Taboo / Gohatto (1999)

The Shinsengumi had disappeared from Japanese films for the most part around 1970, so it is something of a surprise to see them reappear as a major subject in Gohatto. Even more surprising is that it is a movie by Oshima, who had never shown any previous interest in jidai-geki or in films with sword-play …

Imperial Japanese Empire / Great War / Dai Nippon teikoku (1982)

Having seen great success with 203 Kochi, Toshio Masuda and screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara tried to do the impossible in Dai Nippon teikoku – compress the entire Japanese experience of the war with the US into one three-hour feature. Though there are plenty of explosions and scenes of soldiers charging, with documentary footage interspersed, they actually …

Sun’s Burial / Taiyo no hakaba (1960)

Oshima's The Sun's Burial is a brutal, if somewhat clumsy, look at Japan through its permanent underclass in Osaka. To call this a dog-eat-dog world would be an understatement. Hanako is a young prostitute working for one gang while helping Shin set up a rival operation financed by selling blood, mostly from Korean dockworkers.  Every …