JIC: Japan Infomation Communication

My favorite movie

I want to recommend you to seeing this movie!!

Series of “Bayside Shakedown” (Odoru daisousasen)

  Bayside Shakedown The Movie (31 October, 1998)

    Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro

    Cast: Yuji Oda, Toshiro Yanagiba, Eri Fukatsu, Miki Mizuno, Yusuke Santa Maria, Chosuke Ikariya, Kyoko Koizumi and more cast.

    Story: It starts off as a regular day at the Bayside Precinct after a mysterious body is found floating in the river. Later in the day they realize that a whole bunch of things is stolen from the police station and finally they find out that the Commissioner has been kidnapped. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) set up an HQ at the Bayside Precinct to investigate the kidnapping but unfortunately the cops from Bayside are left in the dark concerning this case. Investigator Aoshima will try to get involved in the kidnapping case much to the disapproval of MPD. The next three days will easily be the worst days that the Bayside Precinct will ever see.

               

            Yuji Oda 

                He performed Shunsuke Aoshima. He is an actor and singer, he also sang movie's theme song "Love Somebody". 

            

 

   Bayside Shakedown The Movie 2 ~Save the Rainbow Bridge~ (20 December, 2003)

    Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro

     Cast: Yuji Oda, Toshiro Yanagiba, Eri Fukatsu, Miki Mizuno, Yusuke Santa Maria, Toshio Kakei, Miki Maya, Takashi Okamura and more cast.

     Story: All the adrenalin-pumping excitement returns as top WPS (Wangan Police Station) officer Shunsuke Aoshima has to team-up with colleagues from the MPD (Metropolitan Police Department) and makes an impossible effort to out-run time in order to stop a ruthless serial killer!

“Bayside Shakedown (odoru daisousasen)” is a Japanese drama. It broadcasted on Fuji television from January to March on 1997. The drama has comedy moments and has popularity among many people. Bayside Shakedown’s movie comes from the drama. Yuji Oda starred in as Shunsaku Aoshima on the drama and the movies.

In 2005 two "spin off" movies were made. Both spin off movies do not revolve around Aoshima (Yuji Oda’s character), nor do the movies revolve around the Wangan Police Station. However, they revolve around two characters from the series, Mashita and Murori.

・Negotiator Mashita Masayoshi / Koshounin Mashita Masayoshi   (7 March, 2005)

・Suspect Muroi Shinji / Yogisha Muroi shinji   (27 August, 2005)

I like the movies!! I have seen each movie at least two times. These movies are very interesting. So these movies have many humor and make it things lively for us.

I would have you see these movies!!

                                                                                                        Posted by Megumi Shimada

            

Japanese movie I recommend

Odoru-Daisousasen

Odoru-Daisousasen is a filmic adaptation of the extreme popularity on the TV series. Not to mention a series fan, people who don't watch the TV series can also enjoy, because the story is made a single. And, like the TV series, the movie satirizes the bureaucracy and red tape which plague the Japanese police force, as well as certain elements of Japanese society, while at the same time avoiding falling into the typical formula of car chases and gunbattles that define most police dramas.

Summary of the story:

The movie continues a few months after the end of the TV series. The main character Detective Sergeant Shunsaku Aoshima has worked his way back up into the investigative division of the Wangan Precinct of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, after being demoted back to patrol duty for insubordination.

Shortly after the movie begins, a body is found floating in a river near the edge of the precinct's jurisdiction. However in the spirit of the series, the main concern of the officers on the scene is getting to the body before their counterparts from the other precinct on the other side of the river get to it. The scene eventually degenerates into a cross-river shouting match over bullhorns between the officers from the two precincts. The brass at Wangan Station turn out to be less then happy when their officers manage to recover the body (which has had a teddy bear crudely stuffed into its stomach) as it would require a special investigation, which would drain more from the station's already tight budget. At the same time, the station is in an uproar as officers find that someone has been stealing the receipts for on the job expenses that they had originally intended to file for reimbursement.

Things are further complicated when the Police Commissioner is kidnapped and the investigative team from Metropolitan Police headquarters moves into Wangan Station. The investigation is led by Superintendent Shinji Muroi, whom Aoshima befriended in the TV series. Having promised Aoshima that he would try to reform the bureaucratic mess within the police department and force the local and headquarters officers to work together as equals, Muroi finds that his promise increasingly hard to keep as his decisions are continuously overruled from above by superiors who insist on playing everything by the book. It becomes apparent that Muroi's superiors are setting him up to take the fall in the event the investigation fails.

