Mikio Naruse
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter
, and producer
who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 (towards the end of the silent period in Japan) to 1967.
Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki (working-class drama) films with female protagonists, portrayed by actresses such as Hideko Takamine
, Kinuyo Tanaka
, and Setsuko Hara
. Because of his focus on family drama and the intersection of traditional and modern Japanese culture, his films are frequently compared with the works of Yasujirō Ozu
. His reputation is just behind Akira Kurosawa
, Kenji Mizoguchi
, and Ozu in Japan and internationally; his work remains less well known outside Japan than theirs.
Akira Kurosawa
called Naruse's style of melodrama, "like a great river with a calm surface and a raging current in its depths".
film company under Shiro Kido as a property manager and later as an assistant director. He was not permitted to direct a film at Shochiku until 1930, when he made his debut film, Mr. and Mrs. Swordplay (Chanbara fūfū).
Naruse's earliest extant work is Flunky, Work Hard (Koshiben gambare, also known as Little Man Do Your Best) from 1931, where he combined melodrama
with slapstick
, trying to meet the demands set by Shochiku's Kamata studio, who wanted a mix of laughter and tears. In 1933, he quit Shochiku, and began working for Photo-Chemical Laboratories (later known as Toho
).
His first major film was Wife! Be Like a Rose! (1935) (Tsuma yo Bara no Yo ni). It won the Kinema Junpo
, and was the first Japanese film to receive theatrical release in the United States (where it was not well received). The film concerns a young woman whose father deserted his family many years before for a geisha
. As so often in Naruse's films, the portrait of the "other woman" is nuanced and sympathetic: It turns out, when the daughter visits her father in a remote mountain village, that the second wife is far more suitable for him than the first. The daughter brings her father back with her in order to smooth the way for her own marriage, but the reunion with the first wife – a melancholy poetess – is disastrous: They have nothing in common, and the father returns to wife number two.
In the war years, Naruse went through a slow breakup with his wife Sachiko Chiba (who had starred in Wife! Be Like a Rose!). Naruse himself claimed to have entered a period of severe depression as a result of this. In the postwar period he collaborated with others more often, less frequently writing his own scripts. Notable successes included Mother (1952) (Okasan), a realistic look at family life in the postwar period, which received theatrical distribution in France, and 1955's Floating Clouds (Ukigumo), a doomed love story based (like many of Naruse's films) on a novel by Fumiko Hayashi
.
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
(1960) (Onna ga kaidan o agaru) tells the story of an aging bar hostess trying to adapt to modern times. Scattered Clouds (1967) (Miidaregumo) (a.k.a. Two in the Shadow) was his last film, and is regarded as one of his greatest works. A tale of impossible love between a widow and the driver who accidentally killed her husband, it was made two years before his death.
, the awareness of the transience
of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.
Naruse's films contain simple screenplays, with minimal dialogue, unobtrusive camera work, and low-key production design. Earlier films employ a more experimental, expressionist
style, but he is best known for the style of his later work: deliberately slow and leisurely, designed to magnify the everyday drama of ordinary Japanese people’s trials and tribulations, and leaving maximum scope for his actors to portray psychological nuances in every glance, gesture, and movement.
Naruse filmed economically, using money- and time-saving techniques that other directors shunned, such as shooting each actor delivering his or her lines of dialogue separately, and then splicing them together into chronological order in post-production
(this reduced the amount of film wasted with each retake, and allowed a dialogue scene to be filmed with a single camera). Perhaps unsurprisingly, money is itself a major theme in these films, possibly reflecting Naruse's own childhood experience of poverty: Naruse is an especially mordant observer of the financial struggles within the family (as in Ginza Cosmetics
, 1951, where the female protagonist ends up supporting all her relatives by working in a bar, or A Wife's Heart
, 1956, where a couple is swindled out of a bank loan by the in-laws).
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 (towards the end of the silent period in Japan) to 1967.
Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily shomin-geki (working-class drama) films with female protagonists, portrayed by actresses such as Hideko Takamine
Hideko Takamine
was a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
, Kinuyo Tanaka
Kinuyo Tanaka
was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...
, and Setsuko Hara
Setsuko Hara
is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田 昌江 Masae Aida in...
