News

Prolific Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano is directing an original feature film produced by Amazon MGM Studios.

Kitano also stars in the untitled project, which is currently shooting. No plot, cast or release details have been announced so far.

Kitano has directed 19 films, including 1997’s Fireworks and 2003’s The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, which won the Golden and Silver Lions respectively at Venice. His most recent project was 2023 Cannes premiere Kubi.

Kitano said of the new film: “We are currently filming diligently, so please stay tuned for further updates.”

Recent Amazon MGM Studios projects include Oscar-winners American Fiction and Argentina, 1985.

Which films...

Der preisgekrönte japanische Regisseur und Schauspieler wird demächst zusammen mit Amazon MGM Studios einen Film realisieren.

Takeshi Kitano arbeitet mit Amazon MGM Studios zusammen (Credit: Imago / Vcg)

Amazon MGM Studios wird demnächst mit dem preisgekrönten japanischen Regisseur und Schauspieler Takeshi Kitano zusammenarbeiten. Wie US-Branchenmedien berichten, soll der 77-Jährige, der u.a. 2003 in Venedig den Goldenen Löwen für „Zatoichi – Der blinde Samurai“ und den Silbernen Löwen für die beste Regie bekommen hatte, bei dem Projekt, über das keine weiteren Details bekannt sind, Regie führen und eine Rolle übernehmen.

Zur bevorstehenden Zusammenarbeit mit Takeshi Kitano sagte James Farrell, Head of International Originals bei Amazon MGM Studios: „Kitano ist eine Ikone, nicht nur in Japan, sondern auch im Bereich der globalen Film- und Medienunterhaltung, und wir sind begeistert, mit ihm an diesem Projekt zusammenzuarbeiten, das bald auf Prime Video starten wird. Diese Zusammenarbeit stärkt die Vision der Amazon MGM Studios, eine Heimat für Filmemacher zu sein,...

Another of Kitano's masterpiece is also his most commercially successful film, taking $23.7 million in the Japanese box office and $31.1 million worldwide, mainly because of its wide release in the US that reached 55 theaters. Furthermore, Kitano won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival and yet again, plenty of awards from all over the world, and finally some from the Japanese Academy, although he was solely mentioned in the editing one, along Yoshinori Ohta.

on Imprint Asia by clicking on the image below

The story behind the production is, once again, one of extreme interest. Shortly after Shintaro Katsu's death, who played the main character throughout the Zatoichi franchise, Kitano was approached by the very powerful madam and ex-dancer Saito. She was a close friend of Katsu's, and owned the rights to everything pertaining to Zatoichi. An extremely wealthy woman, the owner of dozens of strip clubs,...

Exclusive: BAFTA Award nominee Takehiro Hira (Shōgun, Gran Turismo) and Japanese Academy Award winner Akira Emoto have rounded out the cast of Searchlight’s Rental Family directed by Hikari (Beef) and starring The Whale Best Actor Oscar winner Brendan Fraser and Mari Yamamoto (Pachinko).

Cameras are now rolling in Japan, with production to wrap around May. A release date has not been set.

Deadline first told you about the project, which follows a lonely, down-and-out American actor (Fraser) living in Tokyo. He starts working for a Japanese “rental family” company to play various stand-in roles in other people’s lives. Along the way, he forges some surprising human connections and discovers unexpected joys within his built-in family.

“It’s an absolute dream to bring Rental Family to the world,” said Hikari. “I am truly so thankful for my collaboration with my partners at Searchlight and Sight Unseen and for their never-ending support,...

Another of Kitano's masterpiece is also his most commercially successful film, taking $23.7 million in the Japanese box office and $31.1 million worldwide, mainly because of its wide release in the US that reached 55 theaters. Furthermore, Kitano won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival and yet again, plenty of awards from all over the world, and finally some from the Japanese Academy, although he was solely mentioned in the editing one, along Yoshinori Ohta.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The story behind the production is, once again, one of extreme interest. Shortly after Shintaro Katsu's death, who played the main character throughout the Zatoichi franchise, Kitano was approached by the very powerful madam and ex-dancer Saito. She was a close friend of Katsu's, and owned the rights to everything pertaining to Zatoichi. An extremely wealthy woman, the owner of dozens of strip clubs,...

News of the death of Celluloid Dreams CEO Hengameh Panahi has sparked an outpouring of admiration and tributes from the independent film community.

Panahi, a pivotal figure in the global art house scene, died Nov. 5, aged 67. In her decades in the business — as a producer, co-financier and sales agent — Panahi introduced the world to international auteurs from Iran (Jafar Panahi, Marjane Satrapi), Europe (Jacques Audiard, François Ozon, Gaspar Noé, Marco Bellocchio, Aleksandr Sokurov, the Dardenne brothers) and across Asia (Takeshi Kitano, Naomi Kawase, Jia Zanghke, Hirokazu Kore-eda).

