After he had cut ties with production company Nikkatsu, director Seijun Suzuki struggled for a long time to find new projects, due to the structure of the Japanese film industry as a whole and his recognition as someone who could not follow orders. With “Zigeunerweisen”, released over a decade after his last work for Nikkatsu, he returned to the spotlight in a way, directing a feature that would also mark a blend of his former stylistic approach as well as new themes and aesthetics. “Kagero-za” is the second entry into the so-called Taisho trilogy, named after the period all three features are set in, and is widely regarded as perhaps the best one in the series. While the feature may prove just as challenging for the viewer, narratively and stylistically, as the other entries in the trilogy, the story about disorientation as well as past and present longings contains some...
- 2/3/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Review by Roger Carpenter
In Japanese history the Meiji Period, which lasted from 1868 – 1912, saw Japan change from a centuries-old isolated feudal society to a more modern society. The Meiji Period saw Japan being opened to the West and the influence of Europe and America on Japanese culture and society. This period was a time of immense change for the Japanese. It was followed by a very short-lived period called the Taisho period, which lasted just 14 years, from 1912 – 1926. The Taisho Period was a time of liberalism and democratic thinking in Japan, and also marked the beginning of a creative movement called ero guro nansensu. Based upon the shortened English words erotic, grotesque, and nonsense, the ero guro nansensu movement began in literature and art, eventually expanding into theatre, film, and even music.
Over time the original intent of the movement has evolved from an exploration of ideas or objects that were malformed,...
In Japanese history the Meiji Period, which lasted from 1868 – 1912, saw Japan change from a centuries-old isolated feudal society to a more modern society. The Meiji Period saw Japan being opened to the West and the influence of Europe and America on Japanese culture and society. This period was a time of immense change for the Japanese. It was followed by a very short-lived period called the Taisho period, which lasted just 14 years, from 1912 – 1926. The Taisho Period was a time of liberalism and democratic thinking in Japan, and also marked the beginning of a creative movement called ero guro nansensu. Based upon the shortened English words erotic, grotesque, and nonsense, the ero guro nansensu movement began in literature and art, eventually expanding into theatre, film, and even music.
Over time the original intent of the movement has evolved from an exploration of ideas or objects that were malformed,...
- 12/21/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Mubi is showing Seijun Suzuki's Taisho Trilogy from November 13 - December 27, 2017 in the United States and United Kingdom.In a now-famous quote from a 1997 video interview, the late Japanese filmmaker Seijun Suzuki paraphrases Nikkatsu Studio executives when he declares, "I make movies that make no sense and make no money.” The quip is put forth in the context of 1967’sBranded to Kill, the pop-influenced noir that arguably stands as the artistic pinnacle of Suzuki’s career as a filmmaker of yakuza, gangster, and proto-pink films with Nikkatsu. While others have contested Suzuki’s claims that his nonsensical and unbankable output lead to the fissure between the filmmaker and Nikkatsu—pointing instead to the drain he and his dedicated coterie of assistant directors placed on the studio—Branded to Kill was the cap to a prodigious run of no less than two features a year from 1956 through 1966, and Suzuki's his...
- 12/5/2017
- MUBI
”Haunting, Hypnotic, Flamboyant, Erotic, Bizarre… Suzuki!”
The Taisho Trilogy from director Seijun Suzuki will be available from Arrow Academy on August 8th
After over a decade in the wilderness following his firing from Nikkatsu for Branded to Kill (1967), maverick director Seijun Suzuki returned with a vengeance with his critically-praised tryptic of cryptic supernatural dramas set during the liberal enlightenment of Japan s Taisho Era (1912-26).
In the multiple Japanese Academy Award-winning Zigeunerweisen (1980), two intellectuals and former colleagues from military academy involve their wives in a series of dangerous sexual games. In Kageroza (1981), a playwright is drawn like a moth to a flame to a mysterious beauty who might be a ghost, while Yumeji (1991) imagines the real-life painter-poet Takehisa Yumeji s encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
Presented together on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan, the films in the Taisho Trilogy are considered Suzuki s masterpieces in his homeland.
The Taisho Trilogy from director Seijun Suzuki will be available from Arrow Academy on August 8th
After over a decade in the wilderness following his firing from Nikkatsu for Branded to Kill (1967), maverick director Seijun Suzuki returned with a vengeance with his critically-praised tryptic of cryptic supernatural dramas set during the liberal enlightenment of Japan s Taisho Era (1912-26).
In the multiple Japanese Academy Award-winning Zigeunerweisen (1980), two intellectuals and former colleagues from military academy involve their wives in a series of dangerous sexual games. In Kageroza (1981), a playwright is drawn like a moth to a flame to a mysterious beauty who might be a ghost, while Yumeji (1991) imagines the real-life painter-poet Takehisa Yumeji s encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
Presented together on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan, the films in the Taisho Trilogy are considered Suzuki s masterpieces in his homeland.
- 7/18/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Japan Cuts 2017, NY’s annual festival celebrating the best of new Japanese cinema, is back with its 11th edition scheduled from July 13 to 23. This year’s roster includes 28 feature and 6 short films, ranging across epic blockbusters, indies, documentaries, animations and restored classics. In-person access to filmmakers and stars, Q&A sessions and parties are some extra treats on offer.
Yusuke Iseya in Mumon © 2017 Mumon Film Partners
The festival opens on Thursday, July 13th, with Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Mumon: Land of the Stealth, a playful take on the period drama genre, full of fantastical ninja moves and its own sense of eccentricity. Nakamura will be available for post-screening Q&A and Opening Night Party at Japan Society’s historic theater.
After a series of International, North America, Us, East Coast and NY Premieres, the festival will close with Sunao Katabuchi’s enchanting In This Corner of the World, a poignant coming-of-age story set during WWII.
Yusuke Iseya in Mumon © 2017 Mumon Film Partners
The festival opens on Thursday, July 13th, with Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Mumon: Land of the Stealth, a playful take on the period drama genre, full of fantastical ninja moves and its own sense of eccentricity. Nakamura will be available for post-screening Q&A and Opening Night Party at Japan Society’s historic theater.
After a series of International, North America, Us, East Coast and NY Premieres, the festival will close with Sunao Katabuchi’s enchanting In This Corner of the World, a poignant coming-of-age story set during WWII.
- 6/24/2017
- by Arnav Sinha
- AsianMoviePulse
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