The stratification in the department becomes apparent when the investigators from headquarters immediately delegate the most menial of tasks to the local officers, while receiving special treatment enjoying gourmet bento while the locals are forced to dine on precooked Chinese noodles. The locals are forced to work multiple cases at the same time, and find themselves berated by their superiors when mistakes are inevitably made.                                                                                                                           

Shunsaku Aoshima (Yuji Oda)

His post is a sergeant. He experienced the office worker of the computer company and was proud of results of the top. But, in order to search of his possibility, he changed his job to a police officer. He passes through duties at the police box and becomes a detective his long-cherished desire. He is a hot-blooded person and foolhardy.

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                               

Shinji Muroi (Toshiro Yanagiba)

His post is a senior superintendent. He is the elite of the police officer. He was advocating an objection at the police organization. But, he pushes forward to aim at the embodiment because of his steady promotion. Therefore, he make Aoshima cool attitude sometimes while he has a hot heart.

                                                                                                                                                               

Sumire Onda (Eri Fukatu)

Her post is a sergeant. She is trusted by the boss and she supports a young staff member of a police station. In the past, she has experience to be done stalking and it is big trauma for her.

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                    

Yukino Kashiwagi (Miki Mizuno)

Her post is an officer. She becomes the police officer at the influence of Aoshima. She has an experience of the studying abroad, therefore she can speak English well. She is liked by Mashita, however she is cool toward him.

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                            

Mashita Masayoshi (Yusuke Santamaria)

His post is a chief inspector. He is the son of the head office manager. He loves Kashiwagi Yukino and approach to her actively.

                                                                                                       

                                                                                                       

                                                                                                      

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                

Waku Heihachiro (Chosuke Ikariya  "died at 72")

His post is the head. He is nearly retirement age. He has the style of investigation on the basis of his experience and the original philosophy. He gives Aoshima much profound advices.

                                                                                       

                                                                                          

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                          

I watched this movie several times on DVD and TV. I think this movie's cast is very gorgeous and they are good at role. I like witty remark that Aoshima said, "The case doesn't happened in conference! It happened at the scene of the crime!". This movie is too good work. And, it is a sequel to Odoru-Daisousasen. That is also very good. In the sequel, Aoshima will say witty remark again. You can find when you see it. Be sure to watch. I think you will be certainly satisfied.   

                                                                                                                                                         

Reference

http://listing-index.ebay.com/movies/Bayside_Shakedown:_The_Movie.html

http://homepage1.nifty.com/taka35/odoru.htm

                                                                                                                                                       

Posted by    Tomohiro Miyamura

Japanese Famous Actor and Actress

Ken Watanabe (Niigata Prefecture, 1959- )                                 

     Casting Watanabe Ken as the "Last Samurai" in the Hollywood movie of the same name was the perfect choice, as he had firmly established himself in the 1980s as the ideal actor for such roles. But in fact, the critical acclaim and 2004 Golden Globe and Oscar nominations that he earned in the role came, for many people, as an unexpected pinnacle in a career that seemed doomed just a few years before. A battle with disease that was as life-threatening as any on-screen opponent, followed by a struggle to work his way out of serious debt had many people writing him off as an actor with any real future. But Watanabe is a survivor, and a damned fine actor, to boot.

    Filmography :   The shinjuku incident (2009), Letter From Iwo Jima (2006),　Bat Man Begins (2005), Kita no zeronen (2005), The Last samurai (2003)......etc.

　　　　　　　　　

Sanada Hiroyuki (Tokyo, 1960- )      

   Sanada Hiroyuki is a rare animal in the Japanese entertainment world -- an "engi-ha" or actor who can really act. Perhaps this is the greatest compliment that an actor can be paid in Japan, superfluous though it would seem elsewhere. And Sanada is one of the very few who have had the courage to prove this outside Japan. Like the late Mifune Toshiro or Takakura Ken who have proved themselves abroad, or contemporaries such as Yakusyo Kouji who has dominated the award shows since the mid-1990s, or "The Last Samurai" co-star a href="watanabe_ken.shtml">Watanabe Ken, Sanada is much in demand for serious films.

filmography:  Speed Racer (2008)  Rash Hour 3 (2007) Sun shine (2007)   The Last amurai (2003)...  etc.