. Because of his focus on family drama and the intersection of traditional and modern Japanese culture, his films are frequently compared with the works of Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
. His reputation is just behind Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
, and Ozu in Japan and internationally; his work remains less well known outside Japan than theirs.
Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
called Naruse's style of melodrama, "like a great river with a calm surface and a raging current in its depths".
Life
Mikio Naruse was born in Tokyo in 1905. For a number of years he worked at the ShochikuShochiku
is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...
film company under Shiro Kido as a property manager and later as an assistant director. He was not permitted to direct a film at Shochiku until 1930, when he made his debut film, Mr. and Mrs. Swordplay (Chanbara fūfū).
Naruse's earliest extant work is Flunky, Work Hard (Koshiben gambare, also known as Little Man Do Your Best) from 1931, where he combined melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
with slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
, trying to meet the demands set by Shochiku's Kamata studio, who wanted a mix of laughter and tears. In 1933, he quit Shochiku, and began working for Photo-Chemical Laboratories (later known as Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
).
His first major film was Wife! Be Like a Rose! (1935) (Tsuma yo Bara no Yo ni). It won the Kinema Junpo
Kinema Junpo
, commonly called , is a Japanese film magazine which began publication in July 1919. The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology . In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three...
, and was the first Japanese film to receive theatrical release in the United States (where it was not well received). The film concerns a young woman whose father deserted his family many years before for a geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
. As so often in Naruse's films, the portrait of the "other woman" is nuanced and sympathetic: It turns out, when the daughter visits her father in a remote mountain village, that the second wife is far more suitable for him than the first. The daughter brings her father back with her in order to smooth the way for her own marriage, but the reunion with the first wife – a melancholy poetess – is disastrous: They have nothing in common, and the father returns to wife number two.
In the war years, Naruse went through a slow breakup with his wife Sachiko Chiba (who had starred in Wife! Be Like a Rose!). Naruse himself claimed to have entered a period of severe depression as a result of this. In the postwar period he collaborated with others more often, less frequently writing his own scripts. Notable successes included Mother (1952) (Okasan), a realistic look at family life in the postwar period, which received theatrical distribution in France, and 1955's Floating Clouds (Ukigumo), a doomed love story based (like many of Naruse's films) on a novel by Fumiko Hayashi
Fumiko Hayashi (author)
was a Japanese novelist and poet.When Hayashi was seven, her mother ran away with a manager of her common-law husband's store, and afterwards the three worked in Kyūshū as itinerant merchants...
.
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.Keiko, a young widow, becomes a bar hostess in Ginza to make ends meet. The story recounts the struggles to maintain her independence in a male-dominated society...
(1960) (Onna ga kaidan o agaru) tells the story of an aging bar hostess trying to adapt to modern times. Scattered Clouds (1967) (Miidaregumo) (a.k.a. Two in the Shadow) was his last film, and is regarded as one of his greatest works. A tale of impossible love between a widow and the driver who accidentally killed her husband, it was made two years before his death.
Film style
Naruse is known as particularly exemplifying the Japanese concept of mono no awareMono no aware
, literally "the pathos of things", also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of , or the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.-Origins:...
, the awareness of the transience
Impermanence
Impermanence is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism...
of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.
Naruse's films contain simple screenplays, with minimal dialogue, unobtrusive camera work, and low-key production design. Earlier films employ a more experimental, expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
style, but he is best known for the style of his later work: deliberately slow and leisurely, designed to magnify the everyday drama of ordinary Japanese people’s trials and tribulations, and leaving maximum scope for his actors to portray psychological nuances in every glance, gesture, and movement.
Naruse filmed economically, using money- and time-saving techniques that other directors shunned, such as shooting each actor delivering his or her lines of dialogue separately, and then splicing them together into chronological order in post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
(this reduced the amount of film wasted with each retake, and allowed a dialogue scene to be filmed with a single camera). Perhaps unsurprisingly, money is itself a major theme in these films, possibly reflecting Naruse's own childhood experience of poverty: Naruse is an especially mordant observer of the financial struggles within the family (as in Ginza Cosmetics
Ginza Cosmetics
is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows the life of a quite geisha,single mother of a young boy, in the lively Tokyo quarter of Ginza...
