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Released in November 1989, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train is seen as the final installment in the deadpan, hard-luck trilogy he began with 1984’s Stranger Than Paradise and continued with 1986’s Down By Law. It’s a journey Jarmusch started with actor-musician John Lurie, who not only starred in Paradise and Law,...

Anthology films are features made of separate shorter stories. Unlike narratives that jump back and forth in time, like Memento or Pulp Fiction, the shorts in anthologies are stand-alone movies that only share a theme or location in common. This format often consists of short films directed by different filmmakers, but it's also common for anthology films to be made entirely by one director.

Jim Jarmusch and George A. Romero are two of the filmmakers who are the sole director of a great anthology film. Their respective movies Coffee and Cigarettes and Creepshow are great examples of how different two anthology films can be. And among the greatest collaborations of directors, Twilight Zone: The movie and All The Invisible Children are very contrasting examples as well. From drama to comedy to horror, the best anthology films of all time are timeless and are also some of the best of their genres.

In a cinema that is famous for its extremity and peculiarity, Sogo Ishii manages to stand out, with films like “Burst City” and “Tokyo Blood”. In that fashion, even when he directs a satire, the result is not the expected, to say the least.

on Terracotta by clicking on the image below

The Kobayashi family finally manage to buy a house, with the hard work of the father, Katsuhiko, a white-collar employee. Despite their happiness, there seems to be something wrong with its members, as Katsuhiko believes that they suffer from some kind of psychosis. His wife, Saeko is a bit extreme in the way she acts, a tendency that reaches its apogee when Katsuhiko's father, Yasukuni, comes to live with them, as she ends up even dancing sensually for him and his elderly friends. Furthermore, she keeps calling her husband, “father.” The son, Masaki has become...

Although considered by many academics as one of the best Japanese films of the 80s, and having won a number of awards in Japan, including the Grand Prix from the Young Cinema Grand Prize at the 1985 Tokyo Film Festival and Best Director from Three Continents in Nantes, “Typhoon Club” remains a relatively unknown film in the West.

Typhoon Club is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival

The story revolves around a number of students attending a school at a suburb in Tokyo, and takes place on a five days span, mostly before and after a typhoon hits the place. Rie is the popular girl in the class, and has a rather strange relationship with Mikami, who is the male equivalent of hers. Both, however, hide some psychological issues, with Rie being filled with self-doubt and Mikami with dark philosophical thoughts, dealing with the way an individual can overcome his species,...

“Shinji Somai’s films have the power to change and sustain your life,” said Ryusuke Hamaguchi. One of the great retrospectives this year thus far was that of the Japanese director, presented by NYC’s Japan Society. His eclectic work is well-deserving of discovery and now Cinema Guild is bringing two of his gems to wider audiences, Typhoon Club and P. P. Rider. The former, winner of the Grand Prix at the first Tokyo International Film Festival in 1985, will be opening on September 8 at IFC Center and now a new trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Typhoon Club is widely regarded as the seminal film of director Shinji Somai’s career. A work of raw, elemental power, it follows an ensemble of junior high students in a provincial town, beset by a summer-y malaise as a typhoon looms in the air. When the storm makes landfall, the teens hole up in their school unsupervised,...

Takashi Miike's brand of horror can be described as visceral and deeply disturbing, often verging on lurid depictions of violence and gore. While the prolific Japanese director possesses the gift to tackle a wide range of genres, Miike's horror offerings stand out for their transgressive and (subjectively) taboo subject-matters. His horror series, "Connect," is yet another grisly story that features sadistic killers and perverse truths, but also lacks the telltale gore that characterizes Miike's horror oeuvre. While Miike's "Connect" plates up unsavory themes in a palatable manner, his contribution to the anthology series "Masters of Horror," which was scheduled to air on Showtime in 2006, was ultimately shelved after being considered too extreme for American viewers.

I'm talking about Miike's "Imprint," which follows an American journalist in search of his first love, whose fate might or might not have ended up being horrifying beyond comprehension. Now, Mick Garris put together...

