JAPANESE FILMS

Another “Yasujiro” in Shochiku

For past weeks, I reviewed two films by Yasujiro Shimazu, THE TRIO’S ENGAGEMENT (1937) and LOVE, BE WITH HUMANITY (1931). I assume his name is not as familiar as another Yasujiro (Ozu) among the readers. Maybe some of you know MY LITTLE NEIGHBOR, YAE (1934), which has circulated among various film festivals around the globe in recent years. Though relatively unknown today, he was the most reliable and professional director during 20s and 30s at the Shochiku and deserves more attention. Shimazu was one of the “founding” fathers of the Shochiku Kamata Studio (1920 – 1936), which produced many early …

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JAPANESE FILMS

5 Lost Films by 5 Masters of Japanese Cinema

Here is the list of lost films by 5 Japanese masters: Shozo Makino, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Sadao Yamanaka and Akira Kurosawa. I guess you may pick other films, but I will state my case.     Goban Tadanobu, Genji no Ishizue (碁盤忠信　源氏礎, 1909) Directed by Shozo Makino Produced by Yokota Shokai Starring Matsugoro Ono-e Though this is not a first dramatic cinema in the Japanese history, this is definitely the most important work during the early period of Japanese cinema. It is the first film to star the Star of Japanese Cinema, Matsunosuke Ono-e, and kicked off the life …

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'BOBTAIL' REVIEW / JAPANESE FILMS

Love, Be With Humanity (1931)

Experience in a movie theater is not about the movie itself sometimes. It is about sharing time and space with total strangers. Most of the time, you don’t know who this person is sitting in the next seat. Sometimes it’s a guy munching on popcorn, sputtering the salver-coated debris whenever he finds something funny on the screen. Sometimes it’s an old fat lady who wiggles in the seat uncomfortably whenever a sexually-explicit scene comes up. Of course, there is always a soul who just snores through whole 2 hours of matinée. But somehow we share the time and space, – …

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