                                   

Toshiro Mifune (1920~1997)

      Japanese actor who achieved more world-wide fame than any other Japanese actor of his century. In 1947, he took a test for Kajiro Yamamoto, who recommended him to director Srnkichi Taniguchi, thus leading to Mifune's first film role in Shin Baka Jidai (1947). Mifune then met and bonded with director Akira Kurosawa, and the two joined to become the most prominent actor-director pairing in all Japanese cinema. Beginning with 'Yoidore tenshi' (1948), Mifune appeared in sixteen of Kurosawa's films, most of which have become world-renowned classics. In Kurosawa's pictures, especially 'Rashomon' (1950), Mifune would become most famous Japanese actor in the world. A dynamic and ferocious actor, he excelled in action roles, but had as well the depth to plumb intricate and subtle dramatic parts. A personal rift during the filming of 'Akahige' (1965) ended the Mifune-Kurosawa collaboration, but Mifune continued to perform leading roles in major films both in Japan and in foreign countries. He was twice named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival (for 'Yojimbo' (1961) and 'Akahige' (1965)). In 1963, he formed his own production company and directed one film and produced several others. In his later years, he gained new fame in the title role of the American TV miniseries "Shogun" (1980), and appeared infrequently in cameo roles after that. His last years were plagued with Alzheimer's Syndrome and he died of organ failure in 1997, a few months before the death of the director with whose name he will forever be linked, Akira Kurosawa.

Filmography: Grand prix (1966), Hell in The Pacific, Tubaki sanjyuro (1960), Shichinin no Samurai (1954)   

                                           Rinko Kikuchi  (1981~ )

     She is a Japanese actress who shot to international fame with her Oscar-nominated performance in the 2006 film Babel. A model since the age of 14, Kikuchi began her career as an actress in television commercials. Small roles in TV dramas and feature films led to a leading role in Sora no ana (2001, also called Hole in the Sky). Her work in little-known but "edgy" movies didn't make her a star in Japan, but her turn in Babel as a tragic teenage deaf-mute earned rave reviews in Europe and the United States, and Kikuchi was thrust into the limelight alongside the film's stars, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. On the international awards show circuit her dyed-blond hair and urban-chic glamour made a splash, and her 2007 Oscar nomination for a best supporting actress award sparked hometown pride back in Japan.

FIlmography :  Koi suru madori (2007), Warau Mikaeru (2006), Babel (2006), Naisu no mori: The First Contact (2005), Taga temeni (2005),Riyu (2004).....etc

Koyuki (1976~ )

    Gaining her first exposure to Western audiences in Edward Zwick's 2003 film The Last Samurai (2003), Koyuki was well-known in Japan for years before that. She first caught the attention of the public in 1997 by winning an exclusive modelling contract with the magazine Non-no, but quickly grew beyond modelling and has earned acclaim as an actress through her many roles on Japanese television and in several Japanese films.

Filmography: Always Zoku san-chome no yuhi(2007), Gegege no kitaro (2007), Always san-chome no yuhi (2005), The Last Samurai (2003)...etc.

Reference

Modern japan -japanese famous acters/actresses  http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/actor.shtml

Toshiro Mifune official web site  http://www.mifuneproductions.co.jp/eindex.html

The internet movie dater base  http://www.imdb.com/

日本アカデミー賞公式サイト　http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/allprizes/2007/index.html

A who2 profile :Rinko Kikuchi profile   http://www.who2.com/rinkokikuchi.html

FlaMme Home page talent Profile Koyuki http://www.flamme.co.jp/Koyuki/flm_profkk.html

                                                                              

                                                                                  Written by Kenta Murooka

 

The Movie of my recommendation

  ALWAYS  Sanset on third street

 

      In recent years, manay Japanese movies are becoming big seller. And now, sale of Japanese films getting ahead sale of forighn movies in Japan. Then, I want to introduce about my faborite movie which is one of the these japanese movies, "Always Sunset on Third Street". This movie moved a lot of Japanese mind. And it recieved a first price of Japanese Academy Award in 2006. I don't know how about this era, but for some reason, it warms my heart to watch this movie. When the Tokyo Tower was building, people had more connections with ther neighborhood. They have consideration for each others. Moreover they have a lot of dreams. So this movie remind us of Japanese particular kindness. So i recommend this movie. 

