Japanese gay films: Koichi Imaizumi
batgirl@tkb.att.ne.jp
batgirl
Wed Jun 28 18:09:40 EDT 2006
Dear Jasper,
Glad to hear that the information helped!
Sarah
On 2006/06/27, at 5:32, J.sharp wrote:
> 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
>
> --
> Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese Cinema
> 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
>
>
>
> --------- 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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