Why are Japanese films so terrible?

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:-D

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 24 January 2004 13:04 (twenty years ago) link

i saw Ktano's Zaitochi yesterday as opening film to the Rotterdam Film Festival. Samurai turns to Riverdance.

― Eriik, Saturday, 24 January 2004 13:53 (twenty years ago) link

yeah but just for the last three minutes which felt like a cheat to me

although i guess the dancing is foreshadowed a few times

that film left me pretty cold overall

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 26 January 2004 11:21 (twenty years ago) link

five months pass...

bump

anyone for Hiroshi Teshigahara?

http://www.bfi.org.uk/showing/nft/teshigahara/calendar/index.php

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 18 July 2004 18:29 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm going to three of them, Julio - Pitfall on Tuesday, Face Of Another on Thursday, then Rikyu on the Wednesday or Friday of the following week. An old friend is coming to the first two with me (no one you know) but you're obviously more than welcome to come along too - and I'm currently on my own for Rikyu, so if you fancy either showing of that say the word.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 18 July 2004 20:05 (nineteen years ago) link

cool, I'm seeing 'woman of the dunes' tomorrow. won't be there on tue, will try and make it to thurs.

Will def see 'rikyu' the following week.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 18 July 2004 21:19 (nineteen years ago) link

Anyone seen Suicide Club?

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Sunday, 18 July 2004 21:20 (nineteen years ago) link

I love Japanese cinema. Audition, Gate of Flesh, Spirited Away and the rest of the anime films, Naked Blood, Stacy etc... Sure some of it is tacky, but it's good fun. Trying to say that Japanese cinema is all about giant monsters attacking cities is like trying to say American movies are all about cowboys and indians.

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 18 July 2004 21:34 (nineteen years ago) link

Contemporary Japanese cinema has it's own clichés, and once you get used to them they can be as irritating as their Hollywood counterparts. This applies especially to anime, which is fun for awhile, but gets really boring once you've seen enough of it. There are gems there, like Miyazaki's flicks, but a lot of the stuff that's imported to the West is mediocre shite aimed at the fanboy market.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 18 July 2004 21:44 (nineteen years ago) link

We rented "Suicide Club" last week - really good, albeit disturbing. Much graphic violence, much mystery, much schoolgirls leaping to their deaths on the subway track. What more can you want?

― Layna Andersen (Layna Andersen), Sunday, 18 July 2004 23:29 (nineteen years ago) link

Has anyone seen the three most recent Seijun Suzuki films released on DVD (Underworld Beauty, Kanto Wanderer, Tattooed Life)? The first is a yakuza noir and the latter two are period yakuza films in color, I believe.

I found UB at Borders this weekend, but haven't had a chance to watch it.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 18 July 2004 23:57 (nineteen years ago) link

Julio (and any other interested parties): I saw Pitfall tonight, and it was GREAT! I'm really looking forward to the next two now.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 21:24 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah, saw 'woman...' and almost certain to see it again, I did a thread on ilm abt toru takemitsu just after seeing it.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 20 July 2004 21:44 (nineteen years ago) link

So is anyone on for Rikyu on Wednesday (8.20) or Friday (8.40) night? I'm definitely going.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:07 (nineteen years ago) link

DVDs of the two Ju-on TV movies (predating the Ju-on:Grudge two theatrical versions) arrived this morning, hopefully I'll get the chance to watch at least one tonight. Are they really better than the 'remakes', as I've read?

Suicide Circle/Club is genius, yes - but is it any better than Uzumaki? I think not, although for non-horror material Wild Zero is about as good as it gets.

Someone on this thread might know... I've managed to pick up a fantran of the second Ringu TV series (Saishuushou/'The Final Chapter') - has anyone ever seen a subbed version of either the first (Ring: Kanzenban, admittedly only a one-off rather than a series) or third series (Rasen: The Series)?

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 07:45 (nineteen years ago) link

the new sarah michelle gellar movie (remake of ju-on) is directed by takashi shimizu!!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:36 (nineteen years ago) link

I should be going on friday martin.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Great! I'll go on Friday too!

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:52 (nineteen years ago) link

cool, see you there.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:57 (nineteen years ago) link

three months pass...

revive!

director mentioned upthread:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7943-1342630,00.html

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:22 (nineteen years ago) link

I am about to watch Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Cure". What should I expect?

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:27 (nineteen years ago) link

it is um... extreme

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:29 (nineteen years ago) link

I do not know if I will enjoy it, then. Is it like Takashi Miike? The jacket promises noir. I want noir.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:31 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah, it's kind of Noir. The most famous movie it's like is Seven, but more noir than that.

