CONFLAGRATION reviewed; screening at Japan Society tomorrow

Japan Society NY
and
The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

present

Conflagration © Kadokawa Corporation.

Conflagration / Enjô

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

Starring Raizo Ichikawa, Tatsuya Nakadai, Ganjiro Nakamura

Japan, 1958, 99 minutes, 35mm, b/w

When: Monday, November 14, 2015 at 7:00 om

Where: Japan Society

333 East 47th Street, NYC

Map

Tickets

Synopsis (courtesy Japan Society):

Known as Ichikawa's favorite of his own films, Conflagration is the pinnacle of the many acclaimed literary adaptations he and his wife Natto Wada worked on together. Loosely based on true events that also inspired Yukio Mishima's novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the story involves the spiritual and psychological breakdown of an introverted, troubled youth named Goichi (Raizo Ichikawa), whose desire for pure beauty leads him to Kyoto's Shukaku temple, where he becomes an apprentice to the priest. 

Haunted by the trauma of his father's death, Goichi is unable to reconcile the sacred beauty of the temple with postwar reality, and his absolutist ideals become increasingly distorted until they lead to destruction. Ichikawa's stark, poignant film is unforgettably rendered in stunning black and white by cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon and numerous other highly regarded films).

Review:

It's not difficult to understand why Ichikawa was so pleased with this film, as it's a superb piece of story-telling. And, as previously mentioned, Miyagawa's cinematography is outstanding.

Raizo Ichikawa, perhaps best known to Westerners for his portrayal of Nemuri Kyoshiro in the Sleepy Eyes of Death swordplay series, gives a superb performance as Goichi. So too does Tatsuya Nakadai as Togari, Goichi's lame and dissolute fellow student. It's a revelation seeing the two of them so early in their careers.

AsianCineFest Rating: 4 out of 4 stars, most highly recommended. In other words, it's a "must-see" if at all possible.

This screening of Conflagration is presented as part of the film series The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond. The films in the series were selected and are co-presented by the Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Conflagration is In collaboration with the National Film Archive of Japan

Kon Ichikawa remembered

Japanese film director Kon Ichikawa was born on November 20, 1915 in Mie, Japan. His IMDb filmography lists 89 titles, including two TV movies and one TV series. This past October, Japan Society NY presented three of his films that were recently restored: Conflagration (1958), Her Brother (1960), and An Actor's Revenge(1963). His final film, The Inugamis, was released in 2006.

He is perhaps best known, at least in the West, for such films as The Burmese Harp (1956), Fires on the Plain (1959), Tokyo Olympiad (1965, a documentary), and The Makioka Sisters (1983). All of these titles, except for Tokyo Olympiad (which is out of print), are available from Criterion. Kyoto, a short documentary released in 1968 recently became available on DVD from Marty Gross Film Productions Inc.

Ichikawa died on February 13, 2008 in Tokyo.

Kon Ichikawa's 1968 documentary KYOTO is now available on DVD

Kyoto

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

Japan, 1968, 37 minutes

Marty Gross Film Productions Inc. has announced the DVD release of Kon Ichikawa's masterful documentary Kyoto.

This stunningly beautiful meditation on the history and culture of Kyoto includes scenes at the Ryoanji Temple Stone Garden, the Meditation Hall of Tenryuji Temple, a Geisha residence, the Moss Garden of Saihoji Temple, the Katsura Imperial Villa and the Gion Festival.

Ichikawa’s collaborators on Kyoto were among the most important Japanese artists of the period. The music is by Toru Takemitsu, cinematography by Naoyuki Sumitani, and design by Kenzo Tange and Yusaku Kamekura. Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa wrote the script.

Kyoto was filmed over 18 months in 1968, and produced by Olivetti, Japan. It is 37 minutes long.

The film has been restored to 2.3K, from a new 35mm colour print, in collaboration with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Archivio Nazionale del Cinema Impresa, Italy, and the National Film Center, Tokyo.

The DVD includes:
- Narration in English by Michael Redgrave, in Japanese by Hiroshi Akutagawa and in Italian by Giancarlo Sbragia
- Full colour booklet with short essays by the participants
- 17 minute short film on the opening night presentations of the film in Tokyo and Kyoto

Kon Ichikawa's Kyoto can be ordered here.