On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every day of the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. The Free Movie of the Day we’re getting this week started with is a very cool one, as it happens to star Oscar-winner Russell Crowe! Crowe was born in New Zealand and got his start working on Australian projects – and today’s free movie, the 1997 crime thriller Heaven’s Burning, was the last Australian production he worked on for almost twenty years. You can check it out over on the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.

Directed by Craig Lahiff from a screenplay by Louis Nowra, Heaven’s Burning has the following synopsis:

Thrown together amid chaos and violence, a man and a woman stumble upon unexpected passion.

Conventional vampires may not be native to classic Japanese folklore, but they eventually entered modern culture starting in the early 20th century. And today these creatures of the night have become fairly common in the media, often eclipsing actual endemic monsters or ghosts of legend. Vintage depictions of Japanese vampires (kyūketsuki) patterned themselves after Dracula and his ilk. Where these bloodsuckers began to feel more distinctly Japanese was incidentally in and around the golden age of anime, or to be more specific, the 1980s and 1990s. From Vampire Hunter D to Vampire Princess Miyu, Japanese vamps were finally stepping out of their Western counterparts’ shadows and developing their own unique origins and stories.

Looking back, the vampire’s growing popularity in Japanese culture can be interpreted as a fear of Western encroachment. That’s not to say Japan is the only place where vampires were a manifestation of cultural panic...

Craig Lahiff, director/writer and producer and one of the pillars of the South Australian screen industry, died in Adelaide on Sunday after a short illness. He was 66.

His final film, Swerve, a thriller about an honest guy who stumbles upon a suitcase of money and a decapitated body on a desert highway, starring David Lyons, Jason Clarke and Emma Booth, was released in Australian cinemas in 2012 and was sold to the Us and the UK.

Helen Leake produced three films with Lahiff: Heaven.s Burning, Black and White and Swerve. .Renowned for his calmness and quiet persuasion in all aspects of his work Craig brought to all of his films a very clear vision that he imparted to all his collaborators,. she said. .Long-time friend Louis Nowra recalls Craig.s .grace under pressure. as a director, and all his colleagues found his craft skills and technical understanding of all...

Veteran Australian producer Al Clark will receive the Aacta Raymond Longford Award in recognition of his three-decade career which has included iconic films such as Chopper and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Clark, who emigrated from the UK in the 1980s after representing music acts such as the Sex Pistols and Phil Collins, has produced or executive produced 19 feature films. He has also served on the board of the Australian Film Commission (1989-1992) and participated in official juries of several international film festivals, including the San Sebastian and Valladolid Film Festivals.

..With a love of films that always transcends the frustrations of getting them made, I.ve tried to choose distinctive projects, to navigate them soundly, to find gifted people to work with, and to bring out the best in their considerable talents," Clark said after being told of the award. "I.m grateful to Aacta for...

I first became aware of Sogo Ishii's The Crazy Family when it got a UK release around 1985. Most western critics found it wearisome and baffling, and I didn't go. Five years later, a Japanese friend showed it to me—he'd already won my confidence by introducing me to Miyazaki's films, still largely unknown in the West at that time. Neither Miyazaki's Totoro nor Ishii's Crazy Family had subtitles, so my friend served as amateur benshi translator, offering some English language help approximately once every ten minutes. Now I've finally seen both with subtitles, I can't say being unable to follow the dialogue greatly hurt either film, since what they really speak is the language of cinema.

But Ishii, inspired by the punk rock ethos, is a very different creature than Miyazaki: his jet-black satire perhaps depends on an awareness of Japanese culture, hence his success at home and puzzled reactions abroad,...

Directed by: Scott Hicks

Written by: Ronald Bass & Scott Hicks

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Youki Kudoh

Genre: Drama

Year: 1999

Some films cannot be contained by a script. And some filmmakers cannot just trust in their material. They must believe in the themes of their story and in the facets of filmmaking that enrich a viewing experience. Simply put, a filmmaker must know when to indulge. Snow Falling on Cedars is a film that indulges–in its visual splendor, the potency of its dramatic arc, and even in the talent associated with it.