Story                                                               

     In Japan, in the late 1950's, anything was possible. The country was moving out of the past and into the future. The War was over and the rubble was cleared. Soldiers came home. Families were reunited. And the rebuilding began, nowhere more spectacularly than in Tokyo where the magnificent Tokyo Tower was underway and houses across the city were acquiring their first washing machines, refrigerators and that most holy of holies, televisions. It was also a time when bad decision-making was rampant. Taking a job in the city that you're not quite sure of. Agreeing to adopt a bar tender's kid while you're drunk. Inviting someone you've never met to live in your house. It's this intersection between economic progress and emotional misstep where ALWAYS – SUNSET ON THIRD STREET makes its home.

   Visually lavish, and the winner of 13 of Japan's 14 Academy Awards (including "Best Picture," "Best Director," "Best Screenplay" and "Best Actor"), this flick was shot on Toho's soundstages and it uses digital wizardry to resurrect 1950's Tokyo. Everything is meticulously recreated from the spidery superstructure of the Tokyo Tower rising up against the sky, to the covers of the pulp sci fi magazines sold by Mr. Chagawa down the street who wants to write the Great Japanese Novel. His dreams are no more deluded than those of Mutsuko, a schoolgirl from the countryside who thinks she's taken a job with a thriving car manufacturer only to discover that she's working in a one-garage mechanic's shop. And then there's Hiromi who opens a bar down the street and is saddled with the abandoned child of the nightspot's previous owner.

   But pluck and luck abound in this gorgeous period piece that feels like a Frank Capra movie if he'd been a little more cynical and a lot more Japanese. Based on a psopular manga, ALWAYS – SUNSET ON THIRD STREET is a movie that guarantees you'll cry at the end, but you won't feel cheap about it. This movie is so assured, and so beautifully crafted that you can give in to it on the first date and still respect yourself in the morning

Cast

Hidetaka Yoshioka

  He is one of a very few cases of child actor grows up to be a successful adult actor. Started acting at the age of 5, he appeared in Yoshitaro Nomura's "Yatsu haka Mura" in 1977 as his first movie when he was 7 years old. He has been a popular face since then, as the child role in a popular TV drama "Kita no Kuni Kara" series (literal translation: From the North Country) and Yoji Yamada's long-seller "Tora-san" series as Tora-san's little nephew.

On the course, he appeared in Akira Kurosawa's "Rhapsody in August" and "Madadayo", as well as "After the Rain Lifts" and "The Sea Watches" (both based on Kurosawa's script). In recent years, he is the staple of highly acclaimed movies such as "Poppoya", "Half a Confession", Yoji Yamada's "The Hidden Blade" and "Professor and His Beloved Formula". He is known for the quiet, sencere demeanor and his movies are mostly human dramas that reflects his personality.

However, most of his appearances had been mainly supporting roles, until his 2003 break-through TV drama leading role in "Dr. Koto Shinryojo" (literally "Dr. Koto's Clinic"), as a humanistic medical doctor in an isolated island. In the film category, "Always - Sunset on the Third Street" in 2005 was his break-through, with which he won Japan Academy Best Actor award.

Japan Academy Award Best Actor
Won: 2006 ("Always - Sunset on Third Street")

Japan Academy Award BestSupporting Actor
Nominated: 2004 ("The Hidden Blade"), 1996 ("A Class to Remember"), 1994 ("Last Song"), 1990 ("Otoko wa Tsuraiyo - Boku no Ojisan" - one of Tora-san series)

Shinichi Tsutsumi

  Tsutsumi Shinichi is known primarily as a stage actor. It appears after "Yamato nadeshiko" (2000) he has gained much attention in Japan, though his performance in _"Pure" (1996)_, in 1996, garnered good attention for his sensitive portrayal of the orphaned journalist Sawatari Toru. Tsutsumi trained for the stage with the theatre project Tokyo in the early '90s after leaving the JAC where he had met his mentors, 'Hiroyuki Ada' and Tamasaburo Bando, through whom he drew much inspiration. At the JAC, he had started out with the intent of learning how to play action roles, of which we still see much of in his wonderful film roles for the actor/director Hiroyuki Tanaka, but his destiny has since unfolded to deliver more of this talented, unassuming and sincere actor through his sensitive and detailed acting style. Tsutsumi struggled to find his path in his teens, skipping school before returning to complete his high school out of a sense duty and filial piety to his mother. At 18 he left to join the JAC Kyoto, and at 20, he finally arrived in Tokyo to join the JAC branch there. Life was difficult and he worked at other jobs but by 1990 he had joined the theatre project Tokyo, and there met David Leveaux, with whom he trained and honed his skills as an actor. The 1990s was a prolific decade in the theatre for him and aside from the TPT, he worked also with Hideki Noda - their latest collaboration was in June 2001 for the play sakura no mori. At present he is starring in "Koi no chikara" (2002) (mini). Tsutsumi works alongside his close and long time associate and friend Eri Fukatsu. In May, Tsutsumi will move on to his next work, a stage performance in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, which will be directed by the acclaimed Yukio Ninagawa . Later this year, his next film with Sabu, Drive (2002), will be released. in it, he plays a salaryman who is kidnapped by a bunch of bank robbers. Tsutsumi Shinichi is a classically trained actor who has brought his considerable talent to bear in his stage, drama and film roles, but more than all this is his sense of professionalism - his will to create, through being a part of the ensemble, the beauty of the work as a whole. Mldesu.

