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Reviews
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Steve McQueen is cool.
'The Magnificent Seven' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film 'Seven Samurai'. The cast includes Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson. The first time I saw Steve McQueen was in a TV drama. It was 'Wanted Dead or Alive,' which aired on CBS in the U. S. from September 1958 to March 1961. I was fascinated by his coolness and became a big fan. 'The Magnificent Seven' was the first time McQueen appeared on the screen in a leading role. The action scenes were so cool that I watched all his major films after that. I recently read a biography of McQueen. "Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon" by Greg Laurie. It is a true portrait of McQueen. His father was an aerobatic stunt pilot. His parents divorced when he was six months old, and his biological father disappeared, never to be seen again. His mother remarried and he had a difficult relationship with his stepfather, leading to delinquency and a stint in a juvenile reformatory. After his discharge from the Marine Corps, he began his career as an actor. He was greedy for film roles. Known as "The King of Cool", he became one of the top stars of the 1960s. Then, at the age of 50, he succumbed to cancer. He gave his last interview before his death and answered, "Height 176cm - Blonde hair - Specialty: Car driving- What I want: My own father." A lifetime of loneliness in the heart of a great star. Deeply moving.
Chinmoku (1971)
The Silence
This historical movie tells the story of Rodrigo, a Portuguese priest who suffered from the suppression of Christianity in the early Edo period and found himself on the verge of apostasy. Word reaches Rome that Father Ferreira has apostatized after being severely tortured in Japan. Ferreira's disciple, Rodrigo, goes to Japan to find out the truth, but is captured by the magistrate after being tipped off by Kichijiro. Rodrigo begins to doubt God, wondering "Why does God remain silent while he watches me suffer?" Then he steps on the treadmill. A masterpiece depicting the anguish of apostates. The original author, Shusaku Endo, was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Graham Greene, a strong advocate of Endo, praised the novel as "In my opinion one of the finest novels of our time." Endo was baptized in junior high school. Realizing the contradiction between being Japanese and Christian, he chose to make a lifelong effort to reexamine Christianity as a Japanese. I had mixed feelings about this film because my family is Nichiren Buddhist, I myself graduated from a university with Protestant founding principles, and I have an American friend who is a Catholic woman. Director: Masahiro Shinoda Cast: David Lampson, Shima Iwashita, Mako Iwamatsu.
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Dunne's screenplay is excellent.
In the early 1900's in Wales, this is the story of the Morgan family, and specifically told through the eyes of one of the sons, Huw Morgan, and all the struggles they go through as a coal mining family. After Huw's father is killed in a mine explosion, he decides to leave and tells the story of his life just before going away. Drawn simply and lovingly, with a crisp Welsh humor, Llewellyn's characters fight, love, laugh, and cry, creating an indelible portrait of people. Highly recommended! 1941 John Ford's film is really splendid. The film got an Academy award the best film also the best director. Scripted by Philip Dunne. Dunne is the director of my most favorite 1962 film "LISA a.k.a. The Inspector".
Shiosai (1964)
The Sound of Waves
On a small island in Ise Bay, where ancient legends still live, Shinji, a ruggedly tanned young man of the sea, meets Hatsue, a girl with cool eyes. Shinji's heart suddenly begins to stir. Yukio Mishima, inspired to write a work about 'gods' that overlaps with ancient Greek imagery, chose Utajima, a beautiful fishing village unaffected by the city, as the setting. The freshness of their bodies and the course of their love affair are blended with the dazzling sun and sparkling sea... Hatsue is seen naked and out of shame tells Shinji to get naked as well. When Shinji is naked, Hatsue tells him to "Jump across the fire to me. Come on ! If you'll jump across the fire to me..." Shinji jumped over the fire and hugged each other naked, but Hatsue said, "It's bad for now. Because I've decided it's you I'm going to marry, and until I do, it's really bad." This famous scene is so nice. Second film adaptation : 1964. Director : Kenjiro Morinaga. Starring: Sayuri Yoshinaga and Mitsuo Hamada.
Watashi ga suteta onna (1969)
The Girl I Left Behind
During the 1960s, Mitsu, an innocent country girl whom college student Yoshioka abandoned on a second date, was later diagnosed with leprosy and sent to a sanatorium in Gotemba. Her diagnosis turns out to be wrong, but she chooses to return to the sanatorium and serve the patients. Meanwhile, Yoshioka decides to marry Mariko, the president's niece. The contrast between the purity of Mitsu's soul, which chooses to serve others in accordance with her inner voice, and the loneliness of Yoshioka's heart, which continues to harbor regrets for the woman he once abandoned, even though he has achieved worldly happiness by winning the president's niece, is vivid in this original masterpiece by Shusaku Endo. The film version of "The Girl I Left Behind" was made in 1969, is the best work of director Kirio Urayama. Urayama's intention was to make "a unique drama depicting a fragment of love in which a modern person struggles in the midst of a crumbling world",but the production company Nikkatsu decided to keep the film because it would interfere with their commercial line. The actors, Choichiro Kawarazaki and Toshie Kobayashi, are excellent. Shusaku Endo, the author of the original story, makes a cameo appearance as a doctor. The film features an unforgettable scene in which young people sing and dance to "Tokyo Dodompa Musume" sung by Mari Watanabe. I never met a "Japanese" woman who possessed such sanctity as Mitsu in my life, but I did meet an "American" woman. I met Choichiro Kawarazaki, who played the lead role, by chance on three occasions, and I have fond memories of discussing this film with him.
The Inspector (1962)
Dolores Hart's best work
Holland, 1946. Dutch police inspector Peter Jongman has been tormented by remorse ever since he left his Jewish fiancée in a Nazi POW camp during the war. He followed Lisa Held, a young girl kidnapped by slaver, to London to rescue her at all costs, only to discover that she had been held at Auschwitz. When Peter hears of Lisa's desire to go to Palestine, he decides to make it happen. During their escapade, Peter becomes attracted to Lisa. However, Lisa showed him a cold attitude. She was forced to undergo sterilization at Auschwitz because she thought she did not deserve to be a married woman...
My favorite scene. "Peter: You also know I've fallen in love with you. Lisa: Don't, Peter.
Peter: I'm trying to be objective about it. You still despise me a little, don't you?
Lisa: That's not true. I think you're a wonderful man. Everything you've done for me, kind of person you are.
Peter: But you don't love me. Lisa: Don't make me answer that. Please don't. It's not what you think, it is it's not that at all. Peter: Tell me one thing, Lisa. Is there any hope for me?
Lisa: No. No hope. "
Dolores Hart is truly beautiful. She gives a passionate performance.
Koto (1963)
The Old Capital
The novel earned Mr. Kawabata the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, alongside "The Snow Country" and "The Sound of Mountains." The story is set in Kyoto, where the author delicately depicts the changing seasons and festivals. The main character, Chieko, is the only daughter of a kimono wholesaler, abandoned at birth. She meets her twin sister Naeko on the night of the Gion Festival, and the story revolves around their relationship...... The author's theme of "Let the Kyoto Region Remain Forever" is evident throughout the story. The novel is close to my heart as I lived in Kyoto for four years. The film adaptation was made in 1963 and received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. In the late 1960s, five years after the film was made, I was a university student working part-time as a cameraman's assistant on a TV production team. Just at this time, Shima Iwashita, the lead actress in the film was appearing in a period drama, and I have a fond memory of working with her in the studio and of being able to talk about "The Old Capital" with her as if we were good old friends.