“She took films that were challenging, that were difficult to make, to sell, to promote, and she fought for them,” says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) who knew and worked with Panahi for more than 30 years. “She was a unique part of the film ecosystem. She was really inspirational, with the films that she enabled to be made, and seen.”

Celluloid Dreams,...

There will be spoilers for "Star Wars: Ahsoka" Chapter 3 - Time to Fly

The third episode of "Ahsoka," titled "Time to Fly," begins for Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) with an extended training sequence. At first, she's drilling with the Jedi droid Huyang (David Tennant), but then Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) arrives and believes she needs something a little more difficult. That's when Ahsoka suggests a training regimen called "Zatochi." 

Huyang is convinced that Sabine is clearly not ready for such an exercise, but Ahsoka is adamant. Ahsoka then puts a blast helmet on Sabine, much like Obi-Wan Kenobi does to Luke Skywalker in "A New Hope," and tells her to stretch out with her feelings and block her blows without being able to see. Just like Huyang thought, Sabine is not very good at this, but she gives it the best she has. But there's more than a "Star Wars...

In the old days when there was neither CG nor wire action, as in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” Japanese action movies were called “Chambara” and boomed worldwide.

The movie “Traverse” is a new type of film that revives the essence of the action movies of the 1970s without CG or wire action. It can be enjoyed in various ways by an audience who liked Japanese movies of that time and those who want to see action with substance.

If you look at it from the perspective of som

The main character is a real martial arts karate fighter

This movie features a real martial arts karate expert as the main character. The realistic action, which could be expressed only by a genuine practitioner, allows the audience to experience “realistic” that simulates hitting the opponent.

The essence of “Chambara” movies

In the 1970s, Japanese films such as “Seven Samurai” and...

While the chambara genre is generally associated with the likes of Akira Kurosawa and many others, the name of director Kihachi Okamoto is mentioned only occasionally, even though he probably made some of the most important entries into the genre. With titles such as “Seven Samurai” and “Rashomon” being associated with the samurai film, Okamoto would add a unique spin to the genre with often acidic and laconic humor or a world view which reflects the dark times his home country had to go through at the time his features were made. Some of his most influential works include “The Sword of Doom”, “The Human Bullet” and “Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo”, his entry into the popular “Zatoichi”-franchise, whereas his 1968 feature “Kill!” perhaps best sums up what constitutes Okamoto’s cinema.

Kill! is screening at Japan Society

In 1833 two men, Genta (Tatsuya Nakadai) and Hanjiro (Etsushi Takahashi) arrive in the town of Joshu.

On April 5th, 2022, the martial arts world lost one of its very first cinematic heroes. Jimmy Wang Yu passed away peacefully at the Taipei Zhenxing Hospital at the age of 80 after a six-year battle with declining health. Upon hearing the news, Jackie Chan posted on his blog, “The contributions you’ve made to kung fu movies, and the support and wisdom you’ve given to the younger generations will always be remembered in the industry.”

By younger generations, Jackie was referring to himself. Wang helped Jackie get a foothold in Kung Fu movies. In 1976, Wang faced Chan in one of Chan’s earliest Kung Fu films, Killer Meteors. Wang co-directed the film with Hong Kong movie mogul Lo Wei, and after Chan and Wei clashed, Wang helped young Jackie get things sorted out.

Wang starred in nearly 90 films most of which were Wuxia films, the genre of chivalrous martial arts masters.

Kitano Takeshi, a contemporary icon of Japanese cinema, is to receive a lifetime achievement award next month at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.

“A legendary artist on Friday the 29th of April will receive the Golden Mulberry Award for lifetime achievement on the stage of Feff 24,” the festival announced Friday with barely concealed delight.

Kitano who has film credits as writer, director, producer and performer, as well as a whole TV comedy career, is known for the brutal sergeant he played alongside David Bowie and Sakamoto Ryuichi in Oshima Nagisa’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” and for incursions into Hollywood in “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Ghost in the Shell.”

His Japanese oeuvre ranges from fine art to gangster genre thriller. He has credits in film noir (“Violent Cop”), romance (“A Scene at the Sea”), drama masterpieces and hard-boiled cult saga “Outrage.”

“For Far East Film Festival 24, a truly...

For much of its running time, “Asakusa Kid” is a safe, traditional and easily enjoyable biographical drama about the scrappy early career of legendary Japanese comedian-actor-author-filmmaker “Beat” Takeshi Kitano. When the handsomely packaged Netflix movie injects the verve and invention Kitano is celebrated for, it shines much more brightly. Though it doesn’t offer the penetrating insight into Kitano that many viewers would be hoping for, this adaptation of his memoir by writer-director Gekidan Hitori (“A Bolt From the Blue”) does provide a respectful and touching portrait of Kitano’s mentor Senzaburo Fukami, the master entertainer whose fame and fortune declined sharply as Kitano’s career started to soar.

