Tag - wide-angle

 
 

WIDE ANGLE

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 10, 2015
Where to find Japanese films screening in Tokyo with English subtitles
When I first started watching Japanese films at cinemas in Tokyo nearly three decades ago, screenings with English subtitles were nonexistent. I spent a month with my Japanese teacher at the time studying the script of Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha"("The Shadow Warrior") so I could puzzle out its feudal-era dialogue in the theater.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jun 3, 2015
Festival of off-center European films comes to Tokyo and Kyoto
One of the main goals of a film festival is to show movies that audiences won't get to see otherwise. For the festival operators there's another objective: testing reactions to films and stories, and using that information for marketing purposes. And with the number of film festivals being held in Japan on the rise, it's a win-win. If you want to see quality movies that may not get a theatrical release (and to encourage distributors to bring over more interesting movies), visit your local film fest for a sampling of undiscovered gems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 27, 2015
Could Kiyoshi Kurosawa's win at Cannes change Japan's luck?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa won the best director prize in the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section on Sunday, but he also deserves a prize from the Japanese film industry for single-handedly turning its presence at the world's most prestigious film festival from a vague embarrassment to a cause for celebration — at least among the Japanese media.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 20, 2015
Urban planning
"Inside Architecture — Dare mo Shiranai Kenchiku no Hanashi" is a fascinating look at the relationship between money and city planning, economy and architecture. The filmmaker behind this formidable documentary is 38-year-old Tomomi Ishiyama, a Fulbright scholar who studied at New York City University and later worked as an apprentice to film director Isao Okishima. "Inside Architecture" is her second feature, and her first documentary.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 13, 2015
Sign of the times as yakuza classic gets kudos at Cannes
In the early 2000s, when I was writing a book about yakuza movies, veterans of the genre's 1960s and '70s heyday I met had a fierce pride in their work but no illusions about its low ranking in the film-world hierarchy. In particular, the Toei studio's films about sword-swinging or gun-toting gangsters had long been conspicuous by their absence from festival circuit lineups and the awards season prize lists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 22, 2015
The Zushi Beach Film Festival resists the ban on loud music and tattoos
Zushi Beach — a popular getaway for people seeking to escape Tokyo's stifling summer heat — may have banned "loud" music, tattoos and barbecues, but hey, at least it still has a film festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 15, 2015
Jidaigeki revival?
The jidaigeki (samurai period drama) genre, whose films and TV series featuring sword-swinging samurai once dominated popular culture here, has long since fallen on hard times. In contrast to its 1950s peak, when jidaigeki accounted for nearly half the films in theaters, the genre has become something of a niche product, made mainly by older directors for the "silver seat" set.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 8, 2015
Documentary on Japanese 'war brides' is gaining steam
The documentary-film scene just keeps getting better, and here's one recent example that strikes a chord. Three women (Kathryn Tolbert, Lucy Craft and Karen Kasmauski) — all first-born daughters of Japanese war brides who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s to wed Americans — have gotten together to make "Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight," a 20-minute documentary about an overlooked slice of life in America's history.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 1, 2015
Better call Saul to come fix Japan's streaming services
After "Breaking Bad" finished its five-year run in 2013, fans mourned the loss of one of the most gripping, innovative TV series they'd ever seen. When the head writer and executive producer of "Breaking Bad," Vince Gilligan, announced that there would be a spinoff series, people had their doubts, but "Better Call Saul" has arrived, and it's just as good. It's actually a prequel, focusing on shifty motormouth attorney Saul Goodman (played by comedian Bob Odenkirk) before he became the criminally connected shyster we came to know and love in "Breaking Bad."

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores