'BOBTAIL' REVIEW / JAPANESE FILMS

Kaze Tachinu (2013)

We all know that Hayao Miyazaki is deeply obsessed with airplanes, blimps, or any machinery of aviation. This obsession reveals itself as various flying objects in his works. Sometimes, they are merely products of his imagination, such as Möwe in NAISICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, the castle in HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, or Kiki’s broom in KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, but in many cases, his obsession with early aviation history manifests, as amphibians and speed planes in PORCO ROSSO. He likes to draw large biplanes, triplanes, or any other exotic airplanes from the first half of 20th century, paying extra …

 
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New Film by Hayao Miyazaki

KAZE TACIHNU (風立ちぬ, The Wind Has Risen), the new film by Hayao Miyazaki in 5 years, opened in theaters today. Miyazaki, the creator of notable anime films such as MY NEIGHBOR, TOTORO and SPIRITED AWAY, wrote and directed this story of the real airplane designer, Jiro Horikoshi (1903 – 1982). Jiro Horikoshi revolutionized fighter airplanes of Japanese Imperial Army and Navy, the most notable example being Mitsubishi A6M carrier fighter, ‘Zero’. The story follows Horikoshi’s life in the time of Kanto Earthquake, subsequent totalitarian regime and the war. Miyazaki, an advocate of the Japanese Constitution, has been especially vocal against …

 
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Ozu’s color films to be restored

According to Tokyo Shinbun, NFC (National Film Center) in Tokyo announced the plan to restore Yosujiro Ozu’s four color films, such as AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON and LATE AUTUMN, using the state-of-art digital technology. These films are already showing some decay and fading. To restore the color of these films, it is necessary to collect the knowledge of the people who were involved in Ozu’s production directly. Archivists are alarmed of the loss of such knowledge, since these ex-staffs are becoming too old. This program is the part of 110th anniversary of Ozu, and these restored versions of the four films …

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