Published in 1988 and previously filmed in 2002 by Makoto Shinozaki (also director of the 1999 Kitano documentary “Jam Session”), “Asakusa Kid” charts the early life adventures and showbiz education of university dropout Kitano in the early 1970s. Opening in familiar biography style with...

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Review By Adrian Smith

Lexington Books

202 Pages

6 x 9 inches

Hardback

Isbn: 978-1-7936-0121-6

October 2021

Rrp: $95/£73.00

A blind masseur, Zatoichi would wander from village to village in Feudal Japan hoping for employment to maintain his meagre existence. Hidden within his cane was a sword which he would frequently be required to use against an assortment of yakuza, villains, assassins and ronin. Zatoichi was a legendary blind swordsman whose adventures were charted across an initial run of twenty-six feature films and a hundred television episodes all starring Shintaro Katsu between 1962 and 1979, with a return to the character one last time for the film Zatoichi in 1989. Katsu was something of a legend in Japan, and he came from a showbusiness family: his elder brother was Tomisaburō Wakayama, star of the Lone Wolf and Cub series. This in-depth new book from academic Jonathan Wroot takes...

The overall nineteenth entry into the popular “Zatoichi”-franchise marked also the return of director Kenji Misumi into the series, who had started it back in 1962 with “The Tale of Zatoichi”. It also is a return to form for the story of the blind swordsman, especially after the excellent “Zatoichi and the Fugitives”, which was released in 1968 as well. While this previous feature shed some light into one of the core internal conflicts of the main character, Misumi’s movie not only included the typical ingredients of the series, but also emphasizes the way Zatoichi deals with the repercussions of the code he lives by, which is still the one by the yakuza. It is never truly addressed, for example, why the blind masseur, who has killed and maimed various yakuza bosses and their men for violating these principles, still seems to stick to these codes, which has caused nothing but harm thus far.

The character Zatoichi became globally known to the public through Takeshi Kitano’s 2003 movie, “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi”. As we are about to see though, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Before Kitano’s movie there were 26 more and a TV series consisting of more than 100 episodes which lasted for four years.

Let’s take things from the beginning though. Our hero’s first appearance was in a small story by Kan Shimozawa, titled “Zatoichi”, although the concept, as a whole, was based on a secondary character of this story, a blind gambler. He could guess what the dice would bring almost every time. According to the Library of Congress, the story was included in a book titled “Futokoro Techo”, which was first published in Japan by Chuo Koronsha in 1961.

Kan Shimozawa (his real name was Umetani Matsutaro) was considered one of the most talented writers of his era.

Iconic Japanese actor and director Kitano Takeshi has filed suit against Bandai Namco Arts, a member of the Bandai Namco media group, for copyright violation, the Daily Shincho paper revealed in its latest issue, which hit newsstands on Thursday.

According to the exclusive report, which has been circulated widely in the Japanese media, Kitano made the complaint to the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 10 of this year, filing in his own name as the plaintiff.

Bandai’s relationship with Kitano goes back to the start of his three-decade career as a director, with the company both investing in most of his films and distributing them on physical media. In his suit, Kitano claims that he was not compensated for scripting and directing a total fifteen films, including his 1997 Venice Golden Lion winner “Hana-bi” and his 2003 hit period actioner “Zatoichi,” while Bandai exploited his work without his permission.

Bandai countered to...

In the late 1980s-1990s, Phillip Noyce delivered a slew of entertaining actioners, which include Blind Fury, an American interpretation of the highly popular Zatoichi series starring the late Rutger Hauer and his Jack Ryan diptych starring Harrison Ford: Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, the very best on-screen Tom Clancy adaptations. After the highly underrated Salt in 2010, Noyce’s career took a rapid nosedive with The Giver—one of the dullest Young Adult book-to-screen adaptations released in the last decade. With his latest film, Above Suspicion, based on the true story of the murder of informant Susan Smith by FBI Agent Mark Putnam, Noyce doesn’t seem to care anymore. The film is a stagnant, repulsive and highly caricatured chronicle of a tragic event, featuring appalling...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: Writer-director Mark Gill is set to bring the life of legendary Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase to the big screen with Ravens (The Many Deaths of Masahisa Fukase). Filming is set to begin in Japan in the spring of 2022.

Ravens marks the sophomore feature for the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated Gill and will star Tadanobu Asano in the role of the iconic photographer. Asano can be seen in the forthcoming Mortal Kombat feature as Raiden. He also appeared in Marvel Studios’ Thor franchise as Hogun and in Japanese classics such as Ichi the Killer and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.

Ravens centers on the tragic love story between Fukase and his charismatic then-wife Yoko, who will be played by up and comer Kumi Takiuchi. The actress has also appeared in Berlinale’s Panorama-selected A Balance. In addition, Toby Kebbell joins the cast...