More information

  Now, in 2007, sequel of this movie which name is Always Zoku Sunset on third street is showing at the whole country. We can expect it impress us more than last work.

Reference

Japanese Academy Award  =  http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/allprizes/2006/index.html

New York Asian Film Festival 2006 = http://www.subwaycinema.com/frames/nyaff06_always.htm

Always ３丁目の夕日　=   http://www.always3.jp/05/

Always sunset on third street   =   http://www.hogacentral.com/Title_AST.html

                                                                                 Written by Kenta Murooka

My favorite Japanese movie

Majo no takkyubin

Kiki's Delivery Service

STORY

This is the story of a young witch, named Kiki who is now thirteen years old. But she is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a talking cat named Jiji by her side she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home.

Characters, Cast

Main charactor(Voice talent)

Jiji(Rei Sakuma), Kiki&Ulsula(Minami Takayama)

Osono(Keiko Toda), Tombo  (Kappei Yamaguchi)

the movie I recommend

Kiki's Delivery Service is my favorite move. I have seen it at least 10 times and I laughed and cried each time. The animation by Hayao Miyazaki is wonderful, as always. The flying scenes and scenery of the generic European city are totally convincing. I think I really got a feeling of what it would be like to fly in on a broom over and through a European city. In each city scene, I feel like it is some place I have visited in my trips to Europe.This movie is full of silent beauty. When the baker's wife invites Kiki to move in above the bakery, you get the impression that the gruff but silent husband does not care for Kiki. But in a later scene you see that he has baked a loaf of bread shaped like a girl riding a broom and mounted it in the bakery window. Nothing is ever said about it, but you see how he appreciates her.

Description

Kiki is thirteen years old, right at the age when a young witch in training is supposed to travel to another city and strike out for herself. It's a real test of responsibility and independence, and if Kiki can handle it for a year, she'll be ready to undergo the rest of her education.

So, with only a little money, her pet cat/confidante Jiji, and her mother's broom, Kiki makes her way to a big city by the sea, where witches haven't been seen for years and the demand for them isn't exactly great. Being resourceful, Kiki starts the kind of business most suitable for a witch who can fly on a broom: an airborne package delivery service. As her fledgling business becomes more and more successful, she meets various friends who each teach her about independence, inspiration, and what to do on days when both seem to vanish.

The Studio Ghibli films

Studio Ghibli is often referred to as the Disney of the East. Japanese animated films of only the highest quality have emerged from Studio Ghibli since its establishment in 1985, with several of these films having won awards.

Hayao Miyazaki  

one of the greatest directors and animators in Japanese cinema, has produced many of the Studio Ghibli films, after co-founding the company with his senior colleague Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki who was then an animation magazine editor at Tokuma Shoten. Miyazaki and Takahata have long been celebrated in Japan as visionary directors and icons in the field of animation.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writeers: Eiko Kadono(original book)

Hayao Miyazaki(screenplay)

Main Song

Opening Theme:

"Soaring" by Sydney Forest

"ルージュの伝言 (Rouge no Dengon; Message of Rouge)" by Yumi Arai

Ending Theme:

"I'm Gonna Fly" by Sydney Forest

"やさしさに包まれたなら (Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta nara)" by Yumi Arai

posted by Takeshi Taya

Japanese Film History

About the Japanese Film

The history of the Japanese film starts in 1899, is open to the public of short documentary movie "Geisha's Teod" on June 20, this year in Tokyo Kabukiza, screened "Holdup Shimizu fixed good luck" (the first film play in Japan) in the same year, will be taken a picture of "Viewing autumn leaves" in November, and the movie become a part of the amusement.
"Asakusa electric pavilion" is established in Asakusa 6 district as the first movie house in Japan in October, 1900, and the coloring silent picture is screened. The first permanent movie theater "Electric pavilion" in Osaka is opened by Osaka and Nanba in 1907.