In the sleepy coastal town of San Piedro, a fisherman has been found dead. It is 1950, only nine years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in a community with a heavy Japanese population, tensions have never ceased. Kazuo Miyamoto is charged with the murder of the fisherman. Reporter Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke), a local man whose compassionate father...

Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005) Direction: Rob Marshall Cast: Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho, Youki Kudoh, Mako, Tsai Chin Screenplay: Robin Swicord; from Arthur Golden's novel Oscar Movies Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Memoirs of a Geisha There are some movies that are released before their time. Only years or decades later, do they come to be appreciated. In the case Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha, based on Arthur Golden's bestseller about the life and love of a young geisha in pre-World War II Japan, it's the other way around. It is a movie released after – way after — its time. Had the filmmakers chopped off about a third of its endless 145-minute running time, Memoirs of a Geisha would have worked beautifully as a silent film, with intertitles decorated with red and blue lanterns, floating kimonos, Japanese scripts, and abstract drawings of Buddhist temples.

Filed under: Columns, Cinematical

Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the weekly column where I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!

The Film: 'Mystery Train' (1989), Dir. Jim Jarmusch

Starring: Youki Kudoh, Masatoshi Nagase, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinque Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi, Tom Noonan and the raspy tones of the great Tom Waits.

Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: My first exposure to director Jim Jarmusch was when Teenage Me (perhaps you remember...

Filed under: Columns, Cinematical

Welcome to Where Everyone Has Gone Before, the weekly column where I continue my film education before your very eyes by seeking out and watching all of the movies I should have seen by now. I will first judge the movie before I've watched it, based entirely on its reputation (and my potentially misguided thoughts). Then I will give the movie a fair chance and actually watch it. You will laugh at me, you may condemn me, but you will never say I didn't try!

The Film: 'Mystery Train' (1989), Dir. Jim Jarmusch

Starring: Youki Kudoh, Masatoshi Nagase, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinque Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi, Tom Noonan and the raspy tones of the great Tom Waits.

Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now: My first exposure to director Jim Jarmusch was when Teenage Me (perhaps you remember...

"Undeclared" is now airing on IFC, and we thought we'd take this opportunity to revisit the show that further cemented broadcast television's inability to recognize the genius of Judd Apatow. Every week, Matt Singer and Alison Willmore will be offering their thoughts on two more episodes.

Episode 15

The Perfect Date

Written by Judd Apatow & Brent Forrester

Directed by Greg Mottola

Episode 16

Hal and Hillary

Written by Kristofor Brown

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar

"Intercourse you!" -- Kikuki

We're rapidly approaching the end of "Undeclared," with just one week and one episode left after this column. As "Freaks and Geeks" neared its premature conclusion it reinvested in narrative, bringing Sam Weir and Cindy Sanders' storyline to a head and throwing Lindsay into an existential crisis about what she was going to do with her summer and, by extension, her life. "Undeclared," in contrast, appears to intentionally avoid anything resembling a wrap up.

Mystery Train Directed by: Jim Jarmusch Written by: Jim Jarmusch Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Joe Strummer, Steve Buscemi, Tom Noonan Everybody has their list of important or great films that for one reason or another they've yet to see. Jim Jarmusch's triptych anthology Mystery Train had eluded me all of these years, but thanks to a fancy Criterion blu ray release, I finally had the chance to check it out. Not unlike Jarmusch's other films, it's a cool, clever and funny piece of classic indie filmmaking that sheds an outsider's light on the cultural significance of Memphis and all of the unusual characters who live there. The film is broken into three separate stories. The first, titled 'Far From Yokohama', finds a young Japanese couple stepping off a train in Memphis with only a red suitcase between them. I had read somewhere that Jarmusch thought...

