Sunday, December 03, 2023
Harakiri
- Commentary: Under construction.
I am sooo looking forward to the arrival of this film! I've seen it once before, when I lived in Sacramento in the early 80s. It was a bad print with no subtitles (either Japanese or English) and I wasn't going to go to the screening for these reasons, but my Asian Film friends encouraged me, anyway, saying that I would not miss anything by not understanding the speech in it. They were half right, and half wrong. The story is clear without speech. The characterizations are, hmmm, well, relatively clear. The relationships even less clear. So I'm very excited to be adding this to my collection. I feel as though I am finally going to be experiencing the impact of this film the way an astute viewer and appreciator of Japanese film should be doing.
By the way, at Roger Ebert's website, when you search for this movie, more than a few articles discussing it appear. My intention is to read all the articles. In addition, Roger Ebert christened this as one of his Great Movies.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Tatsuya Nakadai Tsugumo Hanshirō Rentarō Mikuni Saitō Kageyu Akira Ishihama Chijiiwa Motome Shima Iwashita Tsugumo Miho Tetsurō Tamba Omodaka Hikokuro Ichirō Nakatani Yazaki Hayato Masao Mishima Inaba Tango Kei Satō Fukushima Masakatsu
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1962
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi.
Labels: Criterion7, masaki-kobayashi, samurai
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman Collection
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Shintaro Katsu Zatoichi
The episodes in this series are:
The Tale of Zatoichi
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Masayo Banri Otani Ryuzo Shimada Shigezo of the Sasagawa Yakuza Gen Mitamura Hanji of Matsugishi
Release Date: 1962
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
The Tale of Zatoichi Continues
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Yoshie Mizutani Osetsu Masayo Banri Otane Tomisaburō Wakayama Nagisa no Yoshirō
Release Date: 1962
Directed by Kazuo Mori.
New Tale of Zatoichi
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Mikiko Tsubouchi Yayoi Seizaburō Kawazu Banno Fujio Suga Yasuhiko
Release Date: 1963
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka.
Zatoichi the Fugitive
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Miwa Takada ONobu Masayo Banri Otane Junichiro Narita Sakichi
Release Date: 1963
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka.
Zatoichi on the Road
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Shiho Fujimura Mitsu Ryuzo Shimada Jingoro Reiko Fujiwara Hisa
Release Date: 1963
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Shogo Shimada Chuji Kunisada Machiko Hasegawa Ogin Tomisaburo Wakayama Jushiro
Release Date: 1964
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro.
Zatoichi's Flashing Sword
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Naoko Kubo Okuni Mayumi Nagisa Oshizu Takashi Edajima Seiroku
Release Date: 1964
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro.
Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Nobuo Kaneko Boss Unosuke Gen Kimura Hyaku Chikara Hashimoto Inozo
Release Date: 1964
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
Adventures of Zatoichi
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Eiko Taki Osen Miwa Takada Saki Mikijiro Hira Gounosuke
Release Date: 1964
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.
Zatoichi's Revenge
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Norihei Miki Denroku Mikiko Tsubouchi Osayo Takeshi Kato Koheita Kadokura
Release Date: 1965
Directed by Akira Inoue.
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Fujiyama Hyakutaro Kanbi Kenjiro Ishiyama Boss Jubei Araiso Masako Akeboshi Ochiyo
Release Date: 1965
Directed by Kazuo Mori.
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Mikio Narita Jumonji Chizuru Hayashi Kume Kaneko Iwasaki Otane
Release Date: 1965
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
Zatoichi's Vengeance
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Shigeru Amachi Kurobe Jun Hamamura Blind Priest Gen Kimura Tamekichi
Release Date: 1966
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka.
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Michiyo Okusu Okichi Isao Yamagata Boss Tohachi Hisashi Igawa Eigoro
Release Date: 1966
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro.
Zatoichi's Cane Sword
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Shiho Fujimura Oshizu Eijirō Tōno Senzo Yoshihiko Aoyama Seikichi
Release Date: 1967
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.
Zatoichi the Outlaw
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Rentarō Mikuni Boss Asagoro Kō Nishimura Suga Yuko Hamada Oshino
Release Date: 1967
Directed by Satsuo Yamamoto.
Zatoichi Challenged
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jushiro Konoe Akazuka Miwa Takada Omitsu Yukiji Asaoka Tomoe
Release Date: 1967
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
Zatoichi and the Fugitives
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Takashi Shimura Junan Kayao Mikimoto Oshizu Kyosuke Machida Ogano Genpachiro
Release Date: 1968
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.
