Kaoru Yachigusa Movies
Japanese co-star, onscreen from the '50s. ~ Rovi- 1953
This biting comedy established Kon Ichikawa as one of Japan's premier post-war satirists. It centers on a luckless teacher who goes to Tokyo's trendy Ginza district only to get hit by a car. The student he asks to help him demands money. His girl dumps him, and the corrupt politician who hit the teacher becomes rich and popular when he publishes his memoirs from jail. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- 1955
Previously filmed twice as a straight drama, Madame Butterfly was offered in its operatic form in this Japanese-Italian production. Karuo Yachigusa plays the central role of the tragic Chocho-San, while her singing has been dubbed by an anonymous soprano. Chocho-San's American lover/bertrayer Lt. Pinkerton is portrayed by Italy's Nicola Filacurdi, who like his leading lady relinquishes the singing responsibilities to someone else. The only member of the cast who actually sings Puccini's words and music is Ferdinando Lidonni as Sharpless. The stars are backed up by the chorus of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and by the dancers of Japan's Takarazuka Girls Opera Company. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kaoru Yachigusa
- 1955
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Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple follows the adventures of the 17th-century samurai Musashi Miyamoto (Toshiro Mifune), as he wanders through feudal Japan learning the ways of a samurai warrior. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Musashi Miyamoto was the first entry in Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Ingaki's Samurai trilogy. Toshiro Mifune is Takezo, a good-for-nothing from the farming village of Miyamoto, who dreams of becoming a samurai in 17th century Japan. Over the course of the first part, Takezo evolves from being a man filled with rage and violence who is looked upon by others as a wild animal to being Musashi Miyamoto, a man yearning for a deeper understanding of himself and what it takes to be a true warrior. When first released in the US, Samurai 1 was "clarified" by the narration of William Holden, an actor with a long-standing fascination and affection for all things Japanese. Based on a mammoth novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, Musashi Miyamoto was followed by Duel at Ichijoji Temple and Duel at Ganyru Island . All three films were eventually combined into an epic single entity, Samurai Trilogy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Toshiro Mifune, Koji Tsuruta, (more)
- 1956
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Samurai 3: Duel At Ganryu Island is the final movie in director Hiroshi Inagacki's trilogy following a samurai played by Toshiro Mifune. In this film, Mifune is challenged to a duel by his arch-rival (Koji Tsuruta). Before he fights the duel, Mifune is tested by a number of bandits and has to cope with the affections of two different women. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Toshiro Mifune, Koji Tsuruta, (more)
- 1957
The Japanese Snow Country weaves a simple but deeply involving tale of a painter and the woman he loves. The painter falls hard for his latest subject, a beautiful geisha girl. Unfortunately, their relationship is compromised by the well-meaning intrusions of his family and friends. Like many of director Shiro Toyoda's best films, Snow Country takes a gentle, almost humorous squint at the question of individuality vs. conformity. The provincialism of the characters is emphasized by the vast expanses of snowy wastes surrounding the village where the story takes place. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A ronin seeking to redeem his wandering status by gaining entry into one of the great houses takes part in a plot to assassinate a Shogunate Elder in this classic tale of swordplay directed by Okamoto Kihachi, starring Toshiro Mifune, and based on actual events. Niiro Tsuruchiyo (Mifune) is a samurai without a master, though he longs to gain the status and respect of a true warrior. Fate has never been particularly kind to this steady handed swordsman, and now, as he waits at the gates of Edo Castle on a chilly morning in March of 1860 and the snow begins to fall, he is about to discover just how fragile life can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Toshiro Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, (more)
- 1968
Packaged in the States with director Honda's 1964 feature Gorath, this sci-fi film tells the story of an ex-con who has undergone a substantial change on account of a scientific experiment. He is now able, at will, to transform himself into vapor. When his girlfiend is accused of theft, the Vapor Man leads the police to believe he is the perpetrator--and then continues to commit more crimes. The authorities use his girlfriend to intitiate a fool-proof plan to destroy the gaseous guy. Honda's frequent collaborator, Eiji Tsuburaya, is responsible for the first-rate special effects. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kaoru Yachigusa, (more)
- 1970
This Japanese biopic chronicles reminiscences of renowned poet Hideo Yoshino as he speaks to the young Swedish student who interviews him. The story jumps from present to past as he speaks of his marriage to Yachigusa, the woman who inspired his best poetry. Following her death, Yoshino forgoes his art and concentrates on raising his children. Later he marries his housemaid and causes a major rift between his daughter and himself. His two sons begin to reject him, not because of his marriage, but because they hate living in his distinguished shadow. The film jumps to the present, and just before the old poet dies, he and one son reconcile. The poet is then inspired to write one more before he finally expires. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1975
This non-narrative film is a phantasmal meditation on director Shuji Terayama's adolescence, living in a small community and overwhelmed by the suffocating demands of his widowed mother. He has a crush on a married woman in the community, who asks him to run away to the big city with her. At some point, the action in the film stops as the director comes into the frame and enters into a dialogue with the representation of himself at age 15. His younger self scolds the older one for his distortions of memory. One of the more striking features of the use of imagery in this film, which is perhaps a metaphor for the intent of the film, is the way in which obvious stage backdrops fall away to reveal real-life settings. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 2003
Yoshimitsu Morita's comedy drama Ashura No Gotoku (Like Ashura) tells the story of what happens to four sisters when they discover a secret their father has been keeping. The film opens with third sister Takiko (Eri Fukatsu) revealing to the others that dad has been having an affair that has produced an illegitimate child. While all the women react in their own way, each has also been keeping secrets. Takiko becomes involved with the private eye she hired to snoop on her father. Tsunako (Shinobu Otake), the oldest, is a widow who has been carrying on with a married man. Second oldest Makiko (Hitomi Kuroki) is too dense to see that her husband has been cheating on her. The situation grows more complicated when a mysterious letter that may have been written by one of the sisters is printed in the newspaper. Like Ashura was screened at the 2003 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shinobu Otake, Hitomi Kuroki, (more)
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