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:32 (nineteen years ago) link

anybody see "Thirteen Consecutive Slaughter" ?
The entire plot consists of this guy killing 13 women one after the other while free-jazz sax wails in the background. It was ok.

― Loose Translation: Sexy Dancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:30 (nineteen years ago) link

i have Visitor Q because someone loaned it to me and I never got around to watching it. Is it good? Will it unnerve me?

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:35 (nineteen years ago) link

No, haven't seen that one!

xpost

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:35 (nineteen years ago) link

Visitor Q is great if you're in the right mood. It's attempts to disturb you are pretty hilarious.

― Dan Quisenberry (deangulberry), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link

You just like it because it's Japanese.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link

it's good. if you can make it past the opening scene (which is disturbing, the sense of humor becomes more apparent.

it's just a nice story about the modern japanese every-family.

― (Jon L), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

Visitor Q is a very odd movie, really unpleasant to watch in places, but also hugely entertaining.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:55 (nineteen years ago) link

I am about to watch Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Cure". What should I expect?

the best movie ever!! well second best. but certianly the scariest. hook up your player to your stereo if you can because the soundtrakc is crazy like eraserhead.

― :| (....), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:39 (nineteen years ago) link

I watched akira kurosawa's 'throne of blood' today, strangely apposite that he should change the ending of macbeth so that the army do not advance on the fort and kill the macbeth character but (haha naively hopeful? idealistic?! sigh) he has the mad crazy tyrant's own troops revolt and gun him down in a hail of arrows, eventually (haha holy figurative guacamole batman!) being speared through the throat (or voice-box) literally 'silenced'. would that republicans watched kurosawa.

― cºzen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:43 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought the film ok by the way and I'm not normally trapped into such ropey reductive mathematical nuts bolts brass tacks addition and subtraction analysis of films but I thought it kinda apt just this once to say. you know, it stuck in my craw.

― cºzen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:44 (nineteen years ago) link

you've changed.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:45 (nineteen years ago) link

I can change back.

― cºzen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:46 (nineteen years ago) link

damn we should have watched that on halloween rather than the comparatively unfrightening albeit good The Dead Zone

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:48 (nineteen years ago) link

It wasn't as good as I remembered, frankly.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:50 (nineteen years ago) link

you've changed.

― cºzen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:51 (nineteen years ago) link

a private eye who is flamboyantly gay in a prussian way

I wish I understood what this meant.

xpost I know

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:51 (nineteen years ago) link

imagine john banner from hogans heroes channelign alan cumming and youre almost there. have you seen cure already?

― :| (....), Friday, 5 November 2004 00:04 (nineteen years ago) link

No, still at work.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Friday, 5 November 2004 00:08 (nineteen years ago) link

http://www.buddycom.com/dinos/images/trexruns.gif

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 5 November 2004 00:46 (nineteen years ago) link

I just watched Kinji Fukasaku's Blackmail Is My Life, it was a lot of fun, even if a couple of parts didn't make sense (which I think was a problem with the subtitling). I need to get the other two DVDs of his that just got released.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Sunday, 7 November 2004 08:47 (nineteen years ago) link

And Ozu makes it hard for me to remember if I've seen a particular film, since every other one is called 'Late Spring' or 'Early Autumn' or 'That Bit Just Before Winter When All The Leaves Have Finally Fallen But It's Not That Cold Yet' or something like that.

Late Spring is just sooooo good. I can understand why younger directors rebeled against Ozu because he was very *tranquil* but still Ozu rules! :-)

We also saw Audition which wasn't perfect but still very good. Also about Japanese society.

― jesus nathalie (nathalie), Sunday, 7 November 2004 10:10 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Pulse" has been released from Miramax Purgatory -- playing in a few cities, DVD shortly. I saw it 3 years ago, and a couple shots in particular haunts me still.

Prob'ly off to see Mizoguchi's "Sansho the Bailiff" tonight...

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 20:39 (eighteen years ago) link

I just sprung for the Criterion Ugetsu the other day.

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 20:46 (eighteen years ago) link

sansho is so great

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 21:02 (eighteen years ago) link

The 47 Ronin was on recently, but I didn't get around to watching it.

― k/l (Ken L), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 21:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Koji Wakamatsu's 'Go Go Second-Time Virgin' from 1969 is harsh stuff but worth tracking down if you like Miike's 'Audition' and 'Visitor Q'

I've been overdosing on the 3 DVD set of Toshio Matsumoto's Experimental Film Works 1961-1987. I can't believe I didn't know about this guy, utterly beautiful abstract film & video works all set to blazing period electronic scores -- expensive but worth it -- if you're only getting one, get Volume 2

― milton parker (Jon L), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 21:30 (eighteen years ago) link

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