Dororo (2007)

Manga has been a constant source of inspiration for Japanese movie-makers, long before the American deep dive into the Marvel universe. Red Shadow had brought a 21st century live-action feel to the work of one of the godfathers of the manga, Mitsuteru Yokoyama. Dororo takes a similar live-action approach to one of the most inventive …

Demon / Kichiku (1978)

Ken Ogata had been a major star on TV since the mid-sixties, usually playing samurai heroes. His occasional big-screen appearances had been in supporting roles, some fairly large but for the most part not particularly memorable. Then suddenly, in 1978-79 he catapulted to the position of one of Japanese film’s most highly regarded actors by …

Scarlet Camellia / Goben no tsubaki (1965)

Sometimes you come across a movie that is far more interesting in concept than in practice, and Scarlet Camellia is a good example. It is a highly unusual movie because it is about a serial killer, a very rare occurrence in Japanese society or films, and even more unusually, the killer is a woman. But …