Читать книгу A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors - Alexander Jacoby - Страница 12

(June 24, 1910–September 18, 1985)

千葉泰樹

Though remembered largely for his inventive postwar shomin-geki, Chiba specialized initially in period films before achieving commercial success with such popular romances as Hideko the Cheerleader (Hideko no ōendanchō, 1940), a vehicle for the teenage Hideko Takamine. Among his wartime films, Women’s Brick Factory (Renga jokō, 1940; released 1946), a story about female factory workers, was banned for its proletarian sentiments, while The White Mural (Shiroi hekiga, 1942), shot on location in Okinawa, was a humanist account of a doctor from the mainland treating blackwater fever among the indigenous population.

Chiba’s reputation for love stories led him to be assigned after the war to A Certain Night’s Kiss (Aru yo no seppun, 1946), in which the Japanese cinema’s much-anticipated first kissing scene was infamously obscured by an umbrella. However, Chiba’s work in the fifties displayed a new individuality, combining personal drama with social commentary. In Sunflower Girl (Himawari musume, 1953) a woman’s affection for her boss causes conflict with her more class-conscious coworkers, while in Death Fire (Onibi, 1956) a gas company employee demands sexual favors from a poor woman in lieu of payment. Chiba was also admired for his creative use of period settings: The Happy Pilgrimage (Yajikita dōchūki, 1958) was an offbeat jidai-geki about a pair of samurai who embark on a pilgrimage to Ise in order to escape their wives. More often, however, Chiba set his films in the recent past. Downtown (Shitamachi, 1957), based on a novel by Mikio Naruse’s favorite writer, Fumiko Hayashi, conveyed the despondent mentality of the Occupation era through its depiction of a doomed romance. Crazy Guy (Okashina yatsu, 1956) recounted the life story of a rakugo performer from the twenties to the Occupation, and was remarkable for its sudden shifts from comedy to tragedy; like Downtown, it ended with an unexpected fatal accident. Chiba’s most significant work is usually considered to be the Large Size (Ōban, 1957–58) series, described by Donald Richie as “a Balzac-like chronicle of [the] various falls and rises” of an ambitious young man in the early Showa period.

In the sixties, Chiba worked on such international co-productions as A Night in Hong Kong (Honkon no yoru, 1961) and A Star of Hong Kong (Honkon no hoshi, 1962), both sentimental stories of love affairs between Japanese men and Chinese women. With Different Sons (Futari no musuko, 1961) and The Daphne (Chinchōge, 1966), he directed melodramatic family sagas depicting difficult relationships between parents and children. Although several of his films secured foreign distribution at the time, Chiba is now neglected even in Japan. The breadth of his subject matter and his high reputation in his day suggest that he merits reappraisal.

1930 Surōnin shōbai ōrai / Trade and Traffic of a Humble Ronin

Kunisada Chūji: Kantō daisatsu hen / Chuji Kunisada: The Great Kanto Murder

Tenpō yogarasuden / Chronicle of a Night Crow in the Tenpo Era

Yūkyō shiranami hanashi / Story of Debauchery and White Waves

Osaraba Denji / Farewell, Denji

1931 Oshiroigumo / Spider with a Powdered Face

Jinsei Hizakurige / Life and Shank’s Mare

Hakone arashi otoko no tabi / Travels of a Stormy Man in Hakone

Ada shamisen / Shamisen of Revenge

Kyōkotsu date kurabe / Chivalry Competition

Usuisansai hiwa: Matsuyama Onami / Secret Story of the Fortress on Mt. Usui: Onami of Matsuyama

Matsuyama Onami: Gojitsudan / Onami of Matsuyama: Sequel

Kekka / River of Blood

Tenka no bushi / The Shogun’s Warrior

Shunjū nagadosu / Spring and Autumn with a Long Sword

Tsubanari Kōshūji / Ringing Swords on the Koshu Road

Kagokaki kenpō / Fighting Style of a Palanquin Bearer

Tsubakuro no Otaki / Otaki the Swallow

Mujun / Contradiction

Matatabi jingi / Wanderers’ Code

Inaka musume shuren no hayawaza / Sleight of Hand of a Country Girl

1932 Kinkanban Jinkurō / Jinkuro of the Golden Sign

Mito Kōmon / Mito Komon

Byakko / The White Fox

Datezakura / Cherry Blossom of Date

Ansei taigoku / The Ansei Incident

Gijin Guhō / The Story of Wu Pong (lit. The Righteous Man Wu Pong) (Taiwan; co-director)

1933 Kaishinshi / Mysterious Gentleman (Taiwan)

Koi no odoriko / Dancing Girl of Love

Boku no seishun / My Youth

1934 Hiren no honoo / Flames of Tragic Love

Jūdō senshu no koi / The Love of a Judo Player

Ureshii musume / Happy Girl

Nihon koko ni ari / Here Is Japan

Geisha sandaiki / Record of Three Generations of Geisha

1935 Akachan to daigakusei / The Baby and the Student

Jakku kenkachō / Jack’s Fighting Notebooks

Makaze koikaze / Wind of Seduction, Wind of Love

Koi nyōbō / My Beloved Wife

Tanoshiki wakaremichi / The Happy Road of Separation

1936 Anata to yobeba / If I Call You

Koi wa ame ni nurete / It Rains on Our Love

Shōkyū sake gassen / Advancement by Drinking Competition

Onna no kaikyū / Woman’s Rank

Uchi no nyōbō nya hige ga aru / My Wife Has a Beard

1937 Ren’ai bekarazu tokuhon / Textbook against Love

ĀA, sore na no ni / Ah, Even Though...

