sadao Yamanaka’s historical drama, Kochiyama Soshun (1936).This minor, seemingly inconsequential detail in Kurosawa’s latest conceals a hidden subtext that hints at the ominous shadow of a grinding military campaign Japan was engaged in at the time in China.
- 12/15/2021
- MUBI
After a hiatus as theaters in New York City and beyond closed their doors during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, there’s a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings taking place.
Metrograph
“Lost Histories” offers the rarely screened On the Silver Globe and Southland Tales, among others, while films by Tarkovsky, Wenders, and more play in “The Russians Love Their Children Too,” ; a Lynne Sachs retro is underway.
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big: Extravaganzas!” offers films by Wes Anderson, Guy Maddin, and Francis Ford Coppola; a kung-fu retro is are underway.
Japan Society
A fantastic 4K restoration of Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo, by one of Japanese cinema’s great figures, Sadao Yamanaka, plays on Saturday, while films by Naomi Kawase,...
Metrograph
“Lost Histories” offers the rarely screened On the Silver Globe and Southland Tales, among others, while films by Tarkovsky, Wenders, and more play in “The Russians Love Their Children Too,” ; a Lynne Sachs retro is underway.
Museum of the Moving Image
“See It Big: Extravaganzas!” offers films by Wes Anderson, Guy Maddin, and Francis Ford Coppola; a kung-fu retro is are underway.
Japan Society
A fantastic 4K restoration of Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo, by one of Japanese cinema’s great figures, Sadao Yamanaka, plays on Saturday, while films by Naomi Kawase,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
An exciting new series of Japanese films kicks off tomorrow in New York City, which is great news for people who live there, but also great news for people who live in North America. The 20-film series, presented by the Japan Society and titled "Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films From Notable Japanese Directors," is, according to official verbiage, "a hybrid program with 18 films streaming nationwide on Japan Society's Virtual Cinema from December 3-23, 2021 and two in-person screenings in Japan Society's auditorium on December 11 and 17." Here's just a taste of what's in store: "Highlights of the series include rare works by master director Sadao Yamanaka featuring 4K restorations of Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo, [making its]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 12/2/2021
- Screen Anarchy
Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Directors from December 3 – 23, 2021
Highlighting the early efforts of now-established contemporary filmmakers, the Japan Society has announced the second Aca Cinema Project series Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Directors, which takes an intimate look at six of Japan’s most well-known directors: Naomi Kawase, Miwa Nishikawa, Shuichi Okita, Junji Sakamoto, Akihiko Shiota and Masayuki Suo. Pairing each debut with a recent work, the series presents two distinct facets of each filmmaker’s career – encouraging dialogue and interplay as well as tracking the development of their signature voice. By drawing parallels and contrasts between past and present, Flash Forward illuminates the importance of these pivotal early works within each artist’s career. Co-presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, in collaboration with Visual Industry Promotion Organization.
Tickets for in-person and online screenings are available from the Japan Society website: https://www.japansociety.org/arts-and-culture/films/flash-forward-japanese-films.
Tickets for in-person and online screenings are available from the Japan Society website: https://www.japansociety.org/arts-and-culture/films/flash-forward-japanese-films.
- 11/30/2021
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
A stellar snapshot of recent Japanese cinema is coming next month to the Japan Society. Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Directors––which takes an intimate look at six of Japan’s most well-known directors: Naomi Kawase, Miwa Nishikawa, Shuichi Okita, Junji Sakamoto, Akihiko Shiota, and Masayuki Suo––will feature films available to stream nationwide from Dec. 3-23 and two in-person screenings in Japan Society’s auditorium on December 11 and 17. Ahead of the series, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the festival trailer.
Pairing each debut with a recent work, the series presents two distinct facets of each filmmaker’s career—encouraging dialogue and interplay as well as tracking the development of their signature voice. By drawing parallels and contrasts between past and present, Flash Forward illuminates the importance of these pivotal early works within each artist’s career.
Series highlights include Naomi Kawase’s...
Pairing each debut with a recent work, the series presents two distinct facets of each filmmaker’s career—encouraging dialogue and interplay as well as tracking the development of their signature voice. By drawing parallels and contrasts between past and present, Flash Forward illuminates the importance of these pivotal early works within each artist’s career.
Series highlights include Naomi Kawase’s...
- 11/15/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The late Nobuhiko Obayashi became famous in the West for his experimental style of filmmaking (mostly through House). The 3-hours long “Labyrinth of Cinema” seems to move in even more experimental paths.
“Labyrinth of Cinema” is screening at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, as part of the Obayashi Nobuhiko Film Show Case
The film is somewhat autobiographical (and I am saying somewhat since I am not familiar with his life story), since the basic story takes place in Onomichi, where Obayashi was born, while the narrative includes many of the artistic pursuits he followed on his career, including animation, advertising, drawing etc. As the story begins, the only theater in town is about to close and the manager has decided to stage an all night war-film marathon as a goodbye to both the audience and the films the theater has screened over the years. Noriko, a schoolgirl and the town...