I'm not much of a fan of Jim Jarmusch's films, but this is only based on the small selection of his films I've seen, most of which are his later pictures while his more celebrated films have eluded me. I haven't seen Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law or Dead Man, which tells me I haven't really seen the Jarmusch most people think of when his name is mentioned. I have, though, seen his last four films starting with Ghost Dog and ending with last year's The Limits of Control and I haven't been much of a fan of any of them. So, when Mystery Train arrived in my mailbox I felt it would be yet another Jarmusch feature I just wouldn't connect with... I was wrong.

I was gliding along with Criterion's Blu-ray presentation of Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train. It felt like another Jarmusch feature to me,...

When we first meet The Limits of Control’s mysterious protagonist, played with cool mystique by Jim Jarmusch regular Isaach De Bankolé, he is in a bathroom stall practicing tai chi. Slipping into his sharp monochrome suit, he meets two equally mysterious men at an airport who give him cryptic messages.

Named only in the credits as “Lone Man,” he travels from place to place, waits in hotel rooms, orders two espressos he insists on being served in two separate cups, and exchange pertinent matchboxes with various secret contacts, each of them offering more cryptic conversations. The way Jarmusch acquaints us with the Lone Man is deceptively clever. He doesn’t bother with introduction or information, only behavior. It’s the most effective way of describing a character. When Lone Man orders the same drink each time, we know he is particular. When he carefully folds his suit in his hotel rooms,...

We're all for getting out in the summertime, but there might not be anything more refreshing than cooling off in a movie theater... or seeing a movie in the comfort of your air-conditioned home on demand, on DVD, or online... or better yet catching a classic on the big screen at a nearby repertory theater. With literally hundreds of films to choose from this summer, we humbly present this guide to the season's most exciting offerings.

May 1

"Eldorado"

The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy

Director: Bouli Lanners

Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,

The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.

20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” opened on Friday with a big $35 million estimate from 4,099 theatres. On Saturday, the film directed by Academy Award®-winner Gavin Hood, added a further $29.7 million and Sunday’s figured are indicated to be somewhere in the region of $22.5 million, making the actioner’s total opening weekend around $87 million. Film averaged $21,225 per theatre. Looking at the franchise’s run, “Wolverine” is second only to “X-Men: The Last Stand” which debuted on Friday, May 26th, 2006 with $45.1million. David Benioff and Skid Woods write. Cast constists of Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Victor Creed/Saber tooth), Danny Huston (Stryker), Will I Am (John Wraith), Taylor Kitsch (Gambit), Dominic Monaghan (Beak), Lynn Collins (Silver Fox), Thayne Tizzy (Diamond Girl), Kevin Durand (The Blob), Daniel Hennery (Agent Zero), and Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Deadpool) Second placed romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” finished in second place with a very respectable $15.3 million from 3,175 theatres.

“Wolverine” ready to rip through the weekend. 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” unspools into a massive 4,099 theatres. Directed by Gavin Hood, the Academy Award®-winning helmer of South African film “Tsotse,” “Wolverine” has had its hurdles thanks to its bootlegged availability and review of the leaked, incomplete material by entertainment blogger Roger Friedman. Still, “Wolverine” is ready to carve up a hefty slice of the box office pie. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” looks to attract fans of the romance and comedy genres with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner frontlining. Mark Waters, director of “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Mean Girls” and the “Freaky Friday” remake, helms from the writing by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film debuts in 3,175 locations. (Read the Review) The next widest release comes in “Battle for Terra,” the animated sci-fi flick from Roadside Attractions. Film is directed by Canadian-born Greek Aristomenis Tsirbas, an experienced digital...

Back in the early '60s, when Sonny Liston ruled boxing and hard bop could still be found on the corner jukebox, just wearing a sharkskin suit could be construed as an act of aggression, passive or otherwise. Sharkskin is the uniform of choice worn by the protagonist of Jim Jarmusch's alluring, enigmatic "The Limits of Control." Isaach De Bankolé's Lone Man (for that's how he is ID'd in the program notes, if not the movie itself) is like Jarmusch's Ghost Dog, taciturn and resolute, if also exposed to more sunlight. Lone Man's granite-slab impassiveness is buttressed by the sharkskin's implicit provocation. Yet, as with his suits, De Bankolé maintains his character's angular, creased surfaces throughout the movie. Only when the routine is ruffled does his composure show nicks -- as when a café waiter brings him a double espresso in one cup instead of two espressos in separate cups,...