Fang Kang the One-Armed Swordsman, the iconic wuxia character from the Shaw Brothers studios, travels to Japan and crosses swords with the blind masseur in this 22nd chapter of the long-running Zatoichi film series. However, this is a different character even though he too has only one arm; his name is Wang Kang and he’s played by Jimmy Wang Yu nevertheless.

Since this is very much a Zatoichi movie, again starring Shintaro Katsu, we see him dispatch three unfortunate samurai effortlessly just before the opening credits. Next up, we meet the new arrival to Japan, Wang Kang (Jimmy Wang Yu) who’s on his way to the Fukuryuji temple near Mamada. While on the road, he comes across a Chinese roadside performer, Li Xiang Rong (Chang Yi), his wife Yu Mei (Wan Ling), and their young son Xiao Rong. The Li family decides to take him...

With the Zatoichi series running out of steam (there would be only two more of those releasing after 1972), actor/producer/director Shintaro Katsu and his newly formed production house Katsu Productions were looking to kickstart a new series of chanbara films as leading vehicles for the star, as well as to keep the company functioning. For this purpose, they turned their eye towards a gekiga (Japanese version of a graphic novel) by writer Kazuo Koike, an outlandish tale of an Edo-era law enforcer. For the first one, Katsu called upon Kenji Misumi, the director with the most directing credits on the Zatoichi features, and regular cinematographer Chikashi Makiura to lend their vision to this new tale. If, however, you go into the Hanzo films expecting anything similar to Zatoichi, you’re in for a very rude surprise!

This is the story of Hanzo Itami, an incorruptible magistrate...

Although the role of Yuki Kashima, better known under her nickname “Lady Snowblood”, is one of Meiko Kaji’s trademark characters and perhaps has become increasingly more relevant within global pop culture, initially director Toshiya Fujita had doubts about Kaji, perhaps refusing to act as the titular character in his next project. However, Kaji, having worked with the filmmaker on the “Stray Cat Rock”-series, was quite eager to collaborate with Fujita on what was quite a risky project for both of them, given its period setting during the Meji era in Japan. In the end, “Lady Snowblood” would mark another milestone in the career of the actress, and even inspired the likes of Quentin Tarantino, to name the most prominent examples, with the finale of “Kill Bill, Vol. I” being the most direct homage to Fujita’s film and Kaji’s performance. Considering its status as exploitation cinema and its influence on pop culture,...

By the sixteenth installment of the popular Zatoichi-franchise, its main star Shintaro Katsu had become a household name in his home country Japan and thus demanded more artistic control in the creative decisions in the rest of the movies of the series. With the foundation of his own production company, Katsu would not only continue playing the titular role of the blind masseur, but would also be one of the series’ producers, starting with “Zatoichi the Outlaw”, the first installment for director Satsuo Yamamoto, whose political ideals may have influenced the tone of the feature. Additionally, it includes one of the many instances in which the blind masseur questions his way of life, the way he is forced to kill people and whether there might be the possibility of a different direction in his life.

Upon his travels through rural Japan, Zatoichi (Katsu) comes across a familiar sight,...

“Mekura no Oichi” is a manga about a blind swordswoman created by Teruo Tanasita and adapted into four live action “Crimson Bat” films by the Shochiku Studio, all starring Yoko Matsuyama who’s also the creator Teruo’s wife. However, Sadatsugu was only responsible for directing the first two movies; Hirokazu Ichimura took over the last remaining two.

When we first meet Oichi during a stormy night, she’s a little child desperately looking for her mother who has taken off with a man and abandoned her. A lightning strikes the tree she takes shelter under and knocks her unconscious; when she wakes up she discovers that she’s blind. Fast forward a few years later, Oichi is now an adult, raised up by Yasuke, a kind old man. One day, a samurai and his thugs arrive and accordingly kill him. As they try to kill Oichi, a wondering samurai...

Kitano Takeshi, the 74-year-old icon of Japanese gangster films and TV comedy, has set “Kubi” (Neck) as his next film — and possibly the last movie that he will direct.

The film is a period actioner based on Kitano’s 2019 novel of the same title, published by Kadokawa, according to local magazine Josei Jishin, which reported the news as an unconfirmed exclusive. Kitano’s agency had no comment. However, the story is being widely disseminated by Japanese media.

Shooting is supposed to start in May with Ken Watanabe reportedly signed to star. Kitano will be working with a new staff minus the participation of long-time producer Mori Masayuki .

Kitano’s most recent film as director is the 2017 “Outrage Coda,” which finished with $15 million in Japan. His biggest career hit, however, was “Zatoichi,” Kitano’s take on the iconic period action series about a blind swordsman that earned $27 million in 2003. One inspiration...

Director Kazuo Ikehiro, now on his third and final Zatoichi film, and lead star Shintaro Katsu attempted something different with this, the fourteen entry in the Zatoichi series. They roped in superstar director/screenwriter Kaneto Shindo, who had by then already made the hit productions “The Naked Island” and “Onibaba” and would go on to make “Kuroneko” two years later, to write the script for Ichi’s new adventure, in an attempt to bring some freshness to the series.

