An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman Read More »
Tag Archives: Misako Watanabe
Youth of the Beast / Yajû no seishun (1963) Seijun Suzuki, Jô Shishido, Misako Watanabe, Tamio Kawachi, Action, Crime, Mystery
Joe Shishido plays a tough guy with a secret agenda. His violent behavior comes to the attention of a yakuza boss who immediately recruits him. Read More »
Sanada fûunroku / Sasuke and His Comedians (1963) Tai Katô, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Misako Watanabe, Wataru Ômae, Comedy, Fantasy, History
Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth…Outrageous but emotionally affective, the film represents the youth culture whose causes it proclaims, taking the historical facts of the Osaka siege and the long-standing legend of the Sanada clan…
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Kwaidan (1964) Masaki Kobayashi, Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Art-house, Fantasy, Horror
After more than a decade of sober political dramas and socially minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically for this rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories. Featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography, these haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted.
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