While it has been known for some time that Shingo Katori from the Japanese Pop-group Smap (jup, the one from the Ninja Scroll live-action adaptation) will continue the work of Shintaro Katsu and Takeshi Kitano and will play the role of Ichi, the full cast has just been announced. Tokyograph mentions Takashi Sorimachi (Fulltime Killer, Yamato) and Satomi Ishihara (The Climber’s High) in supporting roles and Chieko Baisho, Youki Kudoh, Koichi Iwaki, Yoshio Harada, Kanzaburo Nakamura and Seishiro Kato in smaller roles.

But I think more interesting than all these names is the fact that Sorimachi will play a close friend of Ichi while cute Ishihara will be his wife!

Looks like director Junji Sakamoto (Children of the Dark, Chameleon) wants to show another side of the lone wolf Ichi, who already went through a sex change in 2008 when Haruka Ayase played his/her part in Ichi.

The shooting began in early March,...

We have new clips in from Jim Jarmusch's "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray.   Jarmusch returns to the helm after his last film of 2005 "Broken Flowers" also starred Bill Murray. The Ohio born director's previous credits include "Coffee and Cigarettes" and the documentary "Year of the Horse."   Focus Features releases this on May 1st in limited areas.   See the clips here!   What's "The Limits of Control" about?   The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. The film is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain...

We have new clips in from Jim Jarmusch's "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray. Jarmusch returns to the helm after his last film of 2005 "Broken Flowers" also starred Bill Murray. The Ohio born director's previous credits include "Coffee and Cigarettes" and the documentary "Year of the Horse." Focus Features releases this on May 1st in limited areas. The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law...

We have new clips in from Jim Jarmusch's "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray. Jarmusch returns to the helm after his last film of 2005 "Broken Flowers" also starred Bill Murray. The Ohio born director's previous credits include "Coffee and Cigarettes" and the documentary "Year of the Horse." Focus Features releases this on May 1st in limited areas. The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law...

We have new images in from Focus Features' "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray.   The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. The film is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise).   See more images here.   There are also new exclusive clips over at MySpace you'd want to see.   The film opens on May 1st, 2009  ...

We have new images in from Focus Features' "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray. The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. The film is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise).

We have new images in from Focus Features' "The Limits of Control," starring Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, and Bill Murray. The story of a mysterious loner (to be played by Mr. De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. The film is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise).

Here is the trailer for Focus Features new film, The Limits of Control. The film is set to open in theaters May 22 2009. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, the film stars Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar, Paz De La Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass and Bill Murray. The Limits of Control is the new movie from filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Down by Law). The film is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise). The location shoot there united the writer/director with acclaimed [...]...

A trailer for The Limits of Control, the latest flick from indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Coffee and Cigarettes), has just surfaced. Opening in limited release May 22, Control stars Isaach De Bankolé, Hiam Abbass, Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton, Paz de la Huerta, Alex Descas, John Hurt, Youki Kudoh, Jean-François Stévenin, Luis Tosar and Bill Murray. The Limits of Control is the story of a mysterious loner (De Bankole), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness.

• I'm not sure what kind of tax incentives foreign film productions are receiving for filming in Spain, but the government is welcoming them with open arms. Apparently this is such the case for maverick Jim Jarmusch’s newest project currently filmiing in Madrid, and then shifting onwards towards Seville. Variety reports that casting is complete with a couple of Jarmusch regulars in the line-up. To be retitled later down the line, The Limits of Control will see Isaach De Bankole and Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Gael Garcia Bernal but will also now include a couple of locals and Youki Kudoh of Jarmusch’s “Mystery Train”. Hiam Abbass, Paz De La Huerta , Alex Descas, John Hurt, Jean-Francois Stevenin, and Luis Tosarfill out the cast. Focus Features who were onboard for Broken Flowers have distribution rights for this picture - the storyline feels awfully familiar to Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

...