The reluctance to kill that Zatoichi showed in the previous films, and particularly in “Zatoichi’s Vengeance”, the one that immediately preceded this, has turned into full-blown repentance as he decides to take a pilgrimage to the 88 Temples in Shokiku. Before he embarks on the pilgrimage, he asks but one thing of God: to not make him have to kill again, necessarily or unnecessarily. God, as it turns out,...

Albert Hughes takes us on a wild journey through the movies that made him, then explains why he’s not a cinephile (Spoiler: He is). Heads up – you’re going to hear some words you’ve never heard on our show before, and only one of them is Metropolis.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Gremlins (1984)

A Christmas Story (1983)

The Candidate (1972)

Menace II Society (1993)

Die Hard (1988)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Scarface (1983)

Goodfellas (1990)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Raging Bull (1980)

Taxi Driver (1976)

Alpha (2018)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Metropolis (1927)

True Romance (1993)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

The Matrix (1999)

Man Bites Dog (1992)

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003)

A Serbian Film (2010)

Scarface (1932)

The Book of Eli (2010)

The Departed (2006)

Infernal Affairs (2002)

The Godfather (1972)

Casino (1995)

JFK (1991)

Dead Presidents (1996)

Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Basic Instinct (1992)

Psycho (1960)

The Cremator (1969)

The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

Halloween (2018)

From Hell (2001)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Hoffa (1992)

V For Vendetta (2005)

Spartacus (1960)

You Were Never Really Here...

After he had directed the third and fourth installment of the terribly successful Zatoichi-series, Tokuzo Tanaka would return only three years later to helm the overall thirteenth entry into the story of the blind masseur walking the roads and highways of Japan. In general, 1966 was quite an interesting year since both “Zatoichi’s Vengeance” and “Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage” turned out to be not only very entertaining, but also worthwhile additions to the franchise, showing a few new layers of the character played again by Shintaro Katsu. Albeit its generic title, “Zatoichi’s Revenge” is a tale dealing with the repercussions of the life Zatoichi has chosen, for himself and those around him as well as whether he can actually think of a life without the need of his trusted cane sword.

However, the beginning of the movie looks quite familiar as Zatoichi (Katsu), after a battle...

After his interesting but rushed second entry into the popular “Zatoichi”-franchise, Japanese director Kazuo Mori would return to the tales of the blind swordsman with the eleventh feature “Zatoichi and the Doomed Man”. With the studio obviously treating the subject matter quite differently than when Mori was assigned to do “The Tale of Zatoichi Continues” and the support of an experienced cast and crew, his second venture into the world of Zatoichi feels richer and takes its time, following a familiar structure while also exploring issues of fate, determination and, as the title already indicates, doom.

During a brief time in jail for illegal gambling, Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) meets another prisoner named Shimazo (Keichi Mizuhara), who is about to be executed for a murder which he did not commit, according to his own account. In his desperation, he begs Zatoichi to meet his family and find...

As the immensely successful Zatoichi-franchise enters its ninth installment, there is always the question of what can be done further with a character that was so beloved and popular with a wide audience. Whereas the information about the blind masseur and master swordsman has been sparse for many films in the series, Kenji Misumi’s “Fight, Zatoichi, Fight!”, which was released in the same year as Kimiyoshi Yasuda second film within the overall series, gives more hints as to the story behind the character, played by Shintaro Katsu. Although fans of Katsu’s role might certainly applaud the idea, there is always the danger of giving away too much and making the character banal and rather boring. However, similar to Misumi’s previous film in the franchise, Yasuda’s movie manages tell an entertaining story containing the famous trademarks of the series while also adding a few strokes to...

After kickstarting the whole franchise in 1962’s “The Tale of Zatoichi”, director Kenji Misumi wouldn’t return to the series until two years later for the eight film and the third of 1964, “Fight, Zatoichi, Fight”, and in the process ended up creating one of the finest adventures for our blind hero.

Among the many, many people that want to kill Zatoichi for various reasons, is also a group of assassins that see Ichi get into a palanquin and decide to kill him once the palanquin reaches a secluded spot. However, just as he is about to sit inside, the ever-chivalrous Ichi ends up giving his ride to woman who is travelling with a baby in arms. Unaware of this fact, the assassins riddle the palanquin with their swords, killing the woman. When Zatoichi learns of this from the palanquin bearers, he rushes to the scene and, taking the boy in his arms,...

In the same year of “Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold”, director Kazuo Ikehiro would make his second installment within the hugely popular “Zatoichi”-franchise. He would return to the series with “Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage” in 1966 leaving his brand in the series of films with what may as well be the most spiritual film of the whole franchise. As with his previous film, in “Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword” Ikehiro took a rather banal story and turned it into another quite entertaining film, starring Shintaro Katsu who, by that time, was undeniably linked to the character of Zatoichi and enjoyed the success it brought him, as indicated by his gain in weight, a subject of some jokes in the film.

