DVD REVIEW SPOTLIGHT ON: SEIJUN SUZUKI Director of “Story of a Prostitute” & “Gate of Flesh” By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Winter 2006 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) Japan’s Golden Age of Cinema, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s, supplied the international film circuit with a steady diet of respectable award-winning films. However, […]
FILM REVIEW Premiere of RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES Hosted by the Japan Society Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) (Summer 2006 Issue of the JETAA NY Newsletter) On August 24, Japan Society hosted the New York premiere of the film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Japan Society was kind enough to provide […]
Film Review PAPRIKA Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Summer 2007) Satoshi Kon’s latest film Paprika, is a feast for the eyes and intellect, a combination not commonly found in mass-marketed entertainment. His previous feature, Tokyo Godfathers, was dramatically static and its earthbound narrative undoubtedly imprisoned the active imagination seen in the earlier Millennium Actress and Perfect […]
DVD REVIEW Masaki Kobayashi’s HARAKIRI by Lyle Sylvander (Fall 2005 Issue) The Criterion Collection continues its reissue of classic Japanese films with the release of Masayaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. Harakiri was an enormous international hit and is universally acknowledged as a masterwork of Japan’s […]
FILMS OF YASUJIRO OZU The Criterion Collection Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2005) Despite his popularity in Japan, the filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu remained unknown in the West during his lifetime. Unlike other directors from Japan’s Golden Age, such as Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi, Ozu, who was dubbed “the most Japanese of all filmmakers”, was […]
FILM CORNER Isao Takahata’s GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2008) Perhaps more than any other country, Japan has elevated the art of animation from the confines of children’s entertainment. However, nothing in the anime universe quite compares with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) in terms of emotional […]
Japanese Film Review Kon Ichikawa’s THE BURMESE HARP and FIRES ON THE PLAIN Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Spring 2007) The Criterion Collection has released more classic Japanese films than any other DVD distributor. After releasing the films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi, the Collection series has now turned its attention to Kon […]
DVD REVIEW Before there was Puffy AmiYumi, there was… PINK LADY…… AND JEFF by Lyle Sylvander Few Japanese pop groups have matched the success of the pop duo Pink Lady. In 1976, Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda performed on the TV show Star Tanjo and won the chance to become professional stars. They were renamed […]
THE LITTLE TRAVELERS A JET Alum’s Unique Approach to Children’s Videos Reviewed by Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) & Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) Looking for a video that’s natukashii for JET alums, educational for kids and omoshiroi for all ages? Well, a member of the JET alum community may have just what you need. And no, […]
Bhimani, Janak (Prefecture, Years) Janak stars in WatchMeTv, a Japanese language vlog – http://www.watchme.tv/e/NY/ Harris, Jason (Shimane, 2008) JET vlog – http://www.youtube.com/user/myargonauts Hart, Mike (CIR Mie-ken, 1994-95) The Little Travelers – http://www.thelittletravelers.com/ – A unique DVD series created by Mike and his wife Angelina showing other countries (Japan, Bali & British Isles) through the eyes […]
