I agree with shin2. The Zatiochi movies are "pretty formulaic".
The thing is, if you like the formula, you pretty much like them all.
One of the things I like about the series is that while sticking with the formula, Shintaro Katsu brought something new to the character in each movie.
Some were very serious, some melodramatic, many were comedies. In some he was a noble wayfarer, in others he was revealed to be a degenerate gambler, in some his problem was that he drank way too much, in others he was just pissed off.
But they were always different sides to the same personality.
Thanks, Shurayuki-hime for finding the titles. Turns out, I"ve either seen all of those, or own them... but it's great to see there's still interest in these movies.
Any one of Katsu's movies makes mince meat out of that piece of dookie ol'Beat put out.
Shintaro Katsu brought a strong sense of humanity to the Zatoichi character that is completely absent in the Beat Takeshi version. People who like the Zatoichi films like them because they like the character so much. Takeshi's Zatoichi is a killing machine, nothing more nothing less.
I recently viewed two really good movies. One was When the Last Sword is Drawn, directed by Yojiro Takita. It's already been recommended by others in this forum. A 2002 film, it's about two rivals who were part of the Shinsengumi group. I found it a bit amusing that a couple of the main actors in this movie also appeared (albeit playing different roles) in the Taiga drama Shinsengumi! The other movie was a 1987 Yoji Yamada film, Final Take. It's about the Japanese movie industry in the 1930's. Like Yamada's many other films, it's a sentimental, character-driven story that effectively plays on the emotions of the viewer. Both these films can be considered dramas, even tragedies to a certain extent, but they both also contain a number of humorous scenes as well.
Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Posts: 456 Location: Finland Country:
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 4:33 am Post subject:
That Yakuza Papers box set looks awesome. But it's pretty damn expensive too. Is it worth the price? I've heard a lot about the first film (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) but are the other four (Deadly Fight In Hiroshima, Proxy War, Police Tactics and Final Episode) any good?
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 700 Location: Hawaii! Country:
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 4:29 pm Post subject:
i had a chance to watch kurosawa's 'madadayo (not yet)'. i thought it was much better than 'yume (dreams)", but it didn't have quite the same flavor as his classic samurai movies. however, it was a pretty nice story about loyalty and appreciation.
Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 3286 Location: Ten Carat 5-19-1 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012, Japan Country:
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 12:12 pm Post subject:
watched... some kurosawa movies....
as of now my fave are:
Rashomon.....
Yojimbo...
Sanjuro.....
Kagemusha....
Dreams...... "Some says life is hard, but those were just talks.... in fact life is good.... it's exciting"
Stray Dog is in my to-be-watched movies....
Darse Uzala... was quie boring ive only spent 30 mins watching it
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 700 Location: Hawaii! Country:
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject:
zchendevlemh: those were some really good ones. you should also try watching 'ran'. and, of course, seven samurai. i just couldn't enjoy 'dreams', sorry. had no idea what was going on.
never watched kagemusha or dersu uzala. maybe one day soon.
hey, you've got some cuties in your avatar and signature file! ha!
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 3125 Location: S.F. Bay Area Country:
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:30 am Post subject:
I"ve been having a little Japanese movie festival of my own for the last week, so I thought I'd blather about the films I"ve just seen.
Whiteout. 2000 Directed by Wakamatsu Setsurou.
Staring Oda Yuji and Matsushima Nanako
Take the scripts from "Die Hard" and "Cliffhanger", mix them up and you've got "Whiteout". The movie was well done, but it had already been done well three or four times before this version.
Oh, for the Matsushima fans... she's in it. But you could print all of her lines on an index card with magic marker. She pretty much just sits in the corner through the whole movie, looking nervous.
Worth seeing if it doesn't cost you much.
"Kakashi' (aka "Scarecrow") 2001 Directed by Tsuruta Norio
Staring Nonami Maho and Shibasaki Kou.
Another disappointing Japanese Horror movie. Great if all you want is a series of close-ups of Maho's face. It's a great face, but a still photo would have served as well.
Shibasaki is billed as the second lead, but she's only got two scenes, two or three lines, and she's always either hidden in shadows, or standing still with her hair covering her face. Dumb.
Worth seeing if it comes on TV.