AN ACTOR'S REVENGE reviewed; showing this Saturday evening at Japan Society NY

Japan Society NY

presents
Kon Ichikawa Restorations

An Actor's Revenge © Kadokawa Corporation.

An Actor's Revenge / Yukinojô henge

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

With Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Wakao Ayako,

Ganjiro Nakamura, and Raizo Ichikawa.

Japan, 1963, 114 minutes, 35mm, color

When: Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 7:00 pm

Where: Japan Society

333 East 47th Street, NYC

Map

Tickets

Synopsis (courtesy Japan Society):

Ichikawa was assigned to remake Teinosuke Kinugasa's 1935 melodrama An Actor's Revenge, and enormously popular film in its day, after Daiei studios' dissatisfaction with the returns on the director's previous films. Seeing potential in the material, Ichikawa worked with his wife, Natto Wada, to transform the pulpy source material into a spectacular visual masterpiece. Veteran film actor Kazuo Hasegawa reprises his original role as Yukinojo, an onnagata (a kabuki actor who specializes in women's roles) during the Tokugawa period who seeks revenge on the men responsible for the ruin and suicide of his parents. Ingeniously conceived and executed as a mix of hyper-stylized kabuki theater and Western cinematic realism, An Actor's Revenge features some of Ichikawa's most elaborate use of the widescreen frame, spotlighting Yoshinobu Nishioka's breathtaking production design and Setsuo Kobayashi's vivid Cinemascope photography.

Review:

This remake of An Actor's Revenge was touted by Daiei as Kazuo Hasegawa's 300th film. In both versions he plays not only the main character, the actor Yukinojo Nakamura, but also Yamitaro, a chivalrous thief who helps the poor and befriends Yukinojo. (According to IMDb, in the original version, Hasegawa, billed as Chôjirô Hayashi, also played Yokinojo's mother!)

Namiji (Ayako Wakao, right) watches Yukinojo perform

Ayako Wakao, who is now over 80 years old and still appears on Japanese television shows, is absolutely stunning as Namiji, the daughter of one of the three men against whom Yukinojo seeks revenge.  She falls in love with Yukinojo, which, given his avocation, makes for an interesting relationship.

Raizo Ichikawa, who starred in Ichikawa's Conflagration, here has a small role as Hirutaro, a thief known as the "Noon Kid," as opposed to the more famous Yamitaro, who is called the "Dark Kid."

While, like Her Brother, An Actor's Revenge is largely a melodrama, it's pace is much more varied than that of the former. There are some lively action scenes involving swordplay between Yukinojo and  Heima Kadokura ( Eji Funakoshi, Fires on the Plain). Years earlier the two had been fellow favoring Yukinojo.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars, highly recommended.

This screening of An Actor's Revenge is part of the three film mini-series Kon Ichikawa Restorations.

HER BROTHER reviewed; screening at Japan Society this Saturday afternoon, October 17th

Japan Society NY

presents
Kon Ichikawa Restorations

Her Brother © Kadokawa Corporation.

Her Brother / Otôto

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

With Keiko Kishi, Hiroshi Kawaguchi,

Kinuyo Tanaka, and Masayuki Mori

Japan, 1960, 98 minutes, 35mm, color

When: Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Where: Japan Society

333 East 47th Street, NYC

Map

Tickets

Synopsis (courtesy Japan Society):

In writing about Her Brother, Ichikawa asks "...if one starts with the premise that everyone is essentially alone, then what follows?" Based on the autobiographical novel by Aya Koda, Ichikawa's film is a moving, restrained family melodrama told from the viewpoint of Gen (Keiko Kishi), a lonely yet resilient young woman obligated to her distant writer father (Masayuki Mori) and invalid, devoutly Christian stepmother (Kinuyo Tanaka). Unable to make a life for herself in such a cold and oppressive household, Gen is left to serve as a surrogate mother for her over-indulged, delinquent younger brother Hekiro (Hiroshi Kawaguchi), to whom she remains lovingly devoted. Her Brother was recognized at the Cannes Film Festival with a Special Distinction by the C.S.T. Ex-aequo and given the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film and Best Director in 1961.