    The first major movie company and "Japan activity photograph Ltd." (alias and Nikkatsu Corporation) start in Japan by the amalgamation of existing four companies of the Yokota company, the Yoshizawa shop, M patty company, and Tacaradou in September, 1912.
      -Nikkatsu Corporation constructs "Mukaishima studio" (the first modern movie studioin Japan)   in October, 1913, and the production of the present age film play begins. Nikkatsu Corporation and Ten begin to produce the cartoon movie in 1917.

     -The Bando production establishes "Uzumasa studio" (present are Toei Uzumasa studio) in the Uzumasa village in Kyoto in 1926. "Nikkatsu Corporation Uzumasa studio" (the following Daiei Motion Picture Uzumasa studio) will be established by Uzumasa in 1927.

      -Cinema part "Shochiku" of the play performance entered the movie business in full scale in February, 1921, it was changed the title, "Shochiku cinema", and started newly. "Shochiku Kamata studio" is established in June of the same year.

director Akira Kurosawa

  ･"Rashomon" (1951) film festival grand prix.

  ･"Live" (1954)  Berlin Film Festival Gincmashou.

  ･"Seven samurais" (1954) Venetia  International Film Festival silver lion prize et   etc.

director Kenji Mizokuchi

   ･"The Life of Oharu" (1952) Venetia International Film Fesstival

   ･"The Tales of Rain and Moon" (1954)  Venetia International Film Festival silver lion prize.

Overseas movie prize winner on the first half of 1950's. 1950 year was the top of Japanese industry. "Seven samurais" and "Godzilla", etc. are also high the influence power to Hollywood such as Steven Spielberg and Francis Coppola, and especially spoken of very highly when the revolution was brought to the filmdom.

                                                                                                                 Posted by Megumi Shimada

Japanese film editor

☆Takeshi Kitano★

The Toronto International Film Festival has awarded its People's Choice award to the Japanese film Zatoichi, which was written and directed by and stars Takeshi Kitano. (The film also won the runner-up Silver Lion award at last week's Venice Film Festival.) The $30,000 City Award for Best Canadian Feature Film went to director Denys Arcand's Les invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions). At the awards ceremony, Festival chief Piers Handling remarked that only a few months ago, during the SARS scare, "There were concerns as to what kind of festival it would be this year, whether the films would be here, whether the stars would be here. And clearly, at the end of it all, it was perhaps our most successful edition." 

☆Akira Kurosawa★

Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, making his directorial debut in 1943.After working in a wide range of genres, he made his breakthrough film _Rashomon (1950)_ in 1950. It won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and first revealed the richness of Japanese cinema to the West. His films are frequently copied and remade by American and European filmmakers. In December 1971, after a period of suffering from mental fatigue and frustrated with a run of unsatisfying and sub par directing work, Kurosawa attempted suicide by slashing his wrist thirty times with a razor. Fortunately, the wounds were not fatal and he made a full recovery. Because he could not get film financing for a period of time in his career, he directed and even appeared in Japanese television commercials. At over 6' feet tall, he was extremely large by Japanese standards, having stood a head taller than any of his colleagues. Although the Japanese press tried to paint him as a tyrant, almost all of his casts and crews agreed he was a much more cool and detached presence on sets. Many also described him as "intense". He was voted the 6th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, making him the only Asian on a list of 50 directors and the highest ranking non-American.

☆Koki Mitani★

Koki Mitani is known for his unique style of heart-warming comedies in Japan. He started as a stage play writer when he was in university, while at the same time writing various TV program scripts. In 1993, he wrote a radio drama and stage play "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald" based on his own experience. The success of this drama lead him to write a big hit TV detective drama series "Furuhata Ninzaburo", dubbed Japanese "Liutenant Columbo", that lasted from 1994 till 1999. In 1997, he got to direct a movie for the first time with his own "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald" and was highly acclaimed both in Japan and internationally.

Even after the success in the movies, he continued to work in stage plays and TV dramas. His works in stage play scripts include "University of Laughs", which later made into a movie as well, and his collaboration with Koshiro Matsumoto family (which includes Takako Matsu and Somegoro Ichikawa). In 2004, he wrote a script of "Shinsengumi!!" for the high-profile NHK's historical TV drama series. In 2006, his new director/screenplay work "Suite Dreams", starring Koji Yakusho, is coming up, as well as his first original Kabuki script play "Ketto! Takata-no-baba" with Somegoro Ichikawa.

