Yagyu Conspiracy (Yagyu Ichizoku no Inbo)

[bmwracer]

Geezer wrote:

It's not reasonable to expect that level of stunt work in a once a year Taiga.

I suppose.

But you'd think they'd be at least decent...

[Geezer]

Quote:

But you'd think they'd be at least decent

Decent? Maaaan. I'm impressed when they don't poke their own eyes out with the prop swords!
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[bmwracer]

19 episodes polished off in no time... 20 to go.

Great stuff.

[shin2]

Geezer wrote:

Re: fight scenes in Taiga vs. Fight Scenes in in action movies and action based TV series. Ever hear of an actor named Yukio Kato? Young guy. Just getting into movies. He was cast in Shintaro Katsu's last "Zatoichi" movie and well... he just wasn't skilled enough. He was accidentally stabbed by Katsu's son, Ryuutaro Gan, and died in the hospital later that day. Ryuutaro Gan went to prison for a couple of years, not for murder, or Manslaughter, but for what the court ruled as Professional Negligence. By the standards of the profession (at that time) only well trained professional stuntmen should have been taking part in the fighting scenes. A young, inexperienced "actor" should never have been on the set during that fight. Jackie Chan, Sonny Chiba, Shintaro Katsu (Along with some studios that specialized in action movies) had their own teams of stunt men working with them in picture after picture. Teams that they paid. It's expensive to employ a stunt crew full time. When Samurai movies and TV shows went the way of the western in the U.S., it simply became too expensive for stars, (and some studios) to keep the teams on the payroll. It's not reasonable to expect that level of stunt work in a once a year Taiga.

I had heard about this tragic accident but did not know the name of the victim. I wonder if this was one reason why Katsu-shin's production company went belly-up?

I read where Chiba's JAC is still active, though operating under a different name. I don't know if Chiba himself is still running it however.

[bmwracer]

I keep forgetting to mention what great and dynamic theme the show has... It's well-orchestrated, powerful, and unmistakably Japanese.

Wish I had the soundtrack.

[Geezer]

shin2

I expect it played a part in the end of Shintaro's company. His son was supposed to take over, but instead he went to prison. Then, shortly thereafter, Katsu-shin began his losing battle with cancer.

But he was having trouble before that. Remember, Katsu-shin was supposed to make his big push internationally when he was cast as the lead in Akira Kurosawa's Kagamusha, but after he beat up Kurosawa and got canned from the movie (that's how Nakadai ended up getting the part) his career got a bit wobbly.

Wonderful actor. Terrific film maker. World class screw-up.

BMW

Drat. I've been rummaging through my boxes, but I can't find the movie I wanted to send you, so I'll just give you the title and let you see if you can find it.

It's a movie titled "Kamata Koshin-Kyoku", aka "The Fall Guy". It's from 1982 and it's the story of a lower level professional stunt man who is part of a star's stunt team.

Not a great movie, but a great look into the world of the stunt teams back in the hey day of Samurai and Cop TV shows and movies.

It's also a great chance to see Keiko Matsuzaka (The Mom in Yuki Nakama's Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta!) back in the day when she was one of the most beautiful women on the planet.
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[shin2]

Geezer wrote:

shin2 I expect it played a part in the end of Shintaro's company. His son was supposed to take over, but instead he went to prison. Then, shortly thereafter, Katsu-shin began his losing battle with cancer. But he was having trouble before that. Remember, Katsu-shin was supposed to make his big push internationally when he was cast as the lead in Akira Kurosawa's Kagamusha, but after he beat up Kurosawa and got canned from the movie (that's how Nakadai ended up getting the part) his career got a bit wobbly. Wonderful actor. Terrific film maker. World class screw-up. BMW Drat. I've been rummaging through my boxes, but I can't find the movie I wanted to send you, so I'll just give you the title and let you see if you can find it. It's a movie titled "Kamata Koshin-Kyoku", aka "The Fall Guy". It's from 1982 and it's the story of a lower level professional stunt man who is part of a star's stunt team. Not a great movie, but a great look into the world of the stunt teams back in the hey day of Samurai and Cop TV shows and movies. It's also a great chance to see Keiko Matsuzaka (The Mom in Yuki Nakama's Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta!) back in the day when she was one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