Gen (Keiko Kishi, left) and her brother Hekiro (Hiroshi Kawaguchi)

Review:

Of the three Ichikawa films being shown by Japan Society this weekend, Her Brother is my least favorite. This has more to do with how outstanding the other two offerings are than any faults of Her Brother, although it is somewhat of a one note melodrama. Keiko Kishi (Kwaidan and The Makioka Sisters) gives a fine performance as the long-suffering older sibling, and the others in the cast are also good in their roles.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; recommended. Unless you are totally turned off by melodramas, Her Brother (also known as Younger Brother or simply Brother) is certainly worth seeing.

This screening of Her Brother is part of the three film series Kon Ichikawa Restorations. 

CONFLAGRATION reviewed; screening at Japan Society on Friday

Japan Society NY

presents
Kon Ichikawa Restorations

Conflagration © Kadokawa Corporation.

Conflagration / Enjô

Directed by Kon Ichikawa

Starring Raizo Ichikawa, Tatsuya Nakadai, Ganjiro Nakamura

Japan, 1958, 99 minutes, 35mm, b/w

When: Friday, October 16, 2015 at 7:00 om

Where: Japan Society

333 East 47th Street, NYC

Map

Tickets

Synopsis (courtesy Japan Society):

Known as Ichikawa's favorite of his own films, Conflagration is the pinnacle of the many acclaimed literary adaptations he and his wife Natto Wada worked on together. Loosely based on true events that also inspired Yukio Mishima's novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the story involves the spiritual and psychological breakdown of an introverted, troubled youth named Goichi (Raizo Ichikawa), whose desire for pure beauty leads him to Kyoto's Shukaku temple, where he becomes an apprentice to the priest. Haunted by the trauma of his father's death, Goichi is unable to reconcile the sacred beauty of the temple with postwar reality, and his absolutist ideals become increasingly distorted until they lead to destruction. Ichikawa's stark, poignant film is unforgettably rendered in stunning black and white by cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon and numerous other highly regarded films).

Review:

It's not difficult to understand why Ichikawa was so pleased with this film, as it's a superb piece of story-telling. And, as previously mentioned, Miyagawa's cinematography is outstanding.

Raizo Ichikawa, perhaps best known to Westerners for his portrayal of Nemuri Kyoshiro in the Sleepy Eyes of Death swordplay series, gives a superb performance as Goichi. So too does Tatsuya Nakadai as Togari, Goichi's lame and dissolute fellow student. It's a revelation seeing the two of them so early in their careers.

Kudos must also be mentioned for the 4k restoration of the film by the Kadokawa Corporation. The movie looked wonderful on the DVD screener I watched, so I'm sure it will be magnificent in the 35mm print being shown at Japan Society on Friday evening.

AsianCineFest Rating: 4 out of 4 stars, most highly recommended. In other words, it's a "must-see" if at all possible.

This screening of Conflagration is part of the three film mini-series Kon Ichikawa Restorations. 

Japan Society NY to present three recently restored Kon Ichikawa films

Japan Society NY

presents

Kon Ichikawa Restorations

When: Friday, October 16 and

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Where: Japan Society

333 East 47th Street, NYC

Map

Commemorating Kon Ichikawa's 100th Birthday,

Japan Society Screens the U.S. Premieres of 3

Newly Restored Cinematic Masterpieces

Kon Ichikawa (1915-2008) ranks as one of the most significant and prolific filmmakers in the history of Japanese cinema, having directed over 80 films during his long career. Known for his eclecticism and technical brilliance, Ichikawa was able to work masterfully across a wide range of genres, moods and styles, led by his strong eye for composition and deep understanding of cinematic language.

In anticipation of his 100th birthday in November, Japan Society presents Kon Ichikawa Restorations, featuring the U.S. premiere of 4k restorations of three Ichikawa masterpieces in 35mm. The series begins Friday, October 16, with Ichikawa’s personal favorite Conflagration (1958) and continues Friday, October 17, with the award winning Her Brother (1960) and An Actor’s Revenge (1963), his spectacular remake of the 1935 classic. Both Conflagration and Her Brother are unavailable on DVD in the U.S., and all three films are not often screened in repertory circuits.

"Ichikawa is regarded as one of the greats of Japanese cinema, but doesn’t often get the same attention and praise as Kurosawa, Ozu or Mizoguchi," says Aiko Masubuchi, Japan Society Film Program Officer. "These restorations shed new light onto lesser-seen yet significant Ichikawa films, allowing cinema lovers an opportunity to re-evaluate his greatness and newly appreciate his masterworks in the 21st Century."