Bokō no hanagata / Star of the Alma Mater

Takarajima sōdōki / Record of Trouble on Treasure Island

Kokkyō no fūun / Border Situation

Gunshin Nogi-san / Nogi, God of the Army

Utsukushiki taka / Beautiful Hawk

Atashi kōfuku yo / I Am Happy

1938 Magokoro banzai / Viva Sincerity

Hito wa wakamono / People Are Young

Jinsei gekijō: Zankyō hen / Theater of Life: Chivalry Chapter

Sugikyō no saiminjutsu / Sugikyo’s Hypnotism

Josei kōro / Women’s Journey

1939 Chijō tengoku / Heaven on Earth

Dōke no machi / Town of Folly

Hanazono no tenshi / Angel in the Flower Garden

Nēsan no oyomeiri / Older Sister’s Marriage

Kūsō buraku / Fantasy Village

1940 Hideko no ōendanchō / Hideko the Cheerleader

Hikoroku naguraru / Hikoroku Is Beaten

Hanzuiin Chōbei / Chobei Hanzuiin

1941 Josei shinsō / Women’s New Clothes

1942 Shiroi hekiga / The White Mural

Umineko no minato / Seagull Harbor

1943 Aozora kōkyōgaku / Symphony of the Blue Sky

1944 Chi no tsumemoji / Letters Scratched in Blood / Words the Bloody Fingernails Wrote

1945 Sugata naki teki / Invisible Enemy

1946 Hyōtan kara deta koma / Unexpected Dividend (lit. Spinning Top from a Gourd)

Renga jokō / Women’s Brick Factory (made in 1940)

Aru yo no seppun / A Certain Night’s Kiss

1947 Hana saku kazoku / Blossoming Family

Kōfuku e no shōtai / Invitation to Happiness

1948 Utsukushiki hyō / Beautiful Leopard

Ikiteiru gazō / The Living Portrait

1949 Niizuma kaigi / New Wives’ Conference

Onna no tatakai / Woman’s Struggle

Kamen butōkai / Masked Ball

1950 Tōkyō mushuku / Tokyo Wanderer

Tsuma to onna kisha / Wife and Woman Journalist

Yama no kanata e: Daiichibu: Ringo no hoo / Beyond the Mountains: Part One: Applecheek

Yama no kanata e: Dainibu: Sakana no seppun / Beyond the Mountains: Part Two: Fish’s Kiss

Yoru no hibotan / Red Peony of Night

1951 Wakai musumetachi / Young Girls

Nakinureta ningyō / Weeping Doll

Wakōdo no uta / Song of a Young Person

1952 Keian hichō / Secret Notes of the Keian Period

Kin no tamago / The Golden Egg

Tōkyō no koibito / Tokyo Sweetheart / Jewels in Our Hearts

Oka wa hanazakari / Hill in Bloom

1953 Himawari musume / Sunflower Girl / Love in a Teacup

Aijō ni tsuite / About Love

Kōfuku-san / Mr. Happiness

1954 Koyoi hito yoru o / Tonight’s the Night

Kakute yume ari / Thus I Dreamed

Aku no tanoshisa / Temptation of Pleasure / Happy to Be Bad

1955 Magokoro no hana hiraku: Jokyū / Blossoming Flowers of Sincerity: Hostess

Sararīman / Salaryman

Atsukama-shi to Oyakama-shi / Mr. Impudent and Mr. Noisy

Zoku sararīman / Salaryman 2

1956 Hesokuri shachō / The President’s Boss (lit. The Boss’ Nest Egg)

Zoku hesokuri shachō / The President’s Boss 2

Onibi / Death Fire / Will o’the Wisp (lit.)

Kōjinbutsu no fūfu / Loving Couple

Okashina yatsu / Crazy Guy

1957 Ōban / Large Size / Mr. Fortune Maker

Zoku ōban: Fūun hen / Large Size 2: Sinister Chapter / Mr. Fortune Maker 2: Sinister Chapter

Shitamachi / Downtown

Zoku zoku ōban: Dotō hen / Large Size 3: Angry Waves Chapter / Mr. Fortune Maker 3: Angry Waves Chapter

1958 Yajikita dōchūki / The Happy Pilgrimage / Yaji and Kita on the Road (lit.)

Ōban: Kanketsu hen / Large Size: Concluding Part / Mr. Fortune Maker: Concluding Part

Yajikita dōchūki: Sugoroku / The Happy Pilgrimage: Backgammon / Yaji and Kita on the Road: Backgammon (lit.)

1959 Kitsune to tanuki / Fox and Raccoon Dog

Wakai koibitotachi / Young Lovers

1960 Haori no taishō / The Happicoat Comedian / General in a Cloak (lit.)

Gametsui yatsu / Greedy Guy / This Greedy Old Skin

1961 Ginza no koibitotachi / Lovers of Ginza

Honkon no yoru / A Night in Hong Kong

Futari no musuko / Different Sons / Two Sons (lit.)

1962 Honkon no hoshi / A Star of Hong Kong

Kawa no hotori de / By the River’s Edge / Born in Sin

1963 Onna ni tsuyoku naru kufū no kazukazu / Many Ways to Attract Women

Ōban: Sōshū hen / Large Size: Complete Version / Mr. Fortune Maker: Complete Version

Honoruru Tōkyō Honkon / Honolulu-Tokyo-Hong Kong

Miren / Lingering Affection

1964 Hadaka no jūyaku / The Naked Executive

Danchi nanatsu no taizai / Seven Deadly Sins in a Housing Complex

1966 Bankokku no yoru / A Night in Bangkok

Chinchōge / The Daphne

1968 Haruranman / Spring Abundance / Devils-in-Law

Kawachi fūtenzoku / The Carefree Tribe of Kawachi / Hippies of Kawachi

Wakamono yo chōsen seyo / Young Challengers

1969 Mito Kōmon man’yūki / Record of Mito Komon’s Pleasure Trip