, 1951, where the female protagonist ends up supporting all her relatives by working in a bar, or A Wife's Heart
A Wife's Heart
is a 1956 black and white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.-External links: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1956/cf002010.htm...
, 1956, where a couple is swindled out of a bank loan by the in-laws).
Filmography
| Filmography of Mikio Naruse | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Japanese Title | Rōmaji Title | English Title | Notes |
| Silent Films in the 1930s | ||||
| 1930 | チャンバラ夫婦 | Chambara fufu | Mr. and Mrs. Swordplay | Naruse's first film; Lost. Also entitled Intimate Love |
| 純情 | Junjo | Pure Love | Lost | |
| 不景気時代 | Fukeiki jidai | Hard Times | Lost | |
| 愛は力だ | Ai ha chikara da Love Is Strength is a 1930 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse and written by Takao Yanai.-Cast:*Hiroko Kawasaki as Teruko*Teruo Mori as Shinichiro Izawa*Haruo Takeda*Shizue Tatsuta as Chiyoko*Ichirō Yuki as Toshio-External links:... |
Love Is Strength Love Is Strength is a 1930 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse and written by Takao Yanai.-Cast:*Hiroko Kawasaki as Teruko*Teruo Mori as Shinichiro Izawa*Haruo Takeda*Shizue Tatsuta as Chiyoko*Ichirō Yuki as Toshio-External links:... |
Lost | |
| 押切新婚記 | Oshikiri shinkonki | A Record of Shamless Newlyweds | Lost | |
| 1931 | ねえ興奮しちゃいやよ | Nee kofun shicha iya yo | Now Don't Get Excited | Lost |
| 二階の悲鳴 | Nikai no himei | Screams from the Second Floor | Lost | |
| 腰弁頑張れ | Koshiben gambare | Flunky, Work Hard! | Short film; Naruse's earliest surviving work | |
| 浮気は汽車に乗って | Uwaki wa kisha ni notte | Fickleness Gets on the Train | Lost | |
| 髭の力 | Hige no chikara | The Strength of a Moustache | Lost | |
| 隣の屋根の下 | Tonare no yani no shita | Under the Neighbours' Roof | Lost | |
| 1932 | 女は袂を御用心 | Onna wa tamoto o goyojin | Ladies, Be Careful of Your Sleeves | Lost |
| 青空に泣く | Aozora ni naku | Crying to the Blue Sky | Lost | |
| 偉くなれ | Eraku nare | Be Great! | Lost | |
| チョコレートガール | Chokoreito garu | Chocolate Girl | Lost | |
| 生さぬ仲 | Nasanu naka | No Blood Relation | ||
| 菓子のある東京風景 | Kashi no aru Tokyo no fûkei | The Scenery of Tokyo with Cake | Short advertisement film; Lost | |
| 蝕める春 | Mushibameru haru | Moth-eaten Spring | Lost | |
| 1933 | 君と別れて | Kimi to wakarete | Apart From You | |
| 夜ごとの夢 | Yogoto no yume | Every-Night Dreams | ||
| 僕の丸髷 | Boku no marumage | A Married Woman's Hairstyle | Lost | |
| 双眸 | Sobo | Two Eyes | Lost | |
| 謹賀新年 | Kingashinnen | Happy New Year! | Lost | |
| 1934 | 限りなき舗道 | Kagirinaki hodo | Street Without End | Naruse's final silent film |
| Sound films in the 1930s | ||||
| 1935 | 乙女ごころ三人姉妹 | Otome-gokoro - Sannin-shimai | Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts | |
| 女優と詩人 | Joyu to shijin | The Actress and the Poet | ||
| 妻よ薔薇のやうに | Tsuma yo bara no yo ni | Wife! Be Like a Rose! | Also entitled Kimiko | |
| サーカス五人組 | Saakasu goningumi | Five Men in the Circus | ||
| 噂の娘 | Uwase no musume | The Girl in the Rumor | ||
| 1936 | 桃中軒雲右衛門 | Tochuken Kumoemon | Biopic of Tochuken Kumoemon Tochuken Kumoemon was a popular rōkyoku recitalist in Meiji Japan. His immense popularity helped rōkyoku break into the mainstream. At his height, he performed tales of the Forty-seven ronin to sell-out crowds at some of the biggest theatres in Tokyo and Osaka... |
|
| 君と行く路 | Kimi to yuku michi | The Road I Travel with You | ||
| 朝の並木路 | Asa no namikimichi | Morning's Tree-Lined Street | ||
| 1937 | 女人哀愁 | Nyonin aishu | A Woman's Sorrows | |
| 雪崩 | Nadare | Avalanche | ||
| 禍福 前篇 | Kafuku zempen | Learn from Experience, Part I | ||
| 禍福 後篇 | Kafuku kôhen | Learn from Experience, Part II | ||
| 1938 | 鶴八鶴次郎 | Tsuruhachi Tsurujiro | Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro | |
| 1939 | はたらく一家 | Hatarakku ikka | The Whole Family Works | |
