Double Suicide / Shinju: Ten no Amijima (1969)

One of the simplest yet one of the most complex of Japanese movies, Shinoda’s Double Suicide adapts Ten no Amijima, one of the most popular of Chikamatsu’s domestic suicide plays, to film. Unlike Mizoguchi’s adaptation of a different love suicide play, however, Shinoda theatricalizes the film medium without ever suggesting he is filming a stage …

Love Under the Crucifix / Ogin-sama (1962)

The American title of Love Under the Crucifix is more than a bit misleading. Though the movie is set in the 1580s, when there was a serious attempt to suppress Christianity in major part because it led to contact with foreigners, the film itself is not about Christians or their persecution. Rather, it is about …

47 Ronin / Genroku chushingura (1941-42)

The Chushingura story is one of the basic cultural signposts of traditional Japanese culture. As such, it has been filmed numerous times, the latest in 2010 with Koji Yakusho continuing his traverse of all the classic roles in Japanese films. (The less mention of the Keanu Reaves monster movie version the better.) It is so …