“Labyrinth of Cinema” is screening at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, as part of the Obayashi Nobuhiko Film Show Case
The film is somewhat autobiographical (and I am saying somewhat since I am not familiar with his life story), since the basic story takes place in Onomichi, where Obayashi was born, while the narrative includes many of the artistic pursuits he followed on his career, including animation, advertising, drawing etc. As the story begins, the only theater in town is about to close and the manager has decided to stage an all night war-film marathon as a goodbye to both the audience and the films the theater has screened over the years. Noriko, a schoolgirl and the town...
- 11/12/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: The second Aca Cinema Project series, “Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Directors,” has set its lineup for a hybrid program that will run from December 3-23. Presented by the New York-based non-profit Japan Society and the Japanese government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Visual Industry Promotion Organization, the event will be comprised of 18 films streaming in North America on Japan Society’s Virtual Cinema hub, along with two in-person screenings on December 11 and 17.
Highlighting the early efforts of now-established contemporary filmmakers, the program takes a look at six of Japan’s well-known directors: Naomi Kawase, Miwa Nishikawa, Shuichi Okita, Junji Sakamoto, Akihiko Shiota and Masayuki Suo. Pairing each of their debuts with a recent work, the series presents two facets of their careers. (Scroll down for the full list.) Panel discussions will also be held with some of the filmmakers and available to stream worldwide.
Highlighting the early efforts of now-established contemporary filmmakers, the program takes a look at six of Japan’s well-known directors: Naomi Kawase, Miwa Nishikawa, Shuichi Okita, Junji Sakamoto, Akihiko Shiota and Masayuki Suo. Pairing each of their debuts with a recent work, the series presents two facets of their careers. (Scroll down for the full list.) Panel discussions will also be held with some of the filmmakers and available to stream worldwide.
- 11/4/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice best director winner has gone to Portugal (Midas Filmes), Norway (Fidalgo) and Korea (M&m International), among other territories.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife Of A Spy, which is screening as a Gala Presentation at this week’s Busan International Film Festival, has been sold to several further territories following its best director win at Venice.
Japanese studio Nikkatsu has sold the film to European territories including Portugal (Midas Filmes), Norway (Fidalgo Film Distribution) and Ex-Yugoslavia (Cinemania Group). It was pre-sold to Arthouse for French-speaking Europe and also to A Contracorriente for Spain ahead of its screening at San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife Of A Spy, which is screening as a Gala Presentation at this week’s Busan International Film Festival, has been sold to several further territories following its best director win at Venice.
Japanese studio Nikkatsu has sold the film to European territories including Portugal (Midas Filmes), Norway (Fidalgo Film Distribution) and Ex-Yugoslavia (Cinemania Group). It was pre-sold to Arthouse for French-speaking Europe and also to A Contracorriente for Spain ahead of its screening at San Sebastian International Film Festival.
- 10/26/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Nobuhiko Obayashi became famous in the West for his experimental style of filmmaking (mostly through House), and his age (he was born in 1938) and a very serious illness that has been ailing him for the last few years do not seem to have placed an obstacle in continuing in the same frantic style. On the contrary, the 3-hours long “Labyrinth of Cinema” seems to move in even more experimental paths.
“Labyrinth of Cinema” is screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam
The film is somewhat autobiographical (and I am saying somewhat since I am not familiar with his life story), since the basic story takes place in Onomichi, where Obayashi was born, while the narrative includes many of the artistic pursuits he followed on his career, including animation, advertising, drawing etc. As the story begins, the only theater in town is about to close and the manager has decided to...
“Labyrinth of Cinema” is screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam
The film is somewhat autobiographical (and I am saying somewhat since I am not familiar with his life story), since the basic story takes place in Onomichi, where Obayashi was born, while the narrative includes many of the artistic pursuits he followed on his career, including animation, advertising, drawing etc. As the story begins, the only theater in town is about to close and the manager has decided to...
- 1/31/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Medically speaking, Labyrinth of Cinema shouldn’t exist. The doctors who, three years ago, diagnosed director Nobuhiko Obayashi with terminal lung cancer gave him only months to live, not enough time to see Hanagatami—his lifelong dream project, which was just about to begin production when he got the bad news—through to fruition, let alone sufficient time to complete a follow-up feature. But rather like cinema itself, Obayashi continues to defy prognostications of imminent death. That is not to say, however, that he’s blithely unconcerned about what lies ahead: like the films that comprise his War Trilogy, Obayashi’s newest work treats the continued life of the moving image as an urgent moral question. In fact, in light of the times, it might be the only question. Somewhere amid the flurry of title cards, dedications, and salutations that opens Labyrinth of Cinema, Obayashi cites a few lines from early Shōwa-era poet Chūya Nakahara,...
- 1/28/2020
- MUBI
“Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji” is a significant entry in the filmography of Tomu Uchida, one of the most important figures of the Japanese pre-war cinema. The film signaled his return to cinema after spending a decade in Manchuria while it is also considered as both a harsh political statement and a tribute to Uchida’s friend, Sadao Yamanaka, a promising director who was killed in combat in Manchuria. Furthermore, the film is a rare case where shomin-geki is combined with chanbara, since Uchida uses the samurai setting to portray, realistically, the lives of the lower castes in Japan, through a production that functions much like a road movie.