| まごころ | Magokoro | Sincerity | ||
| Films in the 1940s | ||||
| 1940 | 旅役者 | Tabi yakusha | Travelling Actors | |
| 1941 | なつかしの顔 | Natsukashi no kao | A Face from the Past | |
| 上海の月 | Shanhai no tsuki | Shanghai Moon | Incomplete footage survives | |
| 秀子の車掌さん | Hideki no Shasho-San | Hideko the Bus Conductor | ||
| 1942 | 母は死なず | Haha wa shinazu | Mother Never Dies | |
| 1943 | 歌行燈 | Uta andon | The Song Lantern | |
| 1944 | 楽しき哉人生 | Tanoshiki kana jinsei | This Happy Life | |
| 芝居道 | Shibaido | The Way of Drama | ||
| 1945 | 勝利の日まで | Shori no hi made | Until Victory Day | Lost |
| 三十三間堂通し矢物語 | Sanjusangendo toshiya monogatari | A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo | ||
| 1946 | 浦島太郎の後裔 | Urashima Taro no koei | The Descendents of Taro Urashima | |
| 俺もお前も | Ore mo omae mo | Both You and I | ||
| 1947 | 別れも愉し | Wakare mo tanoshi | Even Parting is Enjoyable | Part of anthology film Anthology film An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director... , Yottsu no kai no monogatari (四つの恋の物語, Four Love Stories) |
| 春のめざめ | Haru no mezame | Spring Awakens | ||
| 1949 | 不良少女 | Furyo shojo | The Delinquent Girl | Lost |
| Films in the 1950s | ||||
| 1950 | 石中先生行状記 | Ishinaka Sensei gyojoki | Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka | |
| 怒りの街 | Ikari no machi | Angry Street | ||
| 白い野獣 | Shiroi yaju | White Beast | ||
| 薔薇合戦 | Bara gessen | Battle of Roses | ||
| 1951 | 銀座化粧 | Ginza gesho Ginza Cosmetics is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows the life of a quite geisha,single mother of a young boy, in the lively Tokyo quarter of Ginza... |
Ginza Cosmetics Ginza Cosmetics is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows the life of a quite geisha,single mother of a young boy, in the lively Tokyo quarter of Ginza... |
|
| 舞姫 | Maihime | Dancing Girl | ||
| めし | Meshi | Repast | ||
| 1952 | お国と五平 | Okuni to Gohei | Okuni and Gohei | |
| おかあさん | Okasan Mother (1952 film) is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Kinuyo Tanaka in title role. The film is based on the on a prize-winning entry of a school essay-writing competition and screenplay by Yūko Mizuki.... |
Mother Mother (1952 film) is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Kinuyo Tanaka in title role. The film is based on the on a prize-winning entry of a school essay-writing competition and screenplay by Yūko Mizuki.... |
||
| 稲妻 | Inazuma Lightning (film) is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.The film won 1953 Blue Ribbon Awards for best director , best film and for best supporting actress Chieko Nakakita. It also won Mainichi Film Concours for best film score by Ichirō Saitō and again for best supporting actress Chieko... |
Lightning Lightning (film) is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.The film won 1953 Blue Ribbon Awards for best director , best film and for best supporting actress Chieko Nakakita. It also won Mainichi Film Concours for best film score by Ichirō Saitō and again for best supporting actress Chieko... |
||
| 1953 | 夫婦 | Fufu | Husband and Wife | |
| 妻 | Tsuma | Wife | ||
| あにいもうと | Ani Imoto Older Brother, Younger Sister is a 1953 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.-Plot:The eldest daughter of a rural family Mon returns home from Tokyo pregnant after an affair with a college student Kobata , which causes a scandal that will threaten the marriage prospects of the younger sister San , in her... |
Older Brother, Younger Sister Older Brother, Younger Sister is a 1953 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.-Plot:The eldest daughter of a rural family Mon returns home from Tokyo pregnant after an affair with a college student Kobata , which causes a scandal that will threaten the marriage prospects of the younger sister San , in her... |
||
