Back when the project that eventually became “Tora-san: Our Lovable Tramp” was conceptualised, most of the people involved would have probably never guessed the pop-culture phenomenon it would go on to become or the effect it would have on their lives and careers. Kiyoshi Atsumi, the lead actor, probably had no idea that the character would end up being his biggest legacy and that he’d be playing it until his death in ’96. Director Yoji Yamada would have also never imagined that he would be returning to direct a Tora-san film until the age of 88, writing every of the 50 screenplays and directing most of them. Shochiku, the studio that was Tora-san’s home, would have never thought that this character would effectively keep the studio afloat single-handedly for a number of years. Yet here we are, 50 years later, with none of the character’s and series’s prominence diminished. On...
- 7/22/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
“Branded to Kill” is Seijun Suzuki’s absurdist nihilistic statement. A film compelled by Freudian drives, surreally, brought into the bright light of day. From this perspective, the utterly insane plot makes deranged sense. Suzuki worked with a team of writers, in a daring collaborative effort; to bash the out script in double quick time. The studio, Nikkatsu rejected the initial script by another writer. Suzuki took this to mean that the studio was out of ideas, so eight men frantically wrote a script, and Suzuki bolted it altogether in a riot of cinema!
Action and eroticism were the popular fashions in Japanese cinema through 1966/1967, so Suzuki intended to give the studio what they want! This slice of pragmatism led to him being fired, a long law-suit and being blacklisted for a decade.
“Branded to Kill” is an anarchic gangster film, jarring in tone, brutal in action and wild in sex,...
Action and eroticism were the popular fashions in Japanese cinema through 1966/1967, so Suzuki intended to give the studio what they want! This slice of pragmatism led to him being fired, a long law-suit and being blacklisted for a decade.
“Branded to Kill” is an anarchic gangster film, jarring in tone, brutal in action and wild in sex,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Jonathan Wilson
- AsianMoviePulse
Review by Roger Carpenter
Director Yasuharu Hasebe was a well-known director in Japan right up until his death in 2009. He directed most of the Stray Cat Rock series of films in the early 1970s as well as the final installment of the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song. He became known as the “Father of Violent Pink,” after directing a series of graphically violent and sexually sadistic films for Nikkatsu Studios with titles such as Rape!; Assault! Jack the Ripper; Rape! 13th Hour; and Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train. These films proved to be both highly controversial and very lucrative for Hasebe and Nikkatsu but, typical of Nikkatsu, the studio execs got cold feet after much bad press and began toning down their series of violent pink films.
But before all this, Hasebe cut his teeth as an assistant director for the great Seijun Suzuki, himself a...
Director Yasuharu Hasebe was a well-known director in Japan right up until his death in 2009. He directed most of the Stray Cat Rock series of films in the early 1970s as well as the final installment of the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song. He became known as the “Father of Violent Pink,” after directing a series of graphically violent and sexually sadistic films for Nikkatsu Studios with titles such as Rape!; Assault! Jack the Ripper; Rape! 13th Hour; and Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train. These films proved to be both highly controversial and very lucrative for Hasebe and Nikkatsu but, typical of Nikkatsu, the studio execs got cold feet after much bad press and began toning down their series of violent pink films.
But before all this, Hasebe cut his teeth as an assistant director for the great Seijun Suzuki, himself a...
- 1/3/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Arrow Video restores a rare title from director Yasuharu Hasebe with his sophomore directorial effort, Massacre Gun. A late 60’s yakuza narrative, the film displays Hasebe’s influence of American film noir, but defined by a striking amount of violence that makes it feel ahead of its time despite a familiar premise. Fans of genre icon Jo Shishido should be especially excited for this restoration, and it bodes well as a reconsideration for the work of Hasebe, a once prominent name that’s fallen into relative obscurity in cinematic conversations.
Ryuichi Shishido (Jo Shishido) is a mob hitman ordered to execute his lover. He follows through with the tasking but is visibly bothered by it, causing his younger brother, Saburo (Jiro Okazaki), an aspiring boxer, to directly challenge the dreaded mob boss Akazawa (Takashi Kanda). For his hubris, Saburo is badly beaten, leading his older brothers Ryuichi and Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji...
Ryuichi Shishido (Jo Shishido) is a mob hitman ordered to execute his lover. He follows through with the tasking but is visibly bothered by it, causing his younger brother, Saburo (Jiro Okazaki), an aspiring boxer, to directly challenge the dreaded mob boss Akazawa (Takashi Kanda). For his hubris, Saburo is badly beaten, leading his older brothers Ryuichi and Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji...
- 4/14/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Welcome to the first Notebook Soundtrack Mix—Hyper Sleep! A word about the mix: There's no thematic thread through this collection, it's a variety of intriguing music. In making soundtrack mixes, I'm drawn to the subjective qualities of association and meaning that arise from experiencing the musical narratives that result from transitions and combinations of tracks in succession. Though there are several favorite films, Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill, for one, individual pieces are chosen simply for the music. I haven't seen some of the films. Robert Drasnin, Vladimir Cosma and Antoine Duhamel are represented with curious French T.V. work, rather than with some of their more well known output (The Kremlin Letter, Diva and Pierrot le fou, respectively.) Maybe this is the first of a series…I have several ideas for themed mixes, but wanted to start this way, including work that reflects jazz, classical, experimental and pop influences.
- 8/29/2011
- MUBI
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