While the 1997 best-selling novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" was written by an American, Arthur Golden, he absorbed enough of Japanese culture in his years of travel and study to convey the mysterious world of the geisha as one of subtlety, discretion, ritual and tradition. The movie version, directed by "Chicago"'s Rob Marshall and written by Robin Swicord, has, frankly, Americanized the story. By this I mean the filmmakers make characters crasser, ignore nuances within geisha tradition and give characters attitudes and dialogue highly unlikely for Depression-era Japan. The heroine, who in time becomes a legendary geisha, is modeled in the film more after a willful, modern American teen than a young Japanese woman.

"Memoirs" has generated plenty of heat on its way to the screen. The novel reportedly has been translated into 32 languages and the film production criticized for the casting of three leading Chinese actors -- Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li -- as Japanese. So opening boxoffice grosses will be strong. As an exotic romance set in the lost world of prewar Japan, the film should have sufficient legs to become a hit this holiday season.

The controversy extends beyond the cast, which is a case of a major (Japanese-owned) studio covering an expensive bet with international stars. Here is a film about Japan made by Americans, shot mostly in the U.S. and, of course, in English. Once you accept these compromises in the name of international filmmaking, none is a real deterrent to enjoying this lush period film.

Designer John Myhre's meticulous re-creation of a 1930s hanamachi or geisha district with its rickety wooden houses, ancients streets and alleys, formal teahouses and sea of nighttime lanterns on a Southern California ranch is an accomplished and credible set. The lavish kimonos, a sumo match, geisha dances, John Williams' lyrical East-meets-West musical score and atmospheric cinematography by Dion Beebe emphasizing deep, dark colors all are hallmarks of classic Hollywood filmmaking. These are surface delights that might distract from Marshall's tendency to focus on melodrama over intimacy and emotional excess over restraint.

"Memoirs" tells the story of a young child sold to an okiya or geisha household in Kyoto in 1929. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo) initially resists her initiation into this new life despite her terror of the doyennes of the domicile, Mother (Kaori Momoi, whose whiny, sharp voice often grates) and Auntie (Tsai Chin). Adding to her misery, the house's breadwinner, the treacherous geisha Hatsumomo (Gong Li), takes an instant dislike to the young girl.

When Chiyo attempts to run away, Mother refuses to put any more money into her geisha training. This relegates her to the status of maid for life. At her lowest point, as she sobs near the city river, a wealthy man she knows only as the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) treats her to a sweet and has kind words for her. This encounter transforms her life. She also falls in love with the Chairman.

Later, the hanamachi's legendary geisha, Mameha (Yeoh), takes the youngster under her wing, seeing in the beautiful girl with haunting eyes (now played by Zhang) a possible means to rid herself of her hateful rival Hatsumomo. Mameha makes, in essence, a bet with Mother that all of Chiyo's debts to the okiya will be paid off by her 20th birthday.

So the race is on. The young girl, whose name is changed to Sayuri when she becomes an apprentice geisha, undergoes intense training. In the world of a geisha, a glimpse of flesh under a kimono or a rumor spread by a malicious rival can make or damage a reputation forever. Mameha takes her "younger sister" to teahouses and introduces her to all her clients just as Hatsumomo and her protege, Pumpkin (Youki Kudoh), do the same. At every turn, Hatsumomo tries to undermine her rivals. All things lead to the auctioning of Sayuri's mizuage (virginity) to her wealthy gentlemen patrons.

The man who displays the most interest, despite his dislike of geishas in general, is the industrialist Nobu (Koji Yakusho). To Sayuri's dismay, Nobu's best friend and partner is the Chairman. No man will pursue a geisha favored by his friend. The man who emerges as Nobu's rival is Dr. Crab Randall Duk Kim), nicknamed for his appearance, but not before the Baron (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Mameha's patron, makes improper advances that nearly ruin Sayuri's career.