| 1954 | 山の音 | Yama no oto Sound of the Mountain is a 1954 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Setsuko Hara, So Yamamura, Ken Uehara, Yatsuko Tanami. It is based on the novel The Sound of the Mountain by Nobel-Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata.... |
Sound of the Mountain Sound of the Mountain is a 1954 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse starring Setsuko Hara, So Yamamura, Ken Uehara, Yatsuko Tanami. It is based on the novel The Sound of the Mountain by Nobel-Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata.... |
Also entitled The Thunder of the Mountain |
| 晩菊 | Bangiku Late Chrysanthemums is a 1954 film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows four retired geisha and their struggles to make ends meet in post World War II Japan. The film is based on three short stories by female author Fumiko Hayashi, published in 1948... |
Late Chrysanthemums Late Chrysanthemums is a 1954 film directed by Mikio Naruse. It follows four retired geisha and their struggles to make ends meet in post World War II Japan. The film is based on three short stories by female author Fumiko Hayashi, published in 1948... |
||
| 1955 | 浮雲 | Ukigumo Floating Clouds is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi.... |
Floating Clouds Floating Clouds is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi.... |
|
| くちづけ | Kuchizuke | The Kiss | Part of anthology film, Onna Doshi (Women's Ways) | |
| 1956 | 驟雨 | Shūu Shuu , literally: Sudden Rain, is a 1956 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.- Cast :* Setsuko Hara* Keiju Kobayashi* Shūji Sano* Akemi Negishi* Kyōko Kagawa* Chieko Nakakita* and others... |
Sudden Rain Shuu , literally: Sudden Rain, is a 1956 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.- Cast :* Setsuko Hara* Keiju Kobayashi* Shūji Sano* Akemi Negishi* Kyōko Kagawa* Chieko Nakakita* and others... |
|
| 妻の心 | Tsuma no kokoro A Wife's Heart is a 1956 black and white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.-External links: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1956/cf002010.htm... |
A Wife's Heart A Wife's Heart is a 1956 black and white Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse.-External links: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1956/cf002010.htm... |
||
| 流れる | Nagareru Nagareru is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. The black-and-white drama starred Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, Mariko Okada, Haruko Sugimura, Sumiko Kurishima, Chieko Nakakita, Natsuko Kahara, Seiji Miyaguchi, Daisuke Katō, Nobuo Nakamura, Kumeko Otowa and others.... |
Flowing Nagareru is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Mikio Naruse. The black-and-white drama starred Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, Mariko Okada, Haruko Sugimura, Sumiko Kurishima, Chieko Nakakita, Natsuko Kahara, Seiji Miyaguchi, Daisuke Katō, Nobuo Nakamura, Kumeko Otowa and others.... |
||
| 1957 | あらくれ | Arakure Aruse is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It was Japan's submission to the 30th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.-Cast:* Hideko Takamine* Ken Uehara* Masayuki Mori... |
Untamed Woman | |
| 1958 | 杏っ子 | Anzukko | ||
| 鰯雲 | Iwashigumo | Herringbone Clouds | Color film | |
| 1959 | コタンの口笛 | Kotan no kuchibue | Whistling in Kotan | Color film; also entitled Whistle in My Heart |
| Films in the 1960s | ||||
| 1960 | 女が階段を上る時 | Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.Keiko, a young widow, becomes a bar hostess in Ginza to make ends meet. The story recounts the struggles to maintain her independence in a male-dominated society... |
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.Keiko, a young widow, becomes a bar hostess in Ginza to make ends meet. The story recounts the struggles to maintain her independence in a male-dominated society... |
|
| 娘・妻・母 | Musume tsuma haha | A Daughter, a Wife, and a Mother | Color film | |