Sakawa is a kind samurai who travels to Edo to present some valuable ceramics to his mother. He is attended by his two servants, Gonpachi, a proud and selfless samurai who functions as his spear bearer, and Genta,...
Sakawa is a kind samurai who travels to Edo to present some valuable ceramics to his mother. He is attended by his two servants, Gonpachi, a proud and selfless samurai who functions as his spear bearer, and Genta,...
- 9/5/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After asking a number of artists that appear in our reviews and interviews, both in Amp and Asian Film Vault, to list their favorite movies of their country, we inaugurate a new column in Asian Movie Pulse, where we are going to present their selections.
The first “guest” of the column is no other than Toshiaki Toyoda, director of “Pornostar“, “Blue Spring”, “Hanging Garden” and “9 Souls” among others.
Here are his top ten Japanese films, in random order.
1. The Man Who Stole the Sun
A high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.
2. Knock Out
A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.
3. Woman in the Dunes
An entomologist on vacation is trapped...
The first “guest” of the column is no other than Toshiaki Toyoda, director of “Pornostar“, “Blue Spring”, “Hanging Garden” and “9 Souls” among others.
Here are his top ten Japanese films, in random order.
1. The Man Who Stole the Sun
A high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.
2. Knock Out
A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.
3. Woman in the Dunes
An entomologist on vacation is trapped...
- 5/3/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
★★★★☆ Having brought the relatively unknown (to Western audiences) Bakumatsu Taiyô-den (The Sun Legend in the Last Days of the Shogunate, 1957) to Blu-ray last month, the Masters of Cinema series now provide another prime example of classic Japanese cinema unseen in the UK. In September 1938, at the tender age of 28, acclaimed director Sadao Yamanaka tragically died whilst on military service, leaving more than 20 films from all-too-brief career. Sadly, most of those were lost during the war years, but the trio that remain have been excellently remastered for The Complete (Existing) Films of Sadao Yamanaka Collection.
A contemporary and friend of Yasujiro Ozu, Yamanaka worked exclusively in the 'jidaigeki' tradition; creating period dramas set under the rule of the shogunate. Under the tutelage of Daisuke Ito, this genre was used to slip under the gaze of censors and allowed leftists to make films shedding light on political and social issues of the...
A contemporary and friend of Yasujiro Ozu, Yamanaka worked exclusively in the 'jidaigeki' tradition; creating period dramas set under the rule of the shogunate. Under the tutelage of Daisuke Ito, this genre was used to slip under the gaze of censors and allowed leftists to make films shedding light on political and social issues of the...
- 5/21/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Looking back at 2011 on what films moved and impressed us it becomes more and more clear—to me at least—that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, our end of year poll, now an annual tradition, which calls upon our writers to pick both a new and an old film: they were challenged to choose a new film they saw in 2011—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2011 to create a unique double feature. Many contributors chose their favorites of 2011, some picked out-of-the-way gems, others made some pretty strange connections—and some frankly just want to create a kerfuffle. All the contributors were asked to write a paragraph explaining their 2011 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative...
- 1/5/2012
- MUBI
Has another photo existed with so many great filmmakers in one shot? This was taken in 1936 on the occation of the creation of the Japan Film Directors Society.
Front row, from left:
Teinosuke Kinugasa (1896-1982)
Yoshinobu Ikeda (1892-1973)
Sadao Yamanaka (1909-1938)
Mansaku Itami (1900-1946)
Heinosuke Gosho (1902-1981)
Minoru Murata (1894-1937)
Shigeyoshi Suzuki (1900-1976)
Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956)
Second row, from left:
Tomotaka Tasaka (1902-1974)
Yasujiro Shimazu (1897-1945)
Hiroshi Shimizu (1903-1966)
Yutaka Abe (1895-1977)
Kiyohiko Ushihara (1897-1985)
Kajiro Yamamoto (1902-1974)
Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963)
Tomu Uchida (1898-1970)
Third row, from left:
Mikio Naruse (1905-1969)
Kintaro Inoue (1901-1954)
(Via Vermillion and One Nights.)...
Front row, from left:
Teinosuke Kinugasa (1896-1982)
Yoshinobu Ikeda (1892-1973)
Sadao Yamanaka (1909-1938)
Mansaku Itami (1900-1946)
Heinosuke Gosho (1902-1981)
Minoru Murata (1894-1937)
Shigeyoshi Suzuki (1900-1976)
Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956)
Second row, from left:
Tomotaka Tasaka (1902-1974)
Yasujiro Shimazu (1897-1945)
Hiroshi Shimizu (1903-1966)
Yutaka Abe (1895-1977)
Kiyohiko Ushihara (1897-1985)
Kajiro Yamamoto (1902-1974)
Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963)
Tomu Uchida (1898-1970)
Third row, from left:
Mikio Naruse (1905-1969)
Kintaro Inoue (1901-1954)
(Via Vermillion and One Nights.)...
- 9/25/2011
- MUBI
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