Black lizard, Avalon...

Ito, Michiko mito
Mon Aug 27 11:30:54 EDT 2001


Just a note.  Miwa Akihiro is not a kabuki onnagata actor but a famous
singer who is specialized with chanson.  Band_o Tamasabur_o, perhaps the top
onnagata actor in Japan, also played the same role in theater.

Michiko Ito 
Japanese Studies Librarian 
East Asian Library 
University of Kansas 
TEL: (785) 864-4669 
FAX: (785) 864-5311 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jasper Sharp [mailto:jasper_sharp at hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 5:43 AM
To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject: Re: Black lizard, Avalon...


>Black Lizard, which is a grotesque and at the same time 

>beautiful story from edogawa rampo's novel it is supposedly (can someone
>confirm this?) the last time this picture is seen in Europe since Mishima's
>family has forbidden all japanese author movies in which he appears to be
shown 

I'm not sure about being forbidden from being screened in Europe, but I was
certain that this was getting a US DVD release pretty soon, though I may be
wrong. Can anyone confirm?

Black Lizard must rank as one of my favourite Japanese films of all time.
The cross-dressing Miwa Akihiro apparently was Mishima's real-life lover,
and starred in the author's original stage adaptation of Edogawa Rampo's
novel- she was a relatively well known onnagata actor (literally meaning
"woman's style") -one who specialises in the women's roles in Kabuki
theatre. I believe Mishima's play has been published in French, though I'd
be interested to know what, if any, alterations Mishima made to the original
story. Miwa Akihiro also provided one of the voices in Princess Mononoke.

>Shinu Ito's Scorpion also very interesting despite gruesome and useless 

>violence ; the lead character - a female convict- almost never speaks a 

>word, and her beauty is hypnotizing... 

Meiko Kaji is indeed one of the most mesmerically beautiful women that has
ever hit the screen. She made a name for herself in Nikkatsu's Alley Cat
series at the tale end of the 60s but moved from the studio when they went
exclusively into sex movies, appearing in Teruo Ishii's Blind Woman's Curse
before the Scorpion series and then the Lady Snowblood couple of films (the
first of these is currently out on VHS in the UK, and is similar in
execution to the Lone Wolf chambaras). The second part of the Female Convict
Scorpion series was put out on DVD in the US earlier this year. I sincerely
hope someone is going to put out some of the other entries in the series. 

Jasper Sharp

Midnight Eye - japan_cult_cinema 

www.midnighteye.com <http://www.midnighteye.com>  

 

>From: "Christophe CRISON" 
>Reply-To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
>To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
>Subject: Black lizard, Avalon... 
>Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 12:44:33 +0000 
> 
>Yesterday I saw 3 interesting movies at the Etrange Festival : 
> 
>Kinji Fusakasu's Black Lizard, which is a grotesque and at the same 
>time 
>beautiful story from edogawa rampo's novel 
>it is supposedly (can someone confirm this?) the last time this 
>picture is 
>seen in Europe since Mishima's family has forbidden all japanese 
>author 
>movies in which he appears to be shown 
> 
>Shinu Ito's Scorpion also very interesting despite gruesome and 
>useless 
>violence ; the lead character - a female convict- almost never 
>speaks a 
>word, and her beauty is hypnotizing... 
> 
>Mamoru Oshii's Avalon on which i barely know what to say, like the 
>audience 
>including a lot of fans left baffled by this concept movie. It 
>reminded me a 
>lot of Chris Marker's cult movie "la jet?e" and also carot&jeunet 
>imagery. 
> 
>Good news for oshii's fan : he is working on a television series 
>based on 
>Ghost in the shell 
> 
>Next week : a lot of takeshi miike and to finish sogo ishii's Gojoe 
>Cordialement, 
> 
>Christophe. 
> 
> 
> 
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