| 夜の流れ | Yoru no nagare | Evening Stream | Color film; co-directed with Yuzo Kawashima Yuzo Kawashima was a notable Japanese filmmaker, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires.-Career:Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was educated at Meiji University, where he was a member... . |
|
| 秋立ちぬ | Aki tachinu | Approach of Autumn | Also entitled Autumn Has Already Started | |
| 1961 | 妻として女として | Tsuma toshite onna toshite | As a Wife, As a Woman | Color film |
| 1962 | 女の座 | Onna no za | A Woman's Place | Also entitled The Wiser Age |
| 放浪記 | Horoki A Wanderer's Notebook , also known as Her Lonely Lane is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Hideko Takamine. The film is based on the autobiography of author Fumiko Hayashi, whose work the director often adapted for the screen.-Plot:... |
A Wanderer's Notebook A Wanderer's Notebook , also known as Her Lonely Lane is a 1962 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Hideko Takamine. The film is based on the autobiography of author Fumiko Hayashi, whose work the director often adapted for the screen.-Plot:... |
Also entitled Her Lonely Lane | |
| 1963 | 女の歴史 | Onna no rekishi | A Woman's Life | |
| 1964 | 乱れる | Midareru Yearning (1964 film) is a 1964 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Hideko Takamine and Yūzō Kayama. The film is based on the short story by Naruse and screenplay authored by the lead actress's husband, Zenzo Matsuyama... |
Yearning Yearning (1964 film) is a 1964 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse, starring Hideko Takamine and Yūzō Kayama. The film is based on the short story by Naruse and screenplay authored by the lead actress's husband, Zenzo Matsuyama... |
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| 1966 | 女の中にいる他人 | Onna no naka ni iru tanin | The Stranger Within a Woman | Also entitled The Thin Line |
| ひき逃げ | Hikinige | Hit and Run | Also entitled Moment of Terror | |
| 1967 | 乱れ雲 | Midaregumo | Scattered Clouds | Color film; also entitled Two in the Shadow. Naruse's final film. |
DVD releases (English subtitled)
- Flunky, Work Hard (Koshiben ganbare, 1931) (The Criterion Collection, region 1 NTSC)
- No Blood Relation (Nasanu naka, 1932) (The Criterion Collection, region 1 NTSC)
- Apart from You (Kimi to Wakarete, 1933) (The Criterion Collection, region 1 NTSC)
- Every-Night Dreams (Yogoto no yume, 1933) (The Criterion Collection, region 1 NTSC)
- Street Without End (Kagirinaki hodo, 1934) (The Criterion Collection, region 1 NTSC)
- Repast (Meshi, 1951) (Eureka! Masters of CinemaMasters of CinemaThe Masters of Cinema organization began as a website dedicated to the most well-regarded film directors in the world. Founded by a diverse international group of like-minded film enthusiasts: Jan Bielawski, a mathematician; Doug Cummings, a graphic artist and freelance critic; Trond Trondsen, a Ph.D...
, region 2 NTSC) - Sound of the Mountain (Yama no oto, 1954) (Eureka! Masters of Cinema, region 2 NTSC)
- Late Chrysanthemums (Bangiku, 1954) (BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
, region 2 PAL) - Floating Clouds (Ukigumo, 1955) (BFI, region 2 PAL)
- Flowing (Nagareru, 1956) (Eureka! Masters of Cinema, region 2 NTSC)
- When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki, 1960) (BFI, region 2 PAL; The Criterion CollectionThe Criterion CollectionThe Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
, region 1 NTSC)
External links
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
- The materialist ethic of Mikio Naruse
- Strictly Film School reviews
- Slant Magazine: Feature on Mikio Naruse by Keith Uhlich
- "The great Japanese director you’ve never heard of" By N.P. Thompson for Northwest Asian Weekly.
- Flowing: The Films of Mikio Naruse at Not Coming to a Theater Near You
- Notebook Roundtable: Talking Silent Naruse