Samaritan Zatoichi
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Yoshiko Mita Osode Makoto Satô Yasaburo Kashiwazaki Kô Nishimura Sosuke Saruya
Release Date: 1968
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Toshirô Mifune 'Yojimbo' Daisaku Sasa Ayako Wakao Umeno Osamu Takizawa Yasuke Eboshiya
Release Date: 1970
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto.
Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Reiko Ōhara Okiyo Masayuki Mori Dark Lord Yamikubo/Lord Yamikubo Tatsuya Nakadai Ronin
Release Date: 1970
Directed by Kenji Misumi.
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Jimmy Wang Yu Wang Kang Yūko Hama Osen Michie Terada Oyone
Release Date: 1971
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda & Hsu Tseng Hung.
→ wuxia
Zatoichi at Large
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Rentarô Mikuni Boss Tetsugoro Hisaya Morishige Constable Tobei Etsushi Takahashi Denjuro
Release Date: 1972
Directed by Kazuo Mori.
Zatoichi in Desperation
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Kiwako Taichi Nishikigi Kyoko Yoshizawa Kaede Yasuhiro Koume Shinkichi
Release Date: 1972
Directed by Kazuo Mori.
Zatoichi's Conspiracy
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Yukiyo Toake Miyo Eiji Okada Shinbei of Hitachiya Kei Satô Magistrate
Release Date: 1973
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the series. The Wikipedia write-ups for the individual episodes are attached to their titles.
Release Date: 1962 - 1973
Directed by Various - See each film in the list above.
Labels: adventure4, Criterion6, samurai, super-hero3, tatsuya-nakadai, toshirô-mifune
Monday, November 07, 2022
Sanjuro
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Toshirô Mifune Sanjuro Tsubaki Tatsuya Nakadai Hanbei Muroto Yūzō Kayama Iori Izaka Reiko Dan Chidori Takashi Shimura Kurofuji Kamatari Fujiwara Takebayashi Takako Irie Mutsuta's wife Sachio Sakai Ashigaru
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1962
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Labels: §5, akira-kurosawa, Criterion4, samurai, tatsuya-nakadai, toshirô-mifune
Yojimbo
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Toshirô Mifune Kuwabatake Sanjuro Eijirō Tōno Gonji Tatsuya Nakadai Unosuke Kyū Sazanka Ushitora
One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1961
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Labels: §5, akira-kurosawa, Criterion5, samurai, tatsuya-nakadai, toshirô-mifune
Seven Samurai
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Takashi Shimura Kambei Shimada Toshirô Mifune Kikuchiyo Daisuke Katō Shichirōji Isao Kimura Katsushirō Okamoto Minoru Chiaki Heihachi Hayashida Seiji Miyaguchi Kyūzō Yoshio Inaba Gorōbei Katayama Yoshio Tsuchiya Rikichi Bokuzen Hidari Yohei Yukiko Shimazaki Rikichi's wife Kamatari Fujiwara Manzō Keiko Tsushima Shino Kokuten Kōdō Gisaku Yoshio Kosugi Mosuke Shinpei Takagi bandit chief Shin Otomo bandit second-in-command
One of Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1954
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Labels: akira-kurosawa, Criterion5, dramaF, samurai, toshirô-mifune
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance
- Commentary: Under construction. In same case as Lady Snowblood.
When you click into the link in the title of this post, you can access the review for Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengence by scrolling down the page. It is after the review for Lady Snowblood.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Meiko Kaji Yuki Kashima/Lady Snowblood Juzo Itami Ransui Tokunaga Kazuko Yoshiyuki Aya Tokunaga Yoshio Harada Shusuke Tokunaga Shin Kishida Seishiro Kikui Toru Abe Kendo Terauchi Rin'ichi Yamamoto Inspector Maruyama Kôji Nanbara Toad
The Wikipedia write-up for this movie is here.
Release Date: 1974
Directed by Toshiya Fujita.
Labels: §, action3, adventure4, Criterion2, dramaD, gender-bender, period6, revenge2, samurai, violence3
Lady Snowblood
- Commentary: Under construction. In same case as Lady Snowblood: Song of Vengeance.
When you click into the link in the title of this post, you can access the review for Lady Snowblood at the top of the page. It is before the review for Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Meiko Kaji Yuki Kashima/Lady Snowblood Mayumi Maemura Young Yuki Kō Nishimura Dōkai the priest Toshio Kurosawa Ryūrei Ashio Masaaki Daimon Gō Kashima Miyoko Akaza Sayo Kashima Eiji Okada Gishirō Tsukamoto Sanae Nakahara Okono Kitahama
The Wikipedia link for this film is here.
Release Date: 1973
Directed by Toshiya Fujita.
Labels: §, action3, adventure4, Criterion2, dramaD, gender-bender, period6, revenge2, samurai, violence3