At the beginning we see the familiar scene of Zatoichi being chased by a couple of yakuza after cutting down their boss. Eventually he is shot, but later...

“They were fighting like they were making love.” An appropriate line from “Duelist” by Lee Myung-se, the visionary director behind “Nowhere To Hide” (1999)

Undercover detectives Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki) and Namsoon (Ha Ji-won) are on the trail of a counterfeiter gang. A masked swordsman who had been performing in a street circus suddenly finishes the act by killing a government official who had been carrying the kingdom’s currency metal cast. A duel between Namsoon and the swordsman sees a piece of their mask cut off. As the detectives investigate, suspicion falls on local official Song (Song Young-chang) which is confirmed when the swordsman now known as Sad Eyes (Kang Dong-won) is seen to enter Song’s residence. From here a series of encounters between Namsoon and Sad Eyes lead to a growing attraction despite being on opposing sides.

The opening 20 minutes are a frantic mix of cinematic trickery.

Within the world of sports, when observing athletes competing in a race or training their bodies for the occasion, no one would deny the closeness of concepts such as purity and clarity in these images. Even though the world around us may be mostly chaotic, a mirror at times of our lives, the idea of sports, their clear aims and requirements are often what attracts people to join a sports club or at least go to the gym. At the same time, these images of purity have opened the door for interpretations driven by questionable or controversial ideologies, if we think, for example, of the way director Leni Riefenstahl portrays athletes following a deeply fascist agenda. In a similar way, the idea of perfecting the body and the mind, preparing the body to reach a state of absolute purity can also be found in the writings of author Yukio Mishima,...

In an interview with IndieWire back in 1996, one year before the death of the famous Zatoichi actor Shintaro Katsu, Takashi Miike said “I plan to make some sort of jidai-geki. Traditional with kimonos, swords and Samurais, as “Lone Wold and Cub” or “Zatoichi”. Its going to be for all of the family. It will be a mixture of Shakespeare and Samurais.” He intended to cast Takeshi Kitano for the lead, but Kitano wanted to direct the movie himself and so Miike got kicked out of the project that he once started. Kitano continued the production and finally released “Zatoichi – The Blind Swordsman” in 2003.

But Miike, not known for being work-shy, picks up his idea again in 2007 to direct a stage play with Sho Aikawa as Ichi. In addition to crowd-pleasers like “Crows Zero” (2007), “Sukiyaki Western Django” (2007), and “Like a Dragon” (2007), Miike’s turn to the traditional Japanese theatre, Kabuki, proofs...

“Daimajin” by Kimiyoshi Yasuda stretches the genre borders and creates a well-aged drama about a big boy.

Being the first installment of a trilogy of which all movies have been shot at the same time, but were released a year apart, “Daimajin” resembles the trend of telling a Kaiju story in an Edo setting. The Japanese production company Diaei combines classic elements of the chanbara genre with the equally popular monster category.

Getting into the first 60 minutes of the plot, the movie goes into a totally different direction and does not feel like a monster movie at all. We are introduced to a political drama about a royal family that is torn apart by a coup. The heirs and their guardian have to flee to the mountains, where they hide for 10 years before they return to their home to free the people from a barbaric tyrant. That’s it for the sword fighting aspect.

By David Kozlowski | 28 July 2017

Welcome to Issue #6 of The Lrm Weekend, a weekly column highlighting cool and unique videos about film, TV, comics, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, animation, and anime. We also want to hear from you, our awesome Lrm community! Share your favorite videos to: @LRM_Weekend and we'll post your Tweets below!

Previous Issues: 7.21.17 | 7.14.17 | 7.7.17 | 6.30.17 | 6.23.17

Hey Lrm Weekenders, we survived San Diego Comic-Con 2017 -- did you have a favorite moment? Thor: Ragnarok's latest trailer was a big hit at Lrm (Hulk speaks!). As July comes to a close, we're ramping up for the big movies and TV shows of the late summer through the holiday season.

This week our emphasis is on Akira Kurosawa, the legendary Japanese filmmaker who's works have inspired generations of directors, screenwriters, and actors. Kurosawa's films have been adpapted and remade dozens of times, and we hope that this week's column gives you...

Takeshi Kitano has taken home laurels from film festivals the world over. As of next week, he can lay claim to an even higher honor: France’s Legion of Honor, which the Japanese actor, director and comedian will receive at a ceremony in Paris next week for his contributions to contemporary arts.

Read More: ‘Boiling Point’ Exclusive Poster: Film Movement Classics Re-Releases Early Beat Takeshi Movie

Jack Lang, France’s former culture minister, said in a statement that the “Violent Cop,” “Sonatine” and “Outrage” director “comfortably went beyond the limits of art genres and transformed the rules of performing arts, television, film and literature.” Kitano will receive the rank of Officier, the L’ordre National de la Légion d’honneur’s fourth-highest honor.

