All articles by Mark Schilling – Page 9
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Reviews
Bright Future (Akarui Mirai)
Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Jap. 2002. 115 mins.Bright Future is more arthouse than midnight screening material, but its style and concerns are vintage Kiyoshi Kurosawa - and it should interest his growing international fan base, especially when they hear that a poisonous jellyfish is a central character. Although the film may ...
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Reviews
Samurai Resurrection (Makai Tensho)
Dir: Hideyuki Hirayama. Japan. 2003. 106minsHideyuki Hirayama's Samurai Resurrection has the flamboyant costumery, bravura swordplay and super-powered trickery of many a Hollywood sci-fi or fantasy epic, but served up with a distinctive Japanesque spin. It may not be ideal remake material, unless the re-makers figure out how to Westernise a ...
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News
Toshiba takes over leading Japanese distributor
Japan's Amuse Pictures, whose recent releases include Roman Polanski's Oscar winning The Pianist, has been sold to Toshiba Corp by parent company Amuse Inc. According to the terms of the deal Amuse will transfer 67 percent of its Amuse Pictures shares to Toshiba on April 1 and the remainder in ...
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Japan takes film sequel route
The sequel to splatterfest Battle Royale is set to wrap shooting next month, one of a string of high profile sequels in production in Japan at the moment. In fact, so many sequels are shooting or preparing to film in Japan, that some are asking whether the country is set ...
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Reviews
The Grudge
Dir: Takashi Shimizu. Japan. 2003. 92mins.The Grudge (Juon), the scare-a-minute hit by newcomer Takashi Shimizu, is the latest Japanese horror film to join the Tokyo-to-Hollywood parade, with Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures picking up the remake rights and hiring Shimizu to direct the US version. It is hardly surprising, given ...
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News
Twilight Samurai in the limelight
The Twilight Samurai, Yoji Yamada's drama about the home and love life of a poor-but-honest samurai, walked away with 12 of the 13 Japan Academy Awards.The film, which is still ranked in the Japanese box office top ten in its 18th week on release, took the Best Picture prize, while ...
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News
Japan pushes Lord Of The Rings to the brink of $500m outside the US
In its first three days on release in Japan, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers grossed $9.66m (Y1.13bn) from 800,000 admissions. This represents a 25% improvement over the opening of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.The success brings the second installment of Peter Jackson's ...
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Tokyo international film festival gets new head
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (pictured), president of Kadokawa-Daiei Pictures, has been appointed general producer of the Tokyo International Film Festival. Kadokawa succeeds Michiyasu Kawauchi, who produced the 2001 and 2002 editions of the festival, and whose brief reign was marked by controversy, particularly when three films were disqualified from the competition section ...
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Japan's Fair Trade Commission investigates Fox
Officials of Japan's Fair Trade Commission have launched an investigation into Twentieth Century Fox (Far East) on suspicion of violating Japan's Antitrust Act. On January 6 FTC officials visited Fox offices in Tokyo and other locations to gather evidence regarding charges that Fox forced exhibitors to drop discounts on tickets ...
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News
Box office, admissions fall in Japan, despite increase in screens
Japanese admissions and box office fell slightly in 2002, despite a rise in the number of screens, according to figures compiled by the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan. Without a mega-hit like Spirited Away -- which broke all Japanese box office records in 2001, admissions dipped 1.5% year-on-year to ...
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News
Toshiba to buy Japan's Amuse Pictures
Toshiba Corp. has announced the purchase of Amuse Pictures, the film and video distribution subsidiary of Amuse Inc. Toshiba will acquire 67% of Amuse Pictures shares on April 1 and the remainder by October. Also, Amuse Pictures will transfer its 73.5% stake in Amuse Soft Sales, a video and DVD ...
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Reviews
The Thirteen Steps (13 Kaidan)
Dir: Masahiko Nagasawa. Jap. 2002. 122mins.In the past, Japanese audiences have flocked to Hollywood Death Row films like Dead Man Walking and The Green Mile - and local producers have taken note. Now Masahiko Nagasawa has directed The Thirteen Steps (13 Kaidan), which tells the story of two men who ...
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News
Takeshi Kitano eyes blind swordsman project
Takeshi Kitano will direct and star in a feature film version of the Japanese Zatoichi film series, playing the title role of the blind masseur and master swordsman. The original series of films, starring Shintaro Katsu, began in 1962 and ran for 26 episodes, until 1989. It has long been ...
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Planning group proposes Studio City Tokyo
A planning group that includes David Fincher and John Woo has compiled a report calling for the construction of a studio complex in the Tokyo Bay area by 2008.Called Studio City Tokyo, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the complex in the Harumi District will include 32 studios for TV ...
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Reviews
Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei)
Dir: Yoji Yamada. Japan. 2002. 129mins.The winner of a slew of film awards at home and a competition selection at Berlin next month, The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) may finally propel director Yoji Yamada into the international spotlight, after a long and highly successful career. Ironically, the film is in ...
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News
Direction of Battle Royale sequel passes from father to son
Kinji Fukasaku, whose controversial dystopian thriller Battle Royale was one of the big local hits of 2001, died on Sunday Jan 12.Direction of the sequel has passed to his son Kenta .Fukasaku, 72, began principal photography of Battle Royale 2 in Tokyo on December 16, but soon after complained of ...
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News
Twilight Samurai scoops top Japanese film prize
Yoji Yamada's The Twilight Samurai has been voted the best Japanese film of 2002 by the Kinema Junpo critics' poll, while scooping five other awards.Considered the most prestigious honor in the Japanese film industry, the Kinema Junpo poll is now celebrating its 76th year. The best foreign film, according the ...
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New Hayao Miyazaki film heads Toho line-up
Three new works by Japanese animation powerhouses head Toho's line-up for 2003-2004. Leading the line-up is Howl's Moving Castle, the latest film by Hayao Miyazaki, whose Spirited Away set an all-time Japanese box office record last year and is being tipped for an Academy Award nomination. Based on a 1986 ...
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News
Blissfully Yours delights Tokyo FILMeX
Tokyo FILMeX awarded its top prize, the Kodak Vision Award, to Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Blissfully Yours at its competition awards ceremony on December 8. A drama about an unusual love triangle that develops between Myanmarese immigrants in Thailand, the film was also winner of the Un Certain Regard section at this ...
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Gaga takes over veteran Japanese film magazine
Gaga Crossmedia Marketing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaga Communications, has purchased a majority stake in Kinema Jumpo, Japan's oldest and most highly regarded film magazine. Founded in 1919, Kinema Jumpo has long played a leading role in promoting film culture in Japan. Though best known for its Kinema Jumpo ...