Japan Academy Award Best Director
Nominated: 2007 ("Suite Dreams")2001 ("Everybody's House"), 1997 ("Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald")

Reference

http://french.imdb.com/name/nm0001429/awards

http://www.tiffg.ca/

http://www.miramax.com/zatoichi/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000041/bio

http://www.hogacentral.com/People_KM.html

hosted by Takeshi Taya

Japanese Horror Movie

Chakushinari

Directed by the infamous Miike Takashi, this tale uses some tried and true j-horror elements to weave a rather memorable and effectively creepy ghost story. Unlike its predecessors, however, Miike here treats audiences to some uniquely bone-cruching horror.

Rinne

dA hotel was occurred the large quantities indiscriminate murder case to be killed 11 people in 1970. A criminal is university professor, Omori, specialized in the forensic medicine. The motive of Omori that he killed his child was unknown and committed suicide just after that. Then it is the present age of 35 years later. There was Matsumura of the movie director who burnt passion to filmize this cruel case. Nagisa of the new face actress is selected as the important role of the movie. Since then she is frightened by the hallucination of the unknown girl and Nagisa know the real nature and learn a shiver.

The Great Yokai War

Youkai Dai Sensou

This film is a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Kadokawa Pictures, and as such, is a high budget, family-friendly blast to the past. It also serves as a tribute to Mizuki Shigeru whose youkai-centric drawings have inspired the imaginations of the previous two generations. Mizuki, who turns 84 this year, was invited to head the Creative Productions team for this film and clearly had a major role in terms of the many historically accurate creatures appearing herein. He also makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film as "Lord of the Youkai", perhaps a very fitting role indeed.

Ju-on

This is The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Jyuon.

This is the title of a series of four horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu.

Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.

Ringu

The story begins with two teenage girls reciting the legend of the evil tape for laughs. Unfortunately, one of the girls, Tomoko, knows the story all too well. As a matter of fact, Tomoko has first hand experience. It seems Tomoko and a few friends saw the tape on a recent trip a week prior, and the prophecy fulfills itself. As with any genius ghost story, the scares come from the unknown. Tomoko’s demise is not shown, but you are led to the event in a manner that sets up the uneasiness of the film.

Reference

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456630/

http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/juontv.htm

http://www.sarudama.com/japanese_movies/youkaidaisensou.shtml

http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/chakushinari.htm

http://www.japan-101.com/reviews/ringu.htm

hosted by Takeshi Taya

Overview

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Writers: Takashi Shimizu & Masaki Adachi

Release Date:7 January 2006 (Japan)

Tora-san -Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo-

Tora-san is the nickname of a main character in 'Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo'. We often call him "the bum from Shibamata." He is a star of the longest-running movie series in the world, certified by the Guinness Book of Records. Otoko wa Tsuraiyo (It' Tough Being a Man) ran for twenty-seven years and took in an estimated eighty million viewers. There are forty-eight Tora-san movies, the first one released in 1969. The death of the central actor, Kiyoshi Atsumi, in August 1996, brought the series to a sad and much-missed ending.

Tora-san(KIyoshi Atumi)

Why was the series such a hit? One reason was Tora-san's loveable character, and Atsumi's portrayal of him. He is an itinerant peddler, traveling across Japan, attempting a variety of bizarre get-rich-quick scams. The beautifully-photographed scenery is another reason for the series' popularity, and makes it a kind of extended travelogue.

Yoji Yamada

     Directing career of Yoji Yamada started with a couple of now forgotten movies in 1968. But the next year, his career started on a path that would make him one of the best-known directors in the country. Almost all the 48 movies in the Tora-San series were directed by Yamada and they all starred Kiyoshi Atsumi , who made the central character the best-known and best-loved in Japanese movie history. Yamada Yoji won a Japan Academy Award for one of these works in 1977 and Kiyoshi Atsumi received a Special Prize from the Academy in 1980. The actual title of the series is Otoko Wa Tsuraiyo (It's Tough Being a Man) but the movies are usually referred to by the name of Atsumi's character. Tora-San is a kind-hearted but often misguided itinerant salesman who travels the country (at least one film was made in every prefecture), helping people and falling, always unsuccessfully, in love. His love interest is referred to as the 'madonna' and the part has been played by some of Japan's most famous actresses. Despite the fact that his fortunes never really change for the better, Tora-San is happy with his freewheeling lifestyle. As such, he is the antithesis of the workaholic office worker. The formula, which was a combination of road movie, romance, comedy and nostalgia, guaranteed box-office success every time. The series continued until death Kiyoshi Atsumi in 1996.

