Japanese gay films: Koichi Imaizumi
J.sharp
j.sharp at hpo.net
Tue Jun 27 05:32:28 EDT 2006
Thanks a million Sarah. Sorry for the delay in replying – I was away for the
weekend. But this clears up the matter entirely, and falls in with what I
was thinking. I did actually meet Imaizumi a few years ago and all I
remember was him saying something about working with Yumi Yoshiyuki on some
films and not being very happy with the way gays are portrayed in gay pink
films. But yes, I should mail him again for some more info.
I guess this sort of thing highlights the limitations of the jmdb (not to
mention that Imaizumi the writer and Imaizumi the actor seem to be listed
under different entries)
Following on to Marten’s questions:
>Speaking about gay pink film, has anyone saw Nakamura's Genji 's
>'Beautiful Mystery'? Often quoted as one the first gay pink film to >made,
is this statement true?
Yes, it was the first gay pink film. It was the first release by the company
ENK in Osaka, who share the small market with Okura Productions. The film
was a parody of the years leading up to Mishima’s death in 1970.
Interestingly, like many of the early ENK it was written by Rokuro
Mochizuki, of ANOTHER LONELY HITMAN and ONIBI fame.
>In the recent gay pink film, i think 'Sabaku' (2004) was
>quite interesting, very reminescent of some Satou H. 'brutal flicks'. >I
wonder if others releases from ENK company have same qualities..
>From the brief scattering I’ve seen, Japanese gay pinku seems more brutal
than the straight pink. Hard to believe audiences really get any pleasure
out of this, but then again, as Imaizumi seems to suggest, most don’t.
>any hope that Artsmagic bring 'Kamen no Yuwaku' in the US?
To be honest, I would say there’s absolutely no hope at all.
>Takechi Tetsuji
>- his less known work 'Dream of the Red Chamber' which had problems >with
Japanese Censors, his 'Zankoku' dyptic. Were they similar to his >more
famous works or something more commercial?
As far as I know, like most films of this type from the 60s, the films don’t
even exist anymore. BLACK SNOW was put out on video in Japan by the company
Hummingbird, but I am pretty sure there is no print of the original
DAYDREAM, for example, in Japan – the US video release by Something Weird,
like their other pink films, was from a US export print, which appears to be
the only one left still around.
All I would say is that Takechi’s films from the 60s are probably
stylistically very similar to the two that do exist, given they were made on
a similar budget for a similar market, and also given that his work in the
80s which is available hardly suggests any great evolution in his
filmmaking.
Hope this helps, and thanks again Sarah.
Jasper
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--------- Original Message --------
From: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Re: Japanese gay films: Koichi Imaizumi
Date: 25/06/06 10:10
>
> 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 K&#333;ichi Imaizumi, an actor best known for his
> > appearances in
> > Hisayasu Sat&#333;fs 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 Much&#363;, 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
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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