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On the occasion of his retrospective taking place in Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival, Katsuhito Ishii talks to Panos Kotzathanasis about The Taste of Tea, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl and Norioka Workshop, his collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, Tadanobu Asano and Tatsuya Gashuin, his work in animation, the current state of the Japanese movie industry and his future projects.

You can find reviews of his films on the following links:

Hello! Jun'ichi

Norioka Workshop

Promise of August

Party 7

Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl

Funky Forest: The First Contact

The Taste of Tea...

Katsuhito Ishii has been present on the Japanese film scene for 25 years, but he has not really made it. He was closest to the success some 15-20 years ago when he made a winning streak with “The Taste of Tea” (2004) and “Funky Forest” (2005) in both of which he “mixed-and-matched” bits and pieces of genre and art house approach. Since then, he made a few films which met different levels of attention form the critics and the audience, and he practically went missing for almost a decade now. While we are waiting for the announced feature expansion of his 50th anniversary Gamera short (2015), if we still are waiting in fact, why would not we take a glance at his last feature, “Hello! Jun'ichi” (2014), which is a part of a Third Window box set dedicated to him.

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First things first, this is a kiddy film, so it...

Japanese director Katsuhito Ishii will attend the 22nd edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff), which will take place from June 30th to July 8th, 2023. The Nifff will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his cult debut film Shark Skin Man And Peach Hip Girl (1998), a restored version of which will be presented in world premiere at the festival. In addition to showing several of his feature films, this eclectic artist will talk in depth about his rich, genre-blending filmography at the Nifff Extended conferences. A unique opportunity to explore the kaleidoscopic works of an auteur whose visual style never fails to dazzle.

The World’S First Retrospective Of His Versatile Body Of Work

After graduating, Katsuhito Ishii switches, as early as 1992, to directing commercials for the Tohokushinsha Company. In 1998, his first feature film Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl, adapted from a Minetaro Mochizuki manga, takes everyone...

Japan boasts one of the most robust and oldest film industries in the world, with historian Yomota Inuhiko dating its origins as far back as 1896. With visionary filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki among the industry's most recognizable names, Japan has produced some truly extraordinary films. Beyond sweeping historical epics and fantasy fare sharing the country's extensive folklore, Japan has produced a growing number of dramas that have stood the test of time.

From slice-of-life portraits across Japanese history to biting commentaries on society, Japanese dramas widely feature precision in storytelling and deliberate pacing to meditate on its themes. For decades, cinema has become a place for Japanese artists to question and subvert cultural norms directly while exploring and pondering existential themes. With that all in mind, here are the 15 best Japanese drama movies, from avant-garde pieces to animated films that delve into more humanist subject matter, showcasing different...

Terracotta VOD Spotlight

Each month Terracotta present a selection of Asian titles on their VOD platform, which you can enjoy. This month’s selection includes kung fu, comedy, a cult film and a pride celebration.

The Shanghai Thirteen

During the Sino-Japanese war, a Chinese patriot steals damming evidence that exposes traitorous intentions within the government. He employs an elite ensemble of fighters, The Shanghai 13, to protect him on the obstacles ahead and pursuers behind.

One Cut Of The Dead

A film crew are making a zombie film in a run down, abandoned warehouse said to be the site of military experiments on humans. However, things take a turn for the worse when real zombies arrive and terrorize the crew!

“The Taste of Tea”

The Taste Of Tea

The summer sun is shining gently down on the Haruno family until urban-dwelling uncle Ayano , a successful music producer, arrives to visit. He...

Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta, starring the director/screenwriter and her mother, Ale Ulman, is the perfect opening night selection for the 50th anniversary of New Directors/New Films, hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Shot by Carlos Rigo in beautiful black and white, co-edited smartly by Katie Mcquerrey and Anthony Valdez, El Planeta takes us back to the filmmaker’s former hometown, Gijon, Spain.

Cleverly used references to Martin Scorsese, Ernst Lubitsch, Milos Forman's Amadeus, David and Albert Maysles’ Grey Gardens, Katsuhito Ishii’s The Taste Of Tea, and Jean Renoir’s Rules Of The Game enter the picture.