Stone monument

                                                                                                                                                            This stone monument is carved very famous lines of Tora-san in the opening. This is in entrance of Taishyakutensando.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                       Tora-san of bronze statue                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        On July 29, 1999, the bronze statue of Tora-san was built at the Shibamata station square. 3000 people gathered in the unveiling ceremony. The costs were collected by fund-raising from tourists. This bronze is a motif which the scene Tora-san turned around the direction of Sakura(Tora's sister) in "Torajiro Salad Anniversary".                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Reference

http://www.filmweb.pl/Person?id=147888

http://www.allnightpress.com/main/monologue/199908/torasan.htm

http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~genchan/IMG_0087.jpg

http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/yamada_yoji.shtml

http://cinema-magazine.com/new_kantoku/yamada.htm

Posted by Tomohiro Miyamura

Japanese Academy Prize

The Japanese Academy Prize have been held since 1977 to reward excellence in Japanese film. Award categories are similar to the American Academy Awards. It was said "the imitation of the Academy Award" since it is held for the first time in 1978, but now it is necessary for the screen world. There are also the prizes for inconspicuous activity of the staff such as photography, illumination, art, recording and editing.

The most prestigious award is the best picture award. Past winners are:

Year	Film (English)	Film (Japanese)	Director
2004	Hanochi	半落ち	Kiyoshi Sasabe
2003	when the Last Sword Is Drawn	壬生義士伝	Yojiro Takita
2002	The Twilight Samurai	たそがれ清兵衛	Yoji Yamada
2001	Spirited Away	千と千尋の神隠し	Hayao Miyazaki
2000	After the Rain	雨あがる	Takashi Koizumi
1999	Poppoya	ぽっぽや	Yasuo Furuhata
1998	Begging for Love	愛を乞う人	Hideyuki Hirayama
1997	Princess Mononoke	もののけ姫	Hayao Miyazaki
1996	Shall We Dance?	Shall we ダンス？	Masayuki Suo
1995	A Last Note	午後の遺言状	Kaneto Shindo
1994	Crest of Betrayal	忠臣蔵外伝四谷怪談	Kinji Fukasaku
1993	A Class to Remember	学校	Yoji Yamada
1992	Sumo Do, Sumo Don't	シコふんじゃった。	Masayuki Suo
1991	My Sons	息子	Yoji Yamada
1990	Childhood Days	少年時代	Masahiro Shinoda
1989	Black Rain	黒い雨	Shohei Imamura
1988	The Silk Road	敦煌	Junya Sato
1987	A Taxing Woman	マルサの女	Juzo Itami
1986	House on Fire	火宅の人	Kinji Fukusaku
1985	Gray Sunset	花いちもんめ	Shunya Ito
1984	The Funeral	お葬式	Juzo Itami
1983	Ballad of Narayama	楢山節考	Shohei Imamura
1982	Fall Guy	蒲田行進曲	Kinji Fukusaku
1981	Station	駅	Yasuo Furuhata
1980	Zigeunerweisen	ツゴイネルワイゼン	Seijun Suzuki
1979	Vengeance is Mine	復讐するは我にあり	Shohei Imamura
1978	The Incident	事件	Yoshitaro Nomura
1977	The Yellow Hankerchief	幸福の黄色いハンカチ	Yoji Yamada

The Devine Image of The Movie

A world-famous sculptor, Masayuki Nagare made Association of Japanese Academy Prize a bronze. It was exhibited for seven years by Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, and it was installed in the award ceremony meeting place of Tokyo every year on the day of the award ceremony.

      Recipient of The Most Valuable Prize in 14 categories received this bronze.                 Height-21,3cm    Width-73cm    Depth-7,3cm

      This bronze is received by recipient of The Excellent Prize in 14 categories.                  Height-10,7cm    Width-4,4cm    Depth-4,4cm

Broadcast

The award ceremony have televised in Nippon Television  since the first time.

Reference

http://www.japan-academy-prize.jp/ 

http://listing-index.ebay.com/movies/Japanese_Academy_Awards.html

Posted by Tomohiro Miyamura