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Run, Yasubei, Run

Here is another Masahiro Makino film clip. The clip is the last climax of CHIKEMURI TAKADANOBABA (1937). This was one of the two blockbusters of 1937 New Year Season, and amazingly, both of them were directed by Makino. The story is about Yasubei (Tsumasaburo Bando) and his uncle Kayano. Yasubei is a Samurai but a very lazy drunkard. He always tries to avoid his uncle, Kayano, who wants Yasube to go straight.  However, one day, Kayano had a feud with one of other Samurais, and was forced to have a duel. But it turned out to be 2 to 20 …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Incomplete Mediocrity

The year was 1938. For film lovers, it is the year of BRINGING UP BABY, ALEXANDER NEVSKY and THE LADY VANISHES. At the same time, it was anticipating the great year of 1939. In Japan, however, it was the year with few notable works. Sadao Yamanaka was drafted to military the previous year and died in China in September of 1938. Yasujiro Ozu was also drafted. Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi were struggling with minor works. But Japanese movie-going public at the time saw the most phenomenal film of the prewar era this year. In terms of popularity, no prewar …

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Ryo Ikebe (1918 – 2010)

Ryo Ikebe, a popular Japanese actor from forties through seventies, passed away last week. He was 92. Internationally, he is probably best known for the lead character in Ozu’s EARLY SPRING (1956). In Japan, he was considered to be a very versatile actor, from melodrama (AOI SANMYAKU (1949)) to Yakuza movies (SHOWA ZANKYO DEN (1965)). Also, he acted as a conscience in Japanese film actor circles. However, in later years, he gradually shifted his activities from acting to writing. He published dozens of books, mostly essays and his experience during the war. But to me, he is always Gohei in …