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Celebrating 100 years of iconoclast director Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017), a singular force in Japanese cinema whose radical stylistic vision and unpredictable narratives shaped the B-movie genre, Japanese cinephilia and the political New Left, Japan Society and The Japan Foundation present Seijun Suzuki Centennial—a selection of six films from across the filmmaker’s nearly 60-film body of work, all on imported 35mm prints straight from Japan. Covering ground from his earliest yakuza feature (Satan’s Town) to his unbridled return to studio filmmaking after being blacklisted for 10 years (A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness) and his subsequent independent success (Kagero-za), this special series offers a rare glimpse into the core of Suzuki’s creative genius.

Organized in conjunction with the recent publication of series’ guest curator William Carroll’s Suzuki Seijun and Postwar Japanese Cinema (Columbia University Press, 2022), Seijun Suzuki Centennial delves into the versatility and audacious nature of the...

It’s another CineSavant review of a movie largely unavailable, especially the original Japanese version. This third Ishirô Honda / Eiji Tsuburaya outer space action epic is probably the best Toho science fiction feature ever, an Astral Collision tale in which the drama and characters are as compelling as the special effects. Nothing can stop a colossal planetoid heading toward Earth, but science comes to the rescue with the biggest construction job ever undertaken by mankind. The fine screenplay generates thrills, suspense and human warmth. It also takes place in the far, far future: 1980.

Gorath

CineSavant Revival Screening Review

Not On Region A Home Video

1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 88 83 min. / Yôsei Gorasu

Starring: Ryô Ikebe, Yumi Shirakawa, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata, Kenji Sahara, Jun Tazaki, Ken Uehara, Takashi Shimura, Seizaburô Kawazu, Takamaru Sasaki, Kô Nishimura, Eitarô Ozawa, Hideyo Amamoto, George Furness, Ross Benette, Nadao Kirino, Fumio Sakashita, Ikio Sawamura, Haruo Nakajima.

Yojimbo

Written by Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Japan, 1961

It is the mid 19th century in Japan as a wandering ronin (the term designated to samurai who no longer have a master to follow), Kuwabatake Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune), roams the windy, autumnal countryside, unsure as to the direction he should head next in search for food and money. Gambling on one particular route takes him to a small town awash in corruption and gamesmanship between two warring factions, one commandeered by Seibi (Seizaburo Kawazu) and the other by Ushitora (Kyu Sazanka). Each has associated themselves with one of the two major industries the sullen town calls its own, a sake brewery run by Tokuemon (Takashi Shimura) and a silk factory owned by Tazaemon (Katamari Fujirawa). Despite the consternation and warnings of a local tavern owner, Goji (Eijiro Tono), the ronin sees a window of glorious opportunity...