Re: the Kurosawa/Katsu dustup in Kagemusha, in Stuart Galbraith's book The Emperor and the Wolf (an interesting examination of the lives and careers of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune), Katsu was fired after he brought his own camera crew on the set to shoot video of his scenes which he would study to determine how he should play his character. Kurosawa objected, Katsu stormed off the set, and Kurosawa fired him. That was a shame since Katsu-shin would have brought a lot more to the role than Nakadai did.
Re: The Fall Guy. I remember seeing this movie a number of years ago. It's a Kinji Fukasaku flick. You're right, Geezer; it's not a great movie, but as I recall it had some humorous scenes and is one of the few movies to look at the role of a stuntman.

[Geezer]

shin2

Quote:

Stuart Galbraith's book The Emperor and the Wolf (an interesting examination of the lives and careers of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune), Katsu was fired after he brought his own camera crew on the set to shoot video of his scenes which he would study to determine how he should play his character. Kurosawa objected, Katsu stormed off the set, and Kurosawa fired him.

I like that version. Makes Katsu-shin sound more like he was just... you know... trying to do his best.

In the version I read a couple of years ago...

Katsu-shin, ego maniac to the last, thought that Kurasawa was an old hack living off his reputation from days gone by.

He did bring his lighting and film crew onto the set, not to get a look at what he'd done, but to re-shoot his days scenes after Kurasawa had left.

When Kurasawa found out about it, he confronted Katsu-shin and the two got into a fist fight. The result... Kurasawa got a broken nose, and Katsu-shin got his butt canned.

Since firing Katsu-shin, and flushing all the filming they'd done so far -- so that they could reshoot with Nakadai -- would have cost a fortune (and remember, this was at a time when Kurasawa was struggling for money) I lean toward the idea that Katsu-shin did something far more offensive than simply video taping his own performance so that he could study it.
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[shin2]

Geezer wrote:

shin2 Quote: Stuart Galbraith's book The Emperor and the Wolf (an interesting examination of the lives and careers of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune), Katsu was fired after he brought his own camera crew on the set to shoot video of his scenes which he would study to determine how he should play his character. Kurosawa objected, Katsu stormed off the set, and Kurosawa fired him. I like that version. Makes Katsu-shin sound more like he was just... you know... trying to do his best. In the version I read a couple of years ago... Katsu-shin, ego maniac to the last, thought that Kurasawa was an old hack living off his reputation from days gone by. He did bring his lighting and film crew onto the set, not to get a look at what he'd done, but to re-shoot his days scenes after Kurasawa had left. When Kurasawa found out about it, he confronted Katsu-shin and the two got into a fist fight. The result... Kurasawa got a broken nose, and Katsu-shin got his butt canned. Since firing Katsu-shin, and flushing all the filming they'd done so far -- so that they could reshoot with Nakadai -- would have cost a fortune (and remember, this was at a time when Kurasawa was struggling for money) I lean toward the idea that Katsu-shin did something far more offensive than simply video taping his own performance so that he could study it.

Geezer,

I like your version a lot better. Kinda reminds me of that famous line from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: "When the legend becomes a fact, print the legend."

Katsu-shin was indeed an egomaniac of the highest order with a gluttonous appetite for drink, drugs, food, and women, but damn, did he know how to entertain audiences.

[bmwracer]

Uh, let's get back on topic...

A very young Sanada Hiroyuki joins in th Ura Yagyu in Episode 29,

[Geezer]

Sorry Beemer

I knew I'd gotten off topic but I was enjoying the chat.

Won't happen again.

Okay, it will... but I'll feel bad about it.
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