Read More: Tokyo Film Festival: U.S. Indie Scoops Top Prize; Tim Burton And Takeshi Kitano Honored

“I am very surprised that I will be given such an honor,...

The fear of losing one’s sight is perfectly captured in an inspiring docudrama about author and academic John Hull

Cinema’s paradoxical fascination with sightlessness has spawned movies as diverse as Terence Young’s 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark, Takeshi Kitano’s 2003 martial-arts actioner Zatôichi and Eskil Vogt’s prurient 2014 psychodrama Blind. Yet few films have portrayed the absence of vision with any degree of insight. Honourable exceptions include British film-maker Gary Tarn’s 2005 documentary Black Sun, an electrifying, expressionist portrait of painter and photographer Hugues de Montalembert, who found new ways of seeing after being blinded by a violent attack in 1978.

The film highlights the growing tactility of Hull's world, closing in on the sources of sound

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According to The Wrap, famed Japanese actor Beat Takeshi Kitano has joined the cast of Paramount Pictures live-action adaptation of the hit anime & manga, “Ghost in the Shell”. Starring Scarlett Johansson the adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga will arrive in theaters on March 31, 2017. In an official press release, Kitano stated, "This film tells the story of mankind in the near future in a unique setting. My role Aramaki is a unique and attractive character. The story revolves around the human relationships of the characters. This film will be stylish and entertaining, which is completely different from the type of movies I direct myself. This excited me and was the reason I decided to participate in this film." Kitano is best known for such films as Battle Royale, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi and Izo. Rupert Sanders directs the film from a script written by William Wheeler. Johansson stars as 'The Major',...

Up until now I haven't posted any of the trailer for Lee Sang-il's Unforgiven (Yurusarezarumono), remake of Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning film of the same name. Primarily because the trailers didn't include subtitles and I knew sooner or later we'd get a look that would actually give you something to consider rather than the visuals and action beats. Well, that day is today. Unforgiven is set to play the 2013 Toronto Film Festival and I have for you a subtitled trailer along with three clips from the film which stars Ken Watanabe (Inception), Koichi Sato (Sukiyaki Western Django) and Akira Emoto (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) that takes the classic Western to Meiji-period Japan. The Tokugawa shogunate has just collapsed and the Ainu aborigines strive to settle the land alongside the newly established government. Jubei Kamata (Watanabe) is a relic of the Tokugawa shogunate, and during that time his name alone terrorized...

Lovers of film are likely lovers of Takeshi Kitano. Sometimes billed as Beat Takeshi, he's not only the evil star of Battle Royale, he's the talented director of films like The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi and Fireworks. In 2010, he directed and starred in Outrage, a twisting, turning crime drama in the vein [1] of Martin Scorsese. It played several festivals, spawned a few trailers [2] and was successful enough that a sequel, Outrage 2, is on the way. However, most fans haven't had a chance to see the original because its U.S. release date [3] was way off. Finally, Outrage is schedule to hit U.S. screens on December 2 and on-demand next week, October 28. There's a brand new red band trailer for the film after the jump. Thanks to Hulu [4] for this trailer. (That means people outside the Us probably can't see this embed.) Here's the official plot description. In a ruthless battle for power,...

Hey Los Angeles… grab your popcorn, because Landmark Theatres has announced it’s Fall-Winter film calender for the Nuart Theatre. It highlights limited-run films to avid cinephiles in Los Angeles, offering an essential guide for audiences to discover exciting films that may never enjoy the publicity of nationwide exposure. Included in the mix of programming are documentaries, reissues, features from a variety of foreign countries and other edgy, alternative cinema.

Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles

Showtimes and information: (310)281-8223

http://www.LandmarkTheatres.com

Features Friday, October 14 . Thursday, October 20

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search Of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby

A son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew uncovers the secret world of legendary CIA spymaster William Colby, who rose through the ranks of “The Company” and soon was involved in covert operations in...

I'm a big fan of Takeshi Kitano. The Japanese filmmaker, whose movies usually give their violence massive consequences, might be best known to casual viewers for his Zatôichi movie a few years ago. But go back a few years and dig up classics like Sonatine and Fireworks, probably his most artistic movie.

Kitano is a jack-of-all-trades, writing, producing, directing, editing, and starring in his own films, although he acts under the name Beat Takeshi. He also used to host one of those odd Japanese game shows. Oh, and now he teaches film at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

He's back at work (and headed to Cannes) with the Yakuza drama Outrage, returning to his roots as a filmmaker. Here's the trailer (with no subtitles, unfortunately), courtesy of TwitchFilm.

