List of B-series filmmakers who can be said to exercise influence on their work Quentin Tarantino so long that appearing in it has almost ceased to be a virtue. The list of directors the author of “cheap fiction” has openly honored and recognized in some of his films is a little smaller (but equally generous). And among them is a group of “world-class” filmmakers to whom Tarantino has come back many times for inspiration. Japanese Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017) is the latter. Now, on the occasion centennial of his birthplatform filming A dozen films from this prolific and forward-thinking filmmaker from the B-series have been saved in remastered versions. dynamited all the rules cinema japanese gangster (‘yakuza eiga’) and was severely punished for it.
Born in Tokyo on May 24, 1923, Suzuki was 20 years old when he enlisted in the Imperial Army during World War II. The experience of war, where death can happen even in the midst of the most ridiculous situations, shaped his worldview. a mixture of fatalism and absurdity. After the war ended, he learned the trade of filmmaking by working as an assistant director at Shochiku studios and continued his career from there. NikkatsuSpecializes in the billing of low-budget, violence-themed movies shot in three weeks.
pop art frenzy
Seijun Suzuki’s destructive style, ‘Youth of the Beast’ (1963) is a story of explosive rivalry between yakuza factions, which the director has already imposed his displaced narrative. amazing color palette coupled with black and white images and taste fast paced action scenes. From there, Suzuki’s cinema is released and spirals into a spiral. official experiments, pop art delirium, and “cool” nihilism the same serves to describe the ups and downs of a belligerent group of prostitutes in post-war Tokyo (‘meat gate’1964), for documenting the escape of two brothers who were persecuted by a yakuza clan in rural Japan in the 1920s (‘White tiger tattoo’Also known as ‘Tattoo life’, 1965).
This is the last scene of the last movie, it’s a fight shot from a clear glass floorlooted directly by Quentin Tarantino “Kill Bill Volume 1”. However, Nikkatsu executives found the film rather unhurried, accusing Suzuki of “going too far” in his visual delusions and increasingly disregarding the continuity of the plot. To appease them, the director promised to make adjustments to his next project. and gave them tokyo vagrant (1966).
Favorite NWR Movie
It is not difficult to understand why the Danes. Nicolas Winding Refn He makes this one of his favorite movies of all time: the unbalanced aesthetic, the narrative chaos, very stylized landscapeBrechtian interpretations, impossible shots, pictorial bursts of color and bright neon all serve a starring minimal story. an incredibly cool ex-gangster wearing a light blue suit and white shoes and facing danger by whistling the blues.
While his bosses were still trying to intimidate the ‘Tokyo bum’, Seijun Suzuki raised the stakes. ‘Stamped to kill’ (1967) is a black and white ‘thriller’ combining jazz improvisation, Bondian parody, Kabuki theater and pop art aesthetics. connect with the cinematographic pioneers of the time. The film is about a highly imaginative and paranoid hitman being pursued by a ghostly assassin. sexually aroused by the scent of fresh boiled rice (played by joe shishidoSuzuki’s fetish actor is a man of enormous volume, whose cheeks were obtained thanks to surgery).
From Jarmusch to Wong Kar-wai
In recent years, it has been praised by directors such as “Branded to kill” and cited as an inspiration. Takeshi Kitano, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, Park Chan-wookthe aforementioned Tarantino and jim jarmuschIn “Ghost Dog, the way of the samurai” (1999), the protagonist plays one of the craziest scenes in the movie. shoot a man down the sink drain (Jarmusch went to Japan to show his movie to Suzuki before it was released.)
Once again, the people in charge of Nikkatsu were far from sharing all that enthusiasm. In fact, ‘Stamped to Kill’ an “unintelligible” and non-commercial film and continued to fire its author, ending their 12-year contractual relationship. Suzuki sued the company and despite winning the case ostracized by the industrythis did not allow him to start any project for a long decade.
tribute to Sarasate
After earning a living by writing screenplays and directing episodes of commercials and television series, he returned to the cinema in 1980. ‘Zigunerweisen’is a strange psychological period drama inspired by a piece by Navarrese violinist Pablo de Sarasate. When Japanese attendees refused to show the film, Suzuki, and producer Genjiro Arato had a mobile tent built to host sessions across the country. Time has proven them right once again. At the end of the decade, a critic voted ‘Zigeunerweisen’ best japanese movie of the 80s.
Seijun Suzuki died of lung disease on February 13, 2017. Since then, his work has not ceased to generate fanatical support. The loop the movie now proposes is an unrivaled opportunity to explore. a freelance filmmaker who invented his own calligraphy Its sole purpose is to “entertain the public”.