#30
Post
by tavernier » Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:24 pm
Film Forum press release:
[quote]NARUSE: THE UNKNOWN JAPANESE MASTER Complete Schedule
OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 17 at New York's Film Forum
OCTOBER 21/22/23/24
WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS‚ New 35mm Print!
(1960) Just-turned-thirty widow Hideko Takamine works as a bar hostess in an exclusive Ginza nightclub, remaining high-minded while dreaming of opening her own place, as round-heeled colleagues cash in and her skirt-chasing manager Tatsuya Nakadai cheers her on while admiring her from afar, amid suicides, her own ulcers, and marriage proposals. Could rich exec Masayuki Mori (Rashomon) be the way out? 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
OCTOBER 25
WIFE New 35mm Print!
(1953) Unusual for Naruse, salaryman Ken Uehara is on the receiving end, as wife Mieko Takamine sleeps in, eschews housework, and even leaves hairs in his bento lunches, and who, when she finds out about his affair with his widowed secretary, seems to get even more unsympathetic. Based on a novel by Fumiko Hayashi. 1:00, 2:50, 4:40, 8:20, 10:10
OCTOBER 25
OLDER BROTHER, YOUNGER SISTER New 35mm Print!
(1953) It's bad enough for a domineering rural dad to realize his family survives on the money from Mom's riverside tea stall and that his son, erstwhile classy intellectual Masayuki Mori, is turning into a tattooed brawler. But then eldest daughter Machiko Kyo (Rashomon) returns from the city sporting a pregnancy by a university student. Third and most acclaimed adaptation of a popular novel. 6:30
OCTOBER 26 (2 Films for 1 Admission)
APPROACH OF AUTUMN New 35mm Print!
(1960) Recently widowed Nobuko Otowa (Onibaba) re-locates for a job at Tokyo's Mishima Hotel, but her shy sixth-grader has trouble adjusting, preferring the company of his pet beetle - until he befriends the hotel manager's daughter. A rare and masterful focus on children for Naruse. 1:00, 4:30, 8:00
SUDDEN RAIN New 35mm Print!
(1956) Those little habits can sure get annoying after four years of marriage -- husband Shuji Sano reads at the table, wife Setsuko Hara clips recipes before he's finished the paper, etc. Then a niece's visit and those next-door newlyweds help to stir the pot. 2:40, 6:10, 9:40
OCTOBER 27
DAUGHTERS, WIVES AND A MOTHER New 35mm Print!
(1960) In suburban Tokyo, a son of the Sakanishis dies, leaving his widow with a king-sized insurance payoff - and then the family descends, with backbiting, disasters and recriminations so horrific that the mater familias looks to check into a nursing home for the kids' sake, with only the widow herself with a shot at happiness. Color, Scope and an incredible all-star cast: Setsuko Hara, Hideko Takamine, Ken Uehara, Masayuki Mori, and Tatsuya Nakadai. 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30
OCTOBER 28/29
FLOATING CLOUDS (aka DRILLING CLOUDS) New 35mm Print!
(1955) Amour fou in post-war Tokyo, as, in neurotic playing of almost painful intensity by Hideko Takamine, a woman who, knowing full well her lover's weakness and instability, sacrifices everything to follow him. As the lover, Masayuki Mori's enigmatic performance keeps the man's true feelings ambiguous until practically the final shot. The director's biggest commercial success and winner of a poll in Kinema Jumpo, Japan's leading movie magazine, as best of the year - even Ozu raved about it to his diary. 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30
OCTOBER 30/31
FLOWING New 35mm Print!
(1956) Young star geisha Hideko Takamine complains, while head-of-the-house Isuzu Yamada (Throne of Blood) always looks on the bright side, but quietly observing maid Kinuyo Tanaka (Ugetsu) is the only one who actually realizes the inevitable end of the world of the geisha in a harsh post-war Tokyo. With the three super-stars leading an incredible cast - including two of the Seven Samurai - with Yamada showing her actual shamisen prowess and a wordless final reel. 1:00, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00
NOVEMBER 1
ANZUKKO New 35mm Print!
(1958) Shizue Natsukawa, with distinguished novelist dad So Yamamura's encouragement, sends suitor after suitor to the rejection pile, until she finds two winners in a row: a young veteran and an aspiring novelist. But does she pick the right one? 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
NOVEMBER 2
SUMMER CLOUDS (aka HERRINGBONE CLOUDS) New 35mm Print!
(1958) Naruse's first film shot in the country, and in color & Scope, introduces a rare sweep and burst of fresh air. And in glamorous Ozu star Chikage Awashima -- cast against type as a war widow working her husband's small plot -- a strong protagonist (even by Naruse standards) walking knowingly into an affair with married reporter Isao Kimura (Seven Samurai). With a stunning conclusion, both tragic and upbeat. 1:00, 3:35, 6:10, 8:45
NOVEMBER 3
A WIFE'S HEART New 35mm Print!
(1956) Every time Hideko Takamine raises enough yen for that coffee shop, her family scarfs it; then her husband gets jealous of her bank loan officer. With Toshiro Mifune guesting in his second and last Naruse picture. 1:30, 5:15, 9:00
HUSBAND AND WIFE New 35mm Print!
(1953) Bumped from family lodgings when brother decides to marry, Yoko Sugi and husband Ken Uehara end up lodging with eccentric Rentaro Mikuni, but even as Uehara resents the strange magnetism of Mikuni, his wife announces a blessed event. But do they want to have it? 3:30, 7:15
NOVEMBER 4/5
LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS New 35mm Print!
(1954) While her three former geisha colleagues still have hopes in their children and in life, hard-bitten retired chrysanthemumÂ
I'm not going to be able to catch most of the Film Forum Naruses though, so I'd have to pass on the notes.
