japanese influence in Hollywood 2004

[gearman]

As I watched the trailer for "Kill Bill" I was shocked to see the Japanese girl dressed in a school girl uniform fighting....This reminds me of my wife.(Haruko Sagara/Japanese actress )
She did a tv show in the 80's called "sukebandeka" ( can research on the net) I thought this was cool and made me wonder when japan was going show more good directors and actors debut in America...such as Last Samurai...Japan has many good actors and directors who think Japan is not supporting them in film. I am glad to see more of the Japanese film makers heading to *Hollywood. I have been working with many good directors from Japan over *the years and had asked them why??? They say Japan is such a trendy place , that they(audience) only want the younger actors for films.They also say they have no talent. Also Japan doesnt get the support like Hollywood for permits and location approvals...I must say there is a list of many good film makers in japan and I * hope they make their rows more in the US.........anybody have a favorite japanese flick they like to to talk about????or actor????director???besides Kurosawa???

[seantree]

I am a huge fan of Japanese and Chinese cinema. I personally believe that actors/directors hailing from those countries should stay where they are. Sure the oppurtunities may be larger in the U.S. , but when it comes down to it most of the films they create over here are washed out compared to the films they did overseas. Take John Woo for example, one of my favorite directors. He comes to the U.S. and his films are not even close to those he created while in China. Jet Li is another example. His foreign films are great, and have some of the most memorable fight scenes ever seen in them, but after coming to the U.S. he gets stuck making hip hop kung fu movies? I guess it boils down to he U.S. audience not being ready for a film like "Kung fu cult master" or "New Legend of Shaolin." As for japanese cinema (gotta stay on topic) I like Takashi mike (ichi the killer) and am looking forward to this film http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/trailers/casshern_large.mov
as you can see I haven't seen as many Japanese films as I have Chinese, but I'm working on it. Another thing that irks me about Chinese film coming to the U.S. is the way studios treat them. Take Shaolin Soccer for example, a great comedy/kung fu movie, but Miramax is editing it to seem like an action film? They are also dubbing it? ugh, for now I'll import my asian cinema, thank you.

[strancali]

you guys should try and rent the film "HERO" starring jet li. You want to see some beautiful work? watch this one. I'm not big on watching movies where i have to read the subtitles but this movie is one of the most incredible films i've have seen in awhile. talk about cinematography! a must see, trust me on this!

[BLWolf]

Alright, I'll trust you. I just put "Hero" on my Netflix queue; the only problem is that it is not available in DVD quite yet. :(

[strancali]

BLWolf, you need to see this movie in its best resolutions. Just wait for the DVD or better yet search google and buy it it's worth it. We rented it from a local chinese video house and it was a DVD so i know its available. I love the look of the whole movie, very well made.

[strancali]

Here's one place to buy it:
http://www.smartcart.com/kungfunet/index.cgi?item_num=15475

[BLWolf]

Cool, I'm excited to check it out. If it's available on DVD, then Netflix just doesn't have it yet even though it shows up on their site. I'll probably rent it before I decide on purchasing it. Thanks for the link; I appreciate it!

[gearman]

kungfuk?..im talking Japanese instead of Chinese..the Chinese have been very sucessful in Hollywood..but seldom Japanese..some unreal marshall arts actors/ Yoshio Harada/sanada hiroyuki these guys for years have been doing unreal films in Japan. I hate when you have asian actors talkin to each other in English, since there is no translation for some asian terms it sounds weird.. I dont mind the sub titles... ;D

[Jive]

My all time favorite Japanese movie is "Waterboys". *Of all my DVDs, it has been the only one that I was willing to pay $50 for (had to import it from Japan). *It's a great fun movie and it's based on a true story! *I never get tired of it. *The 2nd disc in the DVD set also includes a surprising amount of backstory and sidestories of different characters from the film (even some very small characters). *It really adds to film to see the story of one character branch off from where the film left them into an entire (mini) story in their own right! :)

Another great Japanese film is called "Ping Pong". It's great movie about...ping pong ::).*Some have referred to it as the "Shaoling Soccer of Japan" even tho it really doesn't delve into the whole special-fx-laden gameplay. *The movie is not anything of a spectacle and the characters are not extremely well rounded, but it hits upon one of the many typical themes in japanese stories-- the hidden hero who is revealed in the final moment. *Also, I love table tennis, so this movie is entirely a joy for me.

I recently saw a quirky, typically japanese film called "Kikujiro", staring Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi). *I just happened upon it on TV while I was sick a few weeks ago. *It's about a yakuza who decides to help some little kid find his mom (that's all I'm going to tell *;)). *Great movie, I need to find it and buy it :)

There's so many great films in Japanese cinema that I couldn't even begin to name all of the other great one's, for it would take too long! :) *I am also a fan of japanese dramas (tho I have never seen "Sukeban Deka"), as they use interlaced video but are much more cinematic (in scope and story) than the majority of american television shows. *I have learned much from them.

