Category Drama

17th Century, Allegory, Children, Cinema, Drama, Feudalism, Japan, Samurai, Uncategorized, Violence, War

Swords of Death (Shinken shōbu; 真剣勝負), 1971

Photo of a young Japanese woman in period dress, looking at the camera and shouting

Other titles: Miyamoto Musashi VI, Death Match; Swords of Doom; Battle of Life or Death; Serious Game (alternative English titles); Duel with Real Swords, Real Sword Fight (literal English titles); Duel à mort [Duel to the Death] (alternate French title);…

RebelJack
February 20, 2022

1930s, Capitalism, Cinema, Depression, Domestic drama, Drama, Japan, Silent Film, Silent Movie, Uncategorized

Crown of Life (Seimei no kanmuri, 生命の冠), 1936

Two modern Japanese women, a young girl and a middle-aged housewife, in traditional dress looking solemnly at someone beyond camera range

The Crown of Life (alternate English title) Production Company Nikkatsu Tamagawa (Chōfu) Scenarist Yagi Yasutarō Source Yamamoto Yūzō (play) Cinematographer Yokota Tatsuyuki Performers Oka Jōji (Arimura Kotarō); Takihana Hisako (Masako, his wife); Izome Shirō (Kinjirō, his younger brother); Hara Setsuko…

RebelJack
January 30, 2022

18th Century, Capitalism, Cinema, Drama, Japan, Madness, masterpiece, Prostitution, Tokyo, Tragedy, Uncategorized, Yoshiwara

Hero of the Red-Light District (Yōtō monogatari: hana no Yoshiwara hyakunin-giri, 妖刀物語／花の吉原百人斬り), 1960

A facially disfigured Japanese man in feudal clothes looks at something with horror, while touching his face with his fingers

Killing in Yoshiwara; Yoshiwara: The Pleasure Quarter; Tale of Strange Swords (alternate English titles); Meurtre à Yoshiwara (alternate French title); Cursed Sword Story: Flower of Yoshiwara, Hundreds Killed (approximate literal English title) Production Company Toei (Kyoto) Scenarist Yoda Yoshikata Source…

RebelJack
January 16, 2022

1950s, Buddhism, Cinema, Class, Drama, Japan, Koreans, Mining, Race, Uncategorized

The Eleventh Hour (Dotanba;どたんば), 1957

A group of men, most with bicyles, gather around their leader in a field, while a mine is visible in the background

Other titles: The Scaffold, They Are Buried Alive (alternate English titles) Production Company Tōei (Tokyo) Scenarists Hashimoto Shinobu and Uchida Tomu Source Kikushima Ryūzō (book) and television film Dotanba (1956) Cinematographer Fujii Shizuka Art Director Mori Mikio Music Kosugi Taiichirō…