ryuganji: film news from japan

I must say I had my doubts as to whether “Dororo” would overcome its shortcomings and justify the sequel alluded to at the end of the movie, but four straight weeks at the top of the box office, an audience of two million and 2.5 billion yen in box office revenue have shown once again that marketing muscle and star power can cancel out a film’s limitations. Today came the announcement that there will be not one but two sequels, filmed consecutively a la “Lord of the Rings” et al. Shooting will begin sometime next year with a 2009 release in mind.

Producer Hirano Takashi says the plot for Dororo 2 and 3 has already been laid out, with the first sequel focusing on the secrets of the Dororo character played by Shibasaki Ko and taking place at sea. He also stated that the combined budget for the two sequels is 6 billion yen, and that the production team are looking to shoot on an island somewhere in the Pacific. (sources: Sanspo, Sports Hochi)

(source: Box Office Japan)

Thanks to Logboy for this news that Image Entertainment will be releasing Mizoguchi Kenji’s “Sansho the Bailiff” (Sansho Dayu) on DVD on May 22nd on their Criterion imprint. If it’s anything like their definitive release of “Ugetsu” last year (highly recommended), this’ll be another essential purchase. See the film’s Wikipedia entry for more info.

Update: Criterion will also be releasing Imamura Shohei’s powerful “Vengeance is Mine” (Fukushu suru wa Ware ni ari) on May 22nd. They’ll have a hard time topping Eureka’s excellent R2 Masters of Cinema release. CriterionDVD.com have details on “Vengeance is Mine” here, and “Sansho the Bailiff” here.

“Linda Linda Linda” director Yamashita Nobuhiro is returning with another typically laidback bucolic tale; this time based on a shojo manga entitled “Tennen Kokekko“.

The first-love story revolves around Soyo (Kaho), the only student in her year at a rural branch school with a total roll of six, and Osawa (Okada Masaki), a handsome transfer student from Tokyo. Other cast members include Yanagi Erisa, Fujimura Seiko and Sato Koichi.

The original manga by Kuramochi Fusako was serialised in monthly comic magazine Chorus from January 1994 to July 2000, and has been adapted for the screen by “Josee, the Tiger and the Fish” and “La Maison de Himiko” writer Watanabe Aya. Techno/electronica muso Rei Harakami provides the score.

Filming took place between July and November last year on location in Shimane, where the comic is set. Distributor Asmik Ace plans to release the film nationwide this summer. Check out the Iwami Film Commission’s homepage for some on-set pics. (source: Cinematopics)

Jason Gray has broken the news about Kitano Takeshi’s new film, “Kantoku - Banzai” (which might be translated as “Viva La Director”). There’s not much to add to his report except that the cast also includes Takarada Akira, Yoshiyuki Kazuko, Fujita Yumiko, Suzuki An, Kimura Yoshino, Osugi Ren, Terajima Susumu, Musaka Naomasa, Watanabe Tetsu, Moro Morooka, Sugata Shun, Ishibashi Tamotsu, and Ide Rakkyo, with narration by Ibu Masato.

The seven films of varying genres that Kitano’s director character attempts to make in the course of the story have been infused with his particular brand of cynical humour, and are apparently all based on actual proposals for his follow-up to “Takeshi’s”.

Although all the spin is about Kitano’s attempt to make something crowd-pleasing and (hopefully) lucrative for a change, the subject matter still sounds very self-referential and not too far removed from the unconventional, semi-experimental approach of “Takeshi’s”. I can see current parallels between him and Kurosawa Kiyoshi, who has been going through his own genre-eschewing, wandering in the wilderness phase. Hopefully “Kantoku - Banzai!” will be more of a return to form than Kurosawa’s self-repetitive “Retribution” was. (sources: @Pia, Nikkan Sports)

Meanwhile, “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and “Cutie Honey” director Anno Hideaki is returning with “Sutoringusu - Ai to Kizuna no Tabiji” (something like “Strings - A Journey of Love and Bonds”), a marionette fantasy featuring the voices of “Sinking of Japan“’s Kusanagi Tsuyoshi and “Memories of Matsuko“’s Nakatani Miki.

Anno reportedly took a liking to Danish director Anders Rønnow Klarlund’s “Strings“, which screened at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and decided to make an ‘easier to understand’ Japanese version with a script by Nagatsuka Keishi (son of actor Nagatsuka Kyozo).　

Kusanagi lends his voice to a young prince named Hal who sets off on a journey to avenge his father, in a world of marionettes where the cutting of strings equals death. Nakatani voices the heroine Jita.

No CG was used in the movie, which employs 115 marionettes manipulated by 22 puppeteers. It took five people to control one marionette using strings over five metres in length, and took four years and 600 million yen to complete. The movie opens on April 28th. (sources: Sanspo, Sponichi)