Tag: Third Window

March 23, 2024 · 0 comments

by Jeremy Clarke. Deriving its odd title from a literal translation of the leads’ surnames, Katsuhito Ishii’s highly original gangster movie from 1998 is based on a familiar plot: a man runs off with the mob’s money, and a lady companion. Or, as pioneering French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard once put it: all you […]

August 9, 2023 · 0 comments

By Tom Wilmot. For those clued up on modern Japanese cinema, the name Katsuhito Ishii is sure to ring a bell. Renowned for his surreal imagery and off-kilter comedy, Ishii’s films range from the violent and zany to the soft and serene. However, while the director is most widely recognised for his work in live-action, […]

March 21, 2023 · 0 comments

By Tom Wilmot. It wasn’t so long ago that Gakuryu Ishii was a somewhat obscure figure in the West, despite being one of Japan’s most influential modern filmmakers. However, with the director’s seminal punk films Crazy Thunder Road (1980) and Burst City (1982) receiving stacked Blu-ray releases in recent years, Ishii is experiencing something of […]

February 6, 2023 · 2 comments

By Tom Wilmot. Writers tend to have a motif, an idea or theme that persists throughout their work, distinguishing their projects and allowing them to form an artistic identity. In the case of Makoto Ueda, this idea is one of time. The co-founder of the theatre group Europe Kikaku has toiled on many wonderous sci-fi […]

July 26, 2022 · 0 comments

By Tom Wilmot. Nearly fifty years after he re-emerged from the jungle, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda remains a fascinating and controversial figure. The World War II soldier famously surrendered in 1974, having held out on the small Filipino island of Lubang for the better part of thirty years, convinced that Japan’s conflict with the Allies was […]