Undertaken by Kadokawa Corporation, the recently struck 35 mm prints of these restorations had their World Premiere at the 65th Berlinale in February 2015. "We are happy to highlight the efforts being made to preserve Japanese cinema history by studios, archives and production companies. These restorations from Kadokawa Corp. are a prime example," says Masubuchi.

Ichikawa’s last major retrospective was in 2001, organized by James Quandt of Cinematheque Ontario, who wrote: "Ichikawa is an artist with an astounding command of many genres, forms and tones, from ferociously humanist war films to sophisticated social satires, formalist documentaries (the acclaimed Tokyo Olympiad) to extravagant period pieces (An Actor’s Revenge). He is both the 'deadpan sophisticate' whom Pauline Kael prized, with his elegant compositional style, venomous wit, and tonal daring, and a crafty master of populist entertainments." In 2014, Ichikawa made headlines when one of his early animations was discovered, becoming Japan's oldest surviving animation.

I've watched DVD screeners graciously provided by Japan Society of the three 4k restorations and they looked very, very good. At this time, I can only imagine how magnificent the films will be in 35mm. Look for reviews here at AsianCineFest next week.

Admission: $12/$9 Japan Society members, seniors and students. General admission tickets may be purchased in person at Japan Society, by calling the box office at 212-715-1258, or at www.japansociety.org. Purchase tickets to all three films in the same transaction and receive $2 off each ticket--special offer available only for in-person purchases or by calling the box office (offer not available for online purchases).

For further information about the three Ichikawa films that will be shown and to order tickets, click here.

ACF 100: Pu-San

"Pu San" copyright 1953 Toho Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Pu-San
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Japan, 1953, b&w, 98 minutes

Yonekichi Noro (Yunosuke Ito, left in picture above) is a most unfortunate individual, a middle-aged widower and teacher at a second-rate school for students who have failed their college entrance exams. We meet him one morning as he narrowly avoids a swerving truck, but injures one of his hands in doing so.

His misfortunes continue in this dark comedy inspired by a comic strip of the same name. He first gets demoted at work, then fired after participating in a labor demonstration, where his other hand gets injured! Nor do his attempts to win the the heart of his landlord's young and beautiful daughter (Fubuki Koshiji, center, above) succeed. When, at her suggestion, they go to a nightclub, he is visibly aroused by the exotic dancer, while she is merely bored.

Yunosuke Ito, with his horse face and hang-dog visage, is perfectly cast as the hapless teacher. Weak-willed, but not totally spineless (he does make an energetic attempt to get his job back), Pu-San knows that he's not happy, but has only a general idea of what will improve his lot and vague notions of how to achieve this.

Kon Ichikawa, who died this past February 13th at the age of 92, is probably best known in the U.S. for The Burmese Harp (1956), Fires on the Plain (1959), and Tokyo Olympiad (1965), all available from The Criterion Collection. He directed his first film in 1934; his last was The Inugamis in 2006. All told, he helmed 89 films, and wrote or co-wrote the scripts for 50, including this one.

In Pu-San (also known as Mr. Pu in the U.S.), Ichikawa fashioned a humorous look at such Japanese post-war problems as job insecurity, student and labor unrest, incompetent police, and political corruption, not to mention personal relationships. That it holds up and remains funny over 50 years after it's release is a remarkable achievement, yet another testament to this great director.

I saw Pu-San last Tuesday at Columbia University. It's the next to last film in the OUT OF THE ASHES: Early Postwar Japanese Movies, a series presented by The Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University in conjunction with the Donald Keen Center of Japanese Culture.

The last film in the series is Black River (1957), directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The film centers on a mild-mannered college student who helplessly witnesses a girl put into prostitution by yakuza. It will be shown Tuesday, April 15th at 6:00 PM at the Arledge Cinema in Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University. The film will be followed by brief intermission and then a Panel Discussion from 8:00-9:00.

The panel members will be:
Kim Brandt, Columbia University
Aaron Gerow, Yale University
Linda Hoaglund, Filmmaker, Translator, and "Out of the Ashes" curator
Hikari Hori, Columbia University

Registration for Black River is required for those without a Columbia University ID. For more information or to register, click here.