Ichikawa Jun (1948-2008)

[Stefan Nutz]

Dying in the Hospital is - at least in my eyes - one of the most compelling 
Japanese movie I've had the pleasure to see.
It's a shame that Ichikawa never got the attention he would have deserved. 
He will deeply be missed!

S.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Kerpan" <mekerpan at verizon.net>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: Ichikawa Jun (1948-2008)


> Obituary in Variety at:
>
> http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117992497.html?categoryid=25&cs= 1
>
> I'm stunned (and depressed) about the horrible news of Jun Ichikawa's 
> untimely death (which seems like a re-play of the untimely demise of 
> Shinji Somai, at an even earlier age, in 2001). Like Somai, Ichikawa was 
> an exceptionally fine (and sensitive) director who never really got the 
> respect he deserved. (Even after the success, of his Tony Takitani, his 
> subsequent films have never even showed up in subbed form -- except at 
> maybe a festival or two).
>
> I've only managed to see 9 of his films (and most of what I've seen has 
> been unsubbed). Of these, my favorites have been Tokyo Siblings, Osaka 
> Story, Tokyo Marigold and How I Became Myself. But, really, most of the 
> others are almost as wonderful.
>
> Very, very sad.
>
> Michael Kerpan
>
> --- On Fri, 9/19/08, Roland Domenig <roland.domenig at univie.ac.at> wrote:
>
>> From: Roland Domenig <roland.domenig at univie.ac.at>
>> Subject: Ichikawa Jun (1948-2008)
>> To: "Kine Japan (KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu)" 
>> <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
>> Date: Friday, September 19, 2008, 9:48 AM
>> The News reported today that director Ichikawa Jun passed
>> away this morning at age 59.
>> Born in Tokyo in 1948 Ichikawa began his career as director
>>  of TV commercials. In the 1980s his hit TV-commercials
>> earned him several awards among them a Golden Lion at the
>> Cannes International Advertising Festival in 1985. In 1987
>> he moved into filmmaking with BU.SU, which was critically
>> acclaimed and voted one of the top ten films of 1987 by the
>> Kinema Jumpo jury. Since then, Ichikawa has continued to
>> make a new feature films every other year. The stylishness
>> of his films won him a high reputation in Japan as well as
>> internationally. Among his best known films are Tsugumi
>> (1990), Tokiwa - The Manga Apartment (Tokiwaso no seishun,
>> 1996), Tokyo Lullaby (Tokyo yakyoku, 1997) Osaka Story
>> (Osaka monogatari, 1999) and Tony Takitani (2004).
>> Personally I especially like his early films Memories of You
>> (Kaisha monogatari, 1988) and No Life King (1989).
>> Ichikawa's most recent film Buy a suit (Sutsu o kau)
>> will be premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival
>> next month.
>> Although Ichikawa never rose to "stardom" he
>> nevertheless was one of the most reliable Japanese film
>> directors of the past two decades and his untimely dead is a
>> great loss for Japanese cinema.
>>
>> Roland Domenig
>
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