Mamoru Oshii 6
Anime Architecture
By Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. If you were hoping for Anime Architecture at the House of Illustration to show a futurists’ view of architecture, you’ll be disappointed. It’s the subtitle, Backgrounds of Japan, where the show’s true focus lies. This is not an exhibition of design, but rather of scenery, highlighting the background illustrator’s craft. It is […]
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
by Jeremy Clarke. Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind – rescued from a refugee boat many years ago and cyber-enhanced to be the perfect soldier. Only her mind remains; the rest of her is artificial, putting her in a unique position as society faces a new threat. Cyber warfare has evolved to […]
Living Life Live
By Andrew Osmond. This month, nostalgia’s really not what it used to be; it’s been tweaked. Two huge Hollywood movies are rolling out with lavish effects and female stars (Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson). Both are remakes of 1990s films that gained iconic stature. In particular, the trailers for both new films feature numerous shot-for-shot recreations […]
Seijun Suzuki 1923-2017
The legendary director Seijun Suzuki, who died on 13th February, is best known in the West for such quirky, idiosyncratic works as Youth of the Beast, Kanto Wanderer and Tokyo Drifter. These 1960s B-movie genre pictures playfully riffed on the “borderless action” mash-ups of gangster films, youth movies, musicals and westerns fostered by the Nikkatsu […]
Hiroyuki Okiura: The Story So Far
Andy Hanley on the director of Letter to Momo. When it comes to well-known anime film directors, it’s easy to pigeon-hole them in the expectation that their works will adhere to a particular genre or style – mention Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Hosoda or Makoto Shinkai, and most fans of the medium will instantly be able […]