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Keiko Tsushima (1926 – 2012)

Keiko Tshushima, a Japanese actress starred in many films and TV during 1950’s to 2000’s, died of cancer on August 1. She was 86. Tsushima is probably best known for her role of Shino in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”, which is considered one of the masterpieces among Japanese cinema. Other works include, Ozu’s “The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice”, Yoshimura’s “The Ball at the Anjo House” and Imai’s “Himeyuri Lily Tower”. She married Ichio Mori, the son of Iwao Mori, the executive at Toho cinema in 1958. Around this time, she started to appear in Japanese TV dramas more …

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JAPANESE FILMS

Sight & Sound; The Greatest Films of All Time

Sight & Sound released its “The Greatest Films of All Time 2012” on its website. The first place went to Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”, while “Citizen Kane” slipped down to second. Ozu’s Tokyo Story made the third place. Separate poll by film directors placed Ozu’s film the first. Sight & Sound Top 10 1. Vertigo (Hitchcock) 2. Citizen Kane (Welles) 3. Tokyo Story (Ozu) 4. La Règle du jeu (Renoir) 5. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (Murnau) 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick) 7. The Searchers (Ford) 8. Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov) 9. The Passion of Joan of Arc …

 
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Daisuke Ito’s Masterpiece Discovered

The print of “Issatu-Tasho-Ken (一殺多生剣)”, Daisuke Ito’s 1929 film, was discovered and is scheduled to be screened at Kyoto Film Festival in October. Probably it is not a familiar title to you; even the name of the director, Daisuke Ito, is not usually among “all-time great Japanese directors” list. You might have seen the still photograph above in some of the Japanese cinema history books, though. The film was produced during the pinnacle of Jidaigeki cinema, late 1920s and early 30s, and Daisuke Ito was the central figure of the era. The reason the late 20s being the most productive …

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