I have always wanted to go to the Cannes Film Festival, and have never been. So each spring I eagerly await the news of the latest lineup and I comb over it and drool a bit, trying not to think that it will probably be almost a year before I get to see some of them, if at all. I'm always fascinated by the winner of the Palme d'Or, and it's interesting to compare these with, say, the Best Picture Oscar announced many months later. The difference is that the French (and whoever happens to be on the jury) tend to look at movies as a director's craft rather than as a vehicle for storytelling and/or messages.

Going in this direction, the first movie in the new lineup that caught my eye is Outrage, by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano (pictured above). If you were a hardcore cinema buff in the 1990s,...

We reported just yesterday morning that Marvel is preparing to shoot their next big comic book film Thor in January, with director Kenneth Branagh now ready to get the story of gods and warriors from another dimension underway. And with that has come a few last minute casting decisions. Per a Variety article that has mysteriously disappeared off their site since it posted about an hour ago, Marvel has signed Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano to play The Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god Thor, who will be played by Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek). Stuart Townsend, who recently wrote and directed the excellent political drama Battle in Seattle, which starred his fiancee Charlize Theron, is best known for playing the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned and starring alongside Ryan Reynolds in Chaos Theory. He is also a frequent voice cast contributor to Robot Chicken. Ray Stevenson...

The Eastwood of Japan, Takeshi Kitano, tackles one of Japan.s most iconic figures with .The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.. The film is a great take on the decades old property of a masterful blind swordsman in 19th century Japan who travels the land helping under the guise of a masseur. A great looking film . that comes recommended for its Blu-ray debut. Takeshi Kitano is mostly known for his outstanding early nineties yakuza pics like .Boiling Point. and .Sonatine. where he also starred in under his performing mark Beat Takeshi. Distinctive and stylish, these films established an international director to watch out for. Most recent yakuza pic, .Brother., which brought Takeshi to L.A. failed to measure up to earlier...

DVD Playhouse—September 2009

By

Allen Gardner

The Human Condition (Criterion) Masaki Kobayashi’s epic (574 minutes) adaptation of Junpei Gomikawa’s six-volume novel was originally made and released as three separate films (1959-61), and is rightfully regarded as a landmark of Japanese cinema. Candide-like story of naïve, good-hearted Kaiji (Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor, to Imperial Army solider, to Soviet Pow, and Kaiji’s struggle to maintain his humanity throughout. Unfolds with the mastery of a great novel, beautifully-shot, and a stunning example of cinematic mastery on the part of its makers. Four-disc set bonuses include: Interview with Kobayashi; Interview with Nakadai; Featurette; Trailer; Essay by critic Philip Kemp. Widescreen. Dolby 3.0 surround.

State Of Play (Universal) Russell Crowe stars as a veteran Washington D.C. political reporter investigating the murder of an aide to a rising congressional star (Ben Affleck), who also happens to be an old friend.

When a movie tries to update an old beloved series into what is called a “re-imagining,” it often results in a disastrous effort that either loses the charm of the original(s) or becomes a pale imitation. Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi is one of those rare successes. While he’s made a number of incredible films meditating on the harshness of violence, Kitano at his heart still remains a playful comedian (Americans probably know him best as one of the two hosts of Takeshi’s Castle, better known in the U.S. as its Spike TV dubbed version called Mxc), and his Zatoichi is a reflection of that side.

The original Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series spanned 26 movies and four TV seasons—all of them starring Shintaro Katsu. It would be hard for any other actor to fill those shoes if he wasn’t a giant like Kitano, who fearlessly...

To the typical American mainstream movie fan, The Ultimate Force of Four Blu-ray box set may be a treasure trove of remastered “Kung Fu” flicks. Though not the best the genre has to offer, it does contain some of the biggest hits on these shores since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon first arrived and opened the eyes of an unsuspecting populace.

Included in the Blu-ray set is the 1994 Jackie Chan film The Legend of Drunken Master which was released in the States in 2000. Directed by Chia-Liang Liu, Chan defends the honor of the Chinese people by kicking, punching and leaping off buildings in order to stop the heinous transfer of Chinese treasures by the evil British. Though The Legend of Drunken Master, isn’t the best example of the genre nor Chan’s best, it’s a favorite for easy Sunday afternoon movie watching. Considering Chan’s energy and dynamic action...

Chicago – Attention martial arts fans, Buena Vista Home Video recently released a wave of martial arts films on Blu-Ray under the title “The Ultimate Force of Four” box set, including one of Jet Li’s best films, the spectacular “Hero,” from director Zhang Yimou. “Hero” is easily the highlight of the quartet of recent HD releases but “Iron Monkey,” “The Legend of Drunken Master,” and “Zatoichi” will all satisfy fans in 1080p (as long as they’re not purists about audio tracks).

Three of the four titles are merely HD imports of special features and films already available on standard DVD. The exception is “Hero,” which includes an all-new featurette and a digital copy, but is actually one of the most divisive Blu-Rays of the year. Miramax/Buena Vista has made the baffling choice to include a higher caliber quality of audio for the dubbed tracks on “Hero,” “Iron Monkey,...