Tag: film

January 13, 2016 · 0 comments

By Jasper Sharp. The term manga-esque is so readily applied to Japanese live-action cinema as to have little meaning beyond indicating the country of origin of the work or filmmaker in question. However, in the case of the iconic Seijun Suzuki the label seems apt, although Tom Vick wisely shies away from direct analogies to paint a […]

December 22, 2015 · 0 comments

By Jasper Sharp. Ask anyone what Japan’s greatest contribution to the world of film is, and few would offer “film itself” as an answer. Nevertheless, by the end of the twentieth century, one of the country’s best-known brands, Fujifilm, had successfully managed to corner the global market for raw print and negative stock with its […]

December 16, 2015 · 0 comments

By Justin Sevakis. Back in the 1990s Japan’s local TV industry churned out a number of interesting directors who have since become big names among Japanese film aficionados. Some of them, like Hirokazu Kore-eda (After Life, Nobody Knows), have become perennial favourites of festivals and film buffs all over the world. Others, such as Yukihiko […]

December 10, 2015 · 4 comments

By Andrew Osmond. “My sister’s death is an exact match with the novel,” Akiyuki Nosaka said in 1987, while his book Grave of the Fireflies was being turned into an anime film by Isao Takahata. “It was one week after the end of the war. At the countryside of Fukui prefecture where I was, it […]

December 7, 2015 · 0 comments

By Hugh David. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens on the immediate horizon, it is worth remembering how important the original Star Wars was in widening the Western audience for Japanese storytelling and action. American filmmaker George Lucas drew on a wide range of influences in bringing his third feature to the screen, including 1930s […]