[BLWolf]

In my opinion the greatest Japanese films center around Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Gamera, and those dudes. I just can't get enough. Although, I will admit that I was thrown off by "King Kong vs. Godzilla" because King Kong is supposed to be only 40 feet tall whereas Godzilla is around 400 feet tall; I was like, "WTF?" But then, with movies you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief and go with it.





J/K btw

[Barry_Green]

I heard there were two endings to Godzilla vs. King Kong; in the American version they let King Kong win but in the original japanese version it's the lizard all the way...

[BLWolf]

I haven't heard that before, but it makes perfect sense that they would do that. However, I think that in real life Godzilla would beat the shite out of King Kong.

Speaking of King Kong, I'm sure that everyone knows that a remake of KK is what Peter Jackson is doing next. And, hopefully after that we will see Mr. Jackson make "The Hobbit" if the lawyers for Newline and MGM can reach and agreement.

[J.R. Hudson]

I am hoping and expecting KING KONG to kick major ass.

[BLWolf]

I have no doubt that Mr. Jackson can pull it off.

I'm still amazed at the logistics and Herculean effort that went into filming the three LotR pictures at the same time. In the interviews and Behind the Scenes footage that I saw, Peter Jackson never seemed stressed about it (although I'm sure there were times when he wanted to light his hair on fire).

[Roy42]

Mamoru Oshii is my favorite Japanese director. He's known in the U.S. pretty much only for his popular animated film "Ghost in the Shell", but he's done a lot of live-action work that isn't known about here in America (out of these, my favorites are "Avalon" and "Stray Dog"). He also did a very interesting film called "Talking Head" that basically described his view of the japanese film and animation industries through a slightly comedic and highly metaphorical perspective.

[Woodson]

My fave Japanese filmmaker is Takishi Miike.
Audition, Ichi the Killer, Dead or Alive are my fave of his films.
Foreign films rule!!! They kick ass compary to Hollywood films.

[n0signal]

*laughs* I've had to buy Koroshiya Ichi (Ichi the Killer) on DVD recently, as I'm doing a presentation on it at University. The presentation is about censorship and sexual violence, with this as a case study; the uncut version is spectacularly grim!!

Yeah, Takashi Miike is a great director. My other favourites from Japan are the afore mentioned Kitano "Beat" Takeshi and Shinya Tsukamoto, who are both contemporary auteurs in the truest sense of the word! Check out recent releases from both of them, respectively Zatoichi and Snake of June. ;D

[Guest]

I like the old guys, especially Shohei Imamura. 'The Pornographers' is great great film and I haven't seen 'The Ballad of Narayama' in over 8 years but it was such a viseral experience it seems like I just watched it last week. I recently bought 'Ecstacy of the Angels' by Koji Wakamatsu and was floored by it. It's just such a wierd mixture of elements. Is this guy an island or are others doing something similar? My only reference to this Japanese political/sexual content stuff is Yukio Mishima, but his work is so beautifully clean and ordered while 'Ecstasy' is so dirty and wild. Could you point me toward other filmmakers old and new that may be influenced by or exploring similar themes as these guys? Thanks

[gearman]

cool..keep them comin in.....

[Michael_Lieberman]

Look no further than three terrific films influenced by Japan or Japanese films: Demonlover (Olivier Assayas), Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola), and Kill Bill (Tarantino).

I am a bigger fan of Demonlover, which challenges the image-exchange business, specifically the Franco-Japanese exchange of money and Hentai porno images. The film really captures the connections between pornography, video game violence, and the Pleasure Now aspect of all of our lives (instant gratification -- pornography, alcohol, money, corporate success). The digital devices in the film (DV camera, minidisc player, portable credit card machines) and the results of digital technology (channel-surfing torture porn, 3D video game violence and sex) and how these images circulate the world (from France to Japan to the US, three of the biggest powers in the globalized world) are at the heart of the film.

[gearman]

jungi sakamoto...director...Movie made: "knock out"..amazing..work.

[seantree]

a little OT, but Hero is available on DVD, but only from Ebay I believe. I ran into this problem with Legend of Zu and shaolin Soccer. Once Miramax bought the rights, they attempted to stop all sales of the foreign DVD in the states. Sucks, cuz I really do not want to see them dubbed and edited to hell and back when the US DVD is released. ugh!
BTW, The Legend of Zu and Hero are two of the most beautiful films ever made. Be sure to catch both of them.