Leo (Amalia Ulman) and her...

Amalia Ulman on the opening scene in El Planeta with Maria (Ale Ulman) in Gijon, Spain: “I really wanted to set the tone of the city. That’s the city where I grew up and one of the biggest challenges is the weather.

Amalia Ulman’s El Planeta, starring the director/screenwriter and her mother, Ale Ulman, is the perfect opening night selection for the 50th anniversary of New Directors/New Films, hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Shot by Carlos Rigo in beautiful black and white, co-edited smartly by Katie Mcquerrey and Anthony Valdez, El Planeta takes us back to the filmmaker’s former hometown, Gijon, Spain.

Amalia Ulman on New Directors/New Films: “I was very excited and happy to be opening this festival. Because of the great reputation it has for showing new works.”

Cleverly used references to Martin Scorsese, Ernst Lubitsch,...

UK-based distributors Third Window Films and Arrow Video will release hard-copy Japanese cult classics come September. Among the titles include Macoto Tezka’s musical “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers” (1985), Seiji Tanaka’s low-budget, high concept feature “Melancholic” (2018), and Katsuhito Ishii’s Cannes opening film “The Taste of Tea” (2004). Read below for exact release dates.

Black Test Car / The Black Report: 24 August; blu-ray only

Japanese maverick director Yasuzo Masumura (Blind Beast) helms a bitingly satirical espionage thriller set in the heart of the Japanese auto industry in his 1962 landmark Black Test Car, which launched a series of similarly themed “Black” films.

Making its worldwide Blu-ray debut, Black Test Car is paired here with the English-language video premiere of its follow-up The Black Report, also directed by Masumura.

Melancholic: 7 September; blu-ray only

From Third Window Films: Despite having graduated from the prestigious Tokyo University, Kazuhiko is unemployed and living with his...

Summer Sale

1-21 July

It’s that time of the year for the Third Window Films/Arrow Video Summer Sale!

DVDs from £4 and blurays from £7! Worldwide Shipping!

From July 1-21st

Shop now at: https://bit.ly/2BVEd9l

Upcoming Releases

3 great Japanese films available to pre-order Hanagatami

Out July 6th

In 2016, Nobuhiko Obayashi, the director of the cult Japanese film House (Hausu) was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Despite not much time left, for what was supposed to be his final film he adapted Kazuo Dan’s 1937 novella Hanagatami, his passion project 40 years in the making.

In 1941, as Japan prepares its attack on Pearl Harbor, 16 year-old Toshihiko (Shunsuke Kubozuka) leaves his parents in Amsterdam and moves to the seaside town of Karatsu where his aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) cares for his ailing cousin Mina (Honoka Yahagi). Immersed in the exquisite nature and phenomenal culture of Karatsu,...

It was always obvious to me that Katsuhito Ishii’s style would fit greatly in anime and the fact that the director of “Redline” is Takeshi Koike, who was in charge of the excellent style of animation featured in Ishii’s films “Funky Forest” and “The Taste of Tea”, was another guarantee of excellence. Add to all that the fact that Madhouse was the production studio behind the anime and that the cast of voice actors included Tadanobu Asano, Yu Aoi and Takuya Kimura, and you could easily say that nothing could go wrong with this one. Well, apart from the fact that the production took seven years to finish, particularly due to the over 100,000 hand-drawn frames, nothing did, in one of the best anime movies of the 21st century.

“Redline” is screening at Anime Film Festival 2019

The film revolves around “Sweet” Jp, a frantic and reckless rockabilly car racer...

What a weekend it was, a little more than 8 years ago. Probably my favorite film-related weekend ever, with Vital, Cha No Aji and Survive Style 5+ on the menu. All three films ended up in my personal top 100 and while Cha No Aji is ranked the lowest of the three, Katsuhito Ishii (My Darling Of The Mountains) his film remains one of the absolute highlights of the Japanese comedy. A true delight that elevates feel-good cinema to a whole new level and charms from start to finish.Cha No Aji was somewhat of a surprise. I was already familiar with Ishii's work, having watched Party 7 and Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl prior to this one. On top of that, I was...