Category Archives: Japanese Movies

Me Am Tacky!

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Grady Hendrix

The NPR piece I was interviewed for was on “Morning Edition” today and you can listen to it over on the NPR website. After ripping into the New York Times for making Godzilla talk five days after the earthquake in … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese Movies, Movies | 2 Comments

The Next Stupid Godzilla Reference Might Be Yours

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Grady Hendrix

It was only a matter of time before Western commentators evoked the image of Godzilla and linked it to the current crisis unfolding in Japan. Never one to disappoint its readers,  the New York Times is the paper that pops … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Japanese Movies | 5 Comments

Tetsuya Nakashima: Loser

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Grady Hendrix

I was more surprised than anyone else to see Tetsuya Nakashima’s CONFESSIONS make the Oscars shortlist – and I just know that he’s going to lose (hence the title of this post). I’ve got a piece up on Slate today … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese Movies, Movies | 6 Comments

Lost Classic: The Drifting Classroom

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

Back in 1977, experimental filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi was directing television commercials when Toho studios gave him the keys to the studio gates. Toho, like most Japanese film studios at the time, was getting punched in the face by TV and … Continue reading →

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The Ninja: God’s Little Butlers

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

Can we ever, as a species, ever say enough about ninja? Ninja is something to always be talking about. Ninja are dangerous. Ninja are Jewish. Surprising! But true. Like Israel, ninja is tiny man surrounded on all sides by danger. … Continue reading →

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Uzumaki

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

(Japan, 2000) Directed by: Higuchinsky Starring: Eriko Hatsune (Kirie), Fhi Fan (Shuichi), Hinako Saeki (Kyoko Sekino), Keiko Takahashi (Shuichi’s Mom), Ren Osugi (Shuichi’s Dad) Q: What’s black and white, slithers up walls, and looks like a Japanese teenager? A: By … Continue reading →

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Shunji Iwaii Interview

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

Shunji Iwai loves women. The camera of his long-time collaborator, Noboru Shinoda, captures their faces as they light up like fireworks, as they crumble in grief, as they watch their life flicker out, as they mourn and celebrate, as they … Continue reading →

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All About Lily Chou Chou

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

(Japan, 2001) Directed by: Shunji Iwai Starring: Hayato Icihara, Shugo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito, Yu Aoi Coursing down a DSL line, as fast and frantic as a telephone signal, ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU is a high velocity view of adolescence, streaked … Continue reading →

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Bohachi Bushido

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

(Japan, 1973) Directed by: Teruo Ishii Starring: Tetsuro Tanba (does anyone else matter?) They sure don’t make porn like they used to. As television feasted on the corpse of Japanese cinema in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the five … Continue reading →

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Battles Without Honor & Humanity

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Grady Hendrix

Between 1973 and 1974, Kinji Fukasaku unleashed his five film YAKUZA PAPERS (aka BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY) series like a pack of rabid dogs and, like Hiroshima’s ruined Genbaku Dome (a shot of which closes every installment in the … Continue reading →

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