Seijun Suzuki
1923 - 2017His films remained widely unknown outside of Japan until a series of theatrical retrospectives beginning in the mid 1980s, home video releases of key films such as Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter in the late 1990s and tributes by such acclaimed filmmakers as Jim Jarmusch, Takeshi Kitano, Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino signaled his international discovery. Suzuki has continued making films, albeit sporadically. In Japan, he is more commonly recognized as an actor for his numerous roles in Japanese films and television.
He passed away on February 13th, 2017.
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夢のまにまに
Takeo Kimura
Hiroyuki Nagato, Ineko Arima
Recently appointed dean at a film school, Kimuro Hajime develops a special concern for one of his students, Daisuke. The brash, headstrong young man is fixated on with the Second World War. He feels a sense of frustration at the irrational sacrifice of young people's lives during the war six decades earlier. Daisuke finds that he can vent his frustrations to Kimuro, who experienced the war firsthand. Kimuro's wife, Emiko, is also troubled by memories of the war. She lost a loved one in the war and has never gotten over it. And Kimuro himself also has something from the past that he has yet to face. He believes that the burden of his unresolved past will eventually be the death of him. When Daisuke's neurosis causes him to quit school, life changes for all three of them.
Dreaming Awake
From the Ruins: Making 'Gate of Flesh'
Marty Gross
Takeo Kimura, Seijun Suzuki
Made for in 2005, this video interview features director Seijun Suzuki and production designer Takeo Kimura. These longtime collaborators discuss the making of GATE OF FLESH.
From the Ruins: Making 'Gate of Flesh'
Seijun Suzuki: kabuki & yakuzas
Carles Prats
Seijun Suzuki, Takeo Kimura
In the sixties, director and screenwriter Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017) was the great innovator of Japanese cinema. Extremely creative and eccentric, his narrative world is strongly influenced by Kabuki theater. His testimony crosses with that of his collaborator and close friend, artistic director and screenwriter Takeo Kimura (1918–2010). Between the two of them, they remember how they made their great masterpieces about the Yakuza underworld for the Nikkatsu film company.
Seijun Suzuki: kabuki & yakuzas
Story of a Prostitute
Seijun Suzuki
Tamio Kawachi, Yumiko Nogawa
Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.
Story of a Prostitute
青い乳房
Seijun Suzuki
Toyo Takahashi, Akira Kobayashi
A delinquent young man (Kobayashi Akira) from a wealthy family decides to get in on a blackmailing scheme targeting his young stepmother (Watanabe Misako). However, he doesn't realize that his fellow blackmailers have their eyes on his girlfriend next.
Young Breasts
Gate of Flesh
Seijun Suzuki
Jō Shishido, Kōji Wada
In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.
Gate of Flesh
Carmen from Kawachi
Seijun Suzuki
Yumiko Nogawa, Kōji Wada
Like a girl runaway, Tsuyu moves to Osaka to work as a bar hostess. She meets the owner of a model school, Yoko, and seriously thinks about becoming a fashion model. Yoko tells her that she can move in to Yoko’s house to take lessons, while making a living at the same time.
Carmen from Kawachi
Tokyo Drifter
Seijun Suzuki
Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Tokyo Drifter
Tattooed Life
Seijun Suzuki
Hideki Takahashi, Masako Izumi
‘Tattooed Life' begins with a parasol wielding Yakuza assassin attacking a rickshaw. It almost looks like feudal Japan until somebody pulls a gun and we're reminded that it's the 20th century. Post-shooting, the assassin delivers his bounty to his brother (to pay for his art school education) before getting ambushed in one of the few rickshaw-jacking incidents in film history, and being rescued by his art-student brother. In the aftermath, one brother is marked for death by the Yakuza, and the other brother won't go to art school with blood on his hands, so they decide the perfect way to deal with such hardships is to become fugitive construction workers in northern Japan . And why not?
Tattooed Life
暗黒街の美女
Seijun Suzuki
Michitarō Mizushima, Mari Shiraki
The moment he's released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto's precious stones.
Underworld Beauty