"Sekaino Chushinde, Ai wo Sakebu" (aka; "Crying Out of Love, At the Center of the World") 2004 Directed by Yukisada Isao
Staring Shibasaki Kou and Osawa Takao.
It's the story of a guy remembering the girl he loved in High School, mostly told in flash backs.
The real stars of the movie were Nagasawa Masami (Aki) and Moriyama Mirai (Saku) who played the young lovers.
Yamazaki Tsutomu has a small but pivitol role in the movie.
Really, worth seeing.
"Go" 2001 As with the movie above, this was directed by Yukisada Isaol
Staring Shibasaki Kou and Kubozuk Yosuke.
first: Hey! A Shibasaki movie where Shibasaki actually has a big part! She has lines! She smiles! She moves the plot along! Amazing!
jholic and I talked a little bit about the rift between the Japanese and Koreans on this thread a couple of pages ago.
This would be a good movie to watch if you're interested in what the Japanese / Korean relationship is, on a personal level in Japan.
It's the story of a Japanese born Korean kid, struggling to find his way in a society that doesn't want him.
The movie is fast, sharp, funny, heartbreaking coming of age story.
The movie also stars Yamazaki Tsutomu (star of Tampopo, The Funeral, et.al.) as the kid's father. And he does pretty much steal the movie.
Really worth seeing. _________________
Manga is to Literature
what Graffiti is to Art
Last edited by Geezer on Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:08 am; edited 1 time in total
Did a double dose of Ozu Yasujiro the past two nights: his original, silent A Story of Floating Weeds, and the 1959 color remake, Floating Weeds.
Though none of Ozu's works have Kurosawa dynamism, they're masterpieces in their own right... All of his films have a calm, cerebral and interesting style about them... Great stuff.
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 700 Location: Hawaii! Country:
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:04 am Post subject:
Geez: thanks for those movie reviews. they sound interesting, and i think i may have one or two of them in avi format somewhere.
in any case, i can't call it an international film festival, but i ran out of kurosawa films to watch, so i'm starting on miyazaki films (anime director). i just watched one of his first ones - nausicaa: valley of the winds. it had a lot of social connotations and probably a good movie to show your kids (even though they may not understand some parts).
so i'm starting on miyazaki films (anime director). i just watched one of his first ones - nausicaa: valley of the winds. it had a lot of social connotations and probably a good movie to show your kids (even though they may not understand some parts).
This is an R2/R3 release, right??
The R1 release for Nausicaa, Porco Rosso, and The Cat Returns is February 22.
Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Posts: 3286 Location: Ten Carat 5-19-1 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012, Japan Country:
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:36 pm Post subject:
jholic wrote:
zchendevlemh: those were some really good ones. you should also try watching 'ran'. and, of course, seven samurai. i just couldn't enjoy 'dreams', sorry. had no idea what was going on.
never watched kagemusha or dersu uzala. maybe one day soon.
hey, you've got some cuties in your avatar and signature file! ha!
the dvd store near the office had run-out of stocks of Ran....
hope all of Akira's 30 movies will be available in dvds
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 700 Location: Hawaii! Country:
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:28 am Post subject:
bmw: yeah, my friend got me the nausicaa from studio ghibili in japan. i heard of 'the cat returns', but was it a full-feature film? i thought it was just a short clip done by him; everyone asked him to do a full film, but he declined? am i confusing this with another film?
zchendevlemh wrote:
the dvd store near the office had run-out of stocks of Ran....
hope all of Akira's 30 movies will be available in dvds
i just rent mine from the library. a lot of the kurosawa films are being picked up by the 'criterion collection', but i don't think all of them are.
bmw: yeah, my friend got me the nausicaa from studio ghibili in japan.
Cool. That's supposed to be the best release. And without all of that Disney crapola.
Although I've read that the Japanese release of Spirited Away wasn't too good: the picture has this reddish tinge to it for some reason...
Quote:
i heard of 'the cat returns', but was it a full-feature film? i thought it was just a short clip done by him; everyone asked him to do a full film, but he declined? am i confusing this with another film?
I'm a big fan of Koji Yakusho..just wondering does anybody here have ever watched "Doppelganger". I intend to buy the DVD since it's out now at Amazon.com.
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