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Very sad news indeed. <br>
<br>
One of my fondest memories of the Tennoji Tsutaya, was trying to
find "Evil Dead Trap" on the shelves. In my atrocious (at the time)
Japanese, I attempted to translate "Evil Dead Trap" with the? aid of
a dictionary to the store worker. He started breaking a sweat trying
to figure out what the hell I was talking about but eventually we
were able to put it together and found the video.<br>
<br>
"Evil Dead Trap" was really derivative of Argento, but I still
thought it was a great film for the time, mostly due the sincerity
of it's implementation.<br>
<br>
Too many suicides amongst talented individuals. He will be missed.<br>
<br>
Pete<br>
<br>
<br>
On 1/26/2011 8:39 AM, Jasper Sharp wrote:
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I would be very keen to see Ningyo densetsu - does anyone know who
the rightsholder is and where to source a print from. Its ATG, so
it might possible be Toho, I guess.<br>
<br>
Actually, I thought Red Porno was one of the more enjoyable of the
Angel Guts series when I was working on these for Arts Magic, and
also one of the better Roman Porno's of this era, when the budgets
had really shrunk from the 1970s levels. It is incredibly slickly
made, especially when one considers the film was put together in a
far shorter time than usual because Ikeda was appointed to direct
it only after the original director ducked out of the project.<br>
<br>
I have to say it though, Evil Dead Trap isn't one of my faves -
yes, it is pretty well made for this type of film, I'll grant you,
but it was pretty heavy going stuff all the same.<br>
<br>
Definitely an interesting director though who never got his due
respect.<br>
<br>
<br>
Jasper Sharp: Writer & Film Curator Homepage<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://jaspersharp.com/">http://jaspersharp.com/</a><br>
<br>
Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.midnighteye.com">http://www.midnighteye.com</a><br>
<br>
Zipangu Fest: Japanarchy in the UK<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://zipangufest.com/">http://zipangufest.com/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
> Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:32:21 +0100<br>
> From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:eigagogo@free.fr">eigagogo@free.fr</a><br>
> To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a><br>
> Subject: Re: RIP Evil Dead Trap Director Toshiharu Ik<br>
> <br>
> Sad news indeed! Ningyo densetsu would REALLY deserve
recognition (guess this one was never screened abroad?)<br>
> (btw, my french review, if it can interest someone:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://eigagogo.free.fr/Critiques/legende_sirene.htm">http://eigagogo.free.fr/Critiques/legende_sirene.htm</a>)<br>
> <br>
> ----- Mail Original -----<br>
> De: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:hakutaku@kansaigaidai.ac.jp">hakutaku@kansaigaidai.ac.jp</a><br>
> ?: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a><br>
> Envoy?: Mercredi 26 Janvier 2011 13h58:37 GMT +01:00
Amsterdam / Berlin / Berne / Rome / Stockholm / Vienne<br>
> Objet: Re: RIP Evil Dead Trap Director Toshiharu Ik<br>
> <br>
> This is very sad. Despite the attention in the West drawn by
his Shiryo no wana 1988 (which is a better film than the usual
"Japan's first splatter movie" might suggest), I would agree that
Ningyo densetsu 1984 is really his best. It starts out with a
sense of a realistic drama about an ama and gradually shifts into
a metaphor of nature's revenge on society (and the use of nuclear
power). The long unique sword fight scene transcends Tarantino.
His best films have a moody quality that is very engaging. After
Ningyo densetsu I would rank Kurenai monogatari 1992 next. His
Masho no kaori 1985 is also an interesting drama. His remake of
Tanizaki's Kagi 1997 is the latest of many Kagi remakes and
perhaps the best since Ichikawa's, although like the others not so
close to the novel and with another original ending.<br>
> It is disturbing to have another talented, yet little
recognized director, depart.<br>
> Paul Berry<br>
> Kyoto<br>
> <br>
> <br>
> ----- Original Message -----<br>
> From: "Jasper Sharp" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jasper_sharp@hotmail.com"><jasper_sharp@hotmail.com></a><br>
> To: "kinejapan" <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:kinejapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu"><kinejapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu></a><br>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 8:31:57 PM GMT +09:00 Japan<br>
> Subject: RIP Evil Dead Trap Director Toshiharu Ik<br>
> <br>
> <br>
> Some terrible news<br>
> just came in, but according to news reports from Japan, the
director<br>
> Toshiharu Ikeda has been found dead, believed to have
committed<br>
> suicide by drowning. The main source I have for this at
present can<br>
> be found in Japanese here<br>
> [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ameblo.jp/m-ganmo/entry-10779711712.html">http://ameblo.jp/m-ganmo/entry-10779711712.html</a>]<br>
> and here<br>
>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/osaka/gossip/cinema/news/20110126-OHO1T00074.htm">http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/osaka/gossip/cinema/news/20110126-OHO1T00074.htm</a>]Ikeda
is known in<br>
> the the West for Japan?s first splatter movie Evil Dead Trap<br>
> (1988), a well-made but ultimately derivative film written by
his<br>
> regular collaborator from the 1980s, Takashi Ishii, and
heavily<br>
> influenced by Sam Raimi?s Evil Dead and the works of<br>
> Cronenburg and Argento. He began his<br>
> career at Nikkatsu, making Roman Porno films such as Sukeman<br>
> Mafia: Lynching (1980), One Summer?s Experience: Blue Coral<br>
> Reef (1981) and Angel Guts: Red Porno (1981). The latter,<br>
> the fourth film in the Angel Guts series based on the adult<br>
> manga series by Takashi Ishii, was his last for the studio,
and he<br>
> left to go freelance, with his next film, Mermaid Legend<br>
> (1984) a co-production between the Director?s Company and Art<br>
> Theatre Guild ? incidentally, a number of Japanese
authorities have<br>
> described this as his best, although I personally have never
seen<br>
> it. His output following Evil Dead Trap however was fairly<br>
> negligible, it has to be said, mainly work in the field of
erotic and action V-Cinema.<br>
> His final film I saw, The Man Behind the Scissors,<br>
> played at the 2004 Tokyo International Film Festival, marking
a<br>
> return to 35 feature film-making. I covered it for Midnight
Eye back<br>
> then, and remember quite liking it until it started losing
momentum<br>
> and falling apart towards the end, as I wrote at the time<br>
>
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/round-up_009.shtml#the-man-behind-the-scissors">http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/round-up_009.shtml#the-man-behind-the-scissors</a>).<br>
> <br>
> <br>
> <br>
> I've written more on my blog about my reminiscences of when I
interviewed him for the Arts Magic release of Angel Guts: Red
Porno back in 2004:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://jaspersharp.com/blog/news/2011/01/toshiharu-ikeda/">http://jaspersharp.com/blog/news/2011/01/toshiharu-ikeda/</a><br>
> <br>
> <br>
> <br>
> Jasper Sharp: Writer & Film Curator Homepage<br>
> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://jaspersharp.com/">http://jaspersharp.com/</a><br>
> <br>
> Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema<br>
> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.midnighteye.com">http://www.midnighteye.com</a><br>
> <br>
> Zipangu Fest: Japanarchy in the UK<br>
> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://zipangufest.com/">http://zipangufest.com/</a><br>
> <br>
> <br>
> <br>
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