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SANMON YAKUSHA
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Japan
2000 / 35 mm / Color-B&W; / 126 min.
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BY PLAYER
Taiji Tonoyama, who called himself a dime actor, was a prolific presence in Japanese cinema for over three decades. A man with a big appetite for women, alcohol and mystery stories, he played in over 250 films of all types, mostly character and supporting roles. Born in 1915 in Ginza, he never was as popular as an actor as he was with women. This dramatized portrait of Tonoyama shows how in 1951, while co-starring in THE STORY OF A BELOVED WIFE opposite Nobuko Otowa, he meets a 17-year-old waitress Kimie. Though Tonoyama is already married (his wife Asako is in Kamakura), he begins an affair with Kimie. Though he realizes that this relationship is harmful to everyone, he keeps it going all his life. Shindo, himself 88 years old and president of Kindai Eiga Kyokai, the company owning rights to most of his films, has incorporated footage showing Tonoyama in many of Shindo's best-known films, including THE ISLAND (1961), THE MAN (1962), MOTHER (1963), ONIBABA (1964) and THE CONQUEST (1965). In addition to its portrait of Tonoyama, BY PLAYER offers a glimpse into a unique area of Japanese film history.
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Script: Kaneto Shindo.
Phot.: Yoshiyuki Miyake.
Ed.: Yukio Watanave.
Mus.: Hikaru Hayashi.
Cast: Naoto Takenaka, Yoko Oginome, Hideko Yoshida, Nobuko Otowa.
Prod.: Jiro Shindo, Kindai Eiga Kyokai Co., 5-4-16 Akasaka, Minatoku, Tokyo (Japon), t�l.: (03) 3582-4904, fax: (03) 3582-4959 / Dragon Film Co., 1-23-23 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Japon), t�l.: (03) 3486-7605, fax: (03) 3486-7655, e-mail: [email protected].
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Kaneto Shindo
Kaneto Shindo was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1912. Son of a farmer, he began his film career in the '30s as set designer then moved into scriptwriting in the '40s, contributing to the films of Mizoguchi, Ichikawa and others. Shindo formed a production company in 1950 with Kimibasuro Yoshimura and actress Nobuko Otowa, who starred in many of his films. He made his directorial debut in 1951 with THE STORY OF A BELOVED WIFE and came to international attention in the early '60s with THE ISLAND (1960) and ONIBABA (1964). Among his other films are CHILDREN OF HIROSHIMA (1952, WOLVES (1955), BLACK CAT (1967) and THE LIFE OF CHIKUZAN (1977). The latter film, along with ONIBABA and THE ISLAND, are being presented at this year's Montreal World Film Festival as part of a tribute to Shindo. |
