Japanese gay films: Koichi Imaizumi

[batgirl at tkb.att.ne.jp]

Hi Jasper,

Here's the short story: Imaizumi wrote the script for the Yoshiyuki 
version, which is a pretty standard representative of its genre as you 
described in your e-mail, then re-shot the film exactly as he had 
imagined it when he first wrote the script. That second version, the 
one screened at TILGFF, is the one released by Parasol Peccadillo on 
DVD in the UK.

Website for Imaizumi's production group, Habakari Cinema: 
http://www.shiroari.com/habakari/

Naughty Boys on the Parasol Peccadillo website: 
http://www.parasolpeccadillo.com/film.php?section=review&id=58

The two versions share the same essential storyline, but have a 
completely different tone and aesthetic (in the spirit of full 
disclosure, I was involved in making the Imaizumi version.)
Imaizumi is really approachable, so you could also e-mail him directly 
via the Habakari Cinema website to find out more about his version.

All the best,

Sarah Teasley
UMass-Dartmouth
batgirl at tkb.att.ne.jp

On 2006/06/23, at 13:22, J.sharp wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> I wonder if anyone out there with their ear to the ground in Japanese 
> indie
> filmmaking would be able to help me out of a present muddle, either on 
> the
> list or off.
>
> It concerns Kōichi Imaizumi, an actor best known for his 
> appearances in
> Hisayasu Satō’s films.
>
> Imaizumi has now been fairly active in the gay pink film circuit, 
> scripting
> several  films released through Okura directed by Yumi Yoshiyuki. These
> include The Real Face of Men (Otome-tachi no Sugao, 1998),  I Am Lost 
> in
> Love (Boku wa Ai ni Muchū, 1999), Naughty Boys (Uwaki na Bokura, 
> 2001)
> and Sad, Maybe (Setsunai Kamo Shirenai, 2004) - these are generally my
> translations, btw, so they might be a bit off!
>
> Now, it seems that gay pink films do not screen at the Tokyo Gay and 
> Lesbian
> Film Festival, as they are considered exploitation, not art, but 
> several of
> these titles have done. Having chased up the link for the film Naughty 
> Boys,
> it seems that there are two versions of this. The jmdb credits the pink
> version as directed by Yoshiyuki, containing many of the gay cliches 
> that
> the bara-zoku sub-genre seems to adhere to, while the version screened 
> at
> TGLFF seems to have been completely re-shot by Imaizumi to be a bit 
> more
> sensitive to gay viewers- I guess this second version is the one that 
> has
> been released on DVD recently in the UK.
>
> Does anyone know the behind the scenes story behind this? Are there two
> versions, and if so, how different are they?
>
> Thanks (in anticipation),
>
> Jasper Sharp
>
> www.midnighteye.com
> ===
>
> Available now in bookstores everywhere:
> The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (Stone Bridge Press)
> by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
> http://www.midnighteye.com/features/midnighteye_guide.shtml
> "Easily one of the most important books on Japanese cinema ever 
> released in
> English."
> - Newtype USA
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________
> Message sent using Hunter Point Online WebMail
>
>