Naturally, Swicord's screenplay must eliminate characters and take shortcuts to stuff the major activity from the novel into the 144-minute movie. But these shortcuts run roughshod over subtlety. The chess game among these women is reduced to a cat fight. Hatsumomo is a much more formidable opponent than the movie gives her credit: She is clever, sharp and tenacious. The move version forces Gong to pay a spoiled drunk mad with jealousy.

Similarly, Sayuri is brought up to speed much too quickly. She performs a dance on her first night as an apprentice, something that would never happen. She makes sharp ripostes with her rival, dialogue more in tune with a '30s American film comedy than '30s Japanese culture. A dance performance at one point, choreographed by John DeLuca, feels like a modern Western interpretation imposed on Japanese tradition, more "Chicago" than Kyoto as it were.

The acting in all the major roles is astute. Zhang manages to seize the contradictory qualities of her character -- shyness and uncertainty coupled the defiance and iron will -- and mold them into a memorable female character. Yeoh brings just the right dignity and cautious calculation to the role of Sayuri's mentor. Gong puts the necessary sexuality into hateful Hatsumomo. Watanabe and Yakusho make strong impressions as wealthy men reduced to pandering to Yank occupiers after World War II.

The final third of the movie, rushing through the war and occupation, feels anti-climatic, even flat. Admittedly, the novel had a similar problem as this story is strongest when it enters the lost and secret world of women who never can pursue their own happiness.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present an Amblin Entertainment/Red Wagon Entertainment production

Credits:

Director: Rob Marshall

Screenwriter: Robin Swicord

Based on the novel by: Arthur Golden

Producers: Lucy Fisher, Douglas Wick, Steven Spielberg

Executive producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Patricia Whitcher, Bobby Cohen

Director of photography: Dion Beebe

Production designer: John Myhre

Music: John Williams

Co-producer: John DeLuca

Costumes: Colleen Atwood

Editor: Pietro Scalia. Cast: Sayuri: Ziyi Zhang

Chairman: Ken Watanabe

Mameha: Michelle Yeoh

Nobu: Koji Yakusho

Hatsumomo: Gong Li

Pumpkin: Youki Kudoh

Mother: Kaori Momoi

Auntie: Tsai Chin

Baron: Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Dr. Crab: Randall Duk Kim

MPAA rating PG-13

Running time -- 144 minutes...

Zhang Ziyi, who co-starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is in final negotiations to play the title character in the film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha, while the Oscar-nominated Ken Watanabe has signed on to play the male lead. Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh and Koji Yakusho also are in final negotiations to join the cast of the Columbia Pictures/DreamWorks/Spyglass Entertainment feature, which Rob Marshall is directing. Watanabe, who received an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor for The Last Samurai, will portray the Chairman, a high-powered executive with whom the young geisha, Sayuri, falls in love. The Chinese-born Zhang will play Sayuri, the young orphan from a remote fishing village whose life changes when she is sent to the city to learn the ways of the geisha.

The latest example of Japanese anime to hit our shores, "Blood: The Last Vampire" comes with some major-league endorsements, including lavish praise from such sci-fi auteurs as James Cameron and Andy Wachowski. Although it runs a scant 48 minutes, the film is playing theatrical engagements at New York's Village East and L.A.'s Sunset 5. An Aug. 28 DVD and video release will be augmented by a "making of" documentary.

Set at a U.S. military base in Japan during the Vietnam War, the film concerns a series of suspicious suicides taking place in a nearby town and the mysterious young girl, Saya (voiced by Youki Kudoh of "Snow Falling on Cedars"), who, armed with a giant samurai sword, has come to investigate. Apparently, the deaths are being caused by a group of vampires, here dubbed "chiropterans," who live within the compound. Posing as a student in the base's high school and aided by the matronly school nurse, Saya -- like American counterpart Buffy -- sets out on her mission of kicking some serious vampire butt. Ultimately, we will discover that she has a special reason for her particular brand of skill.

Using state-of-the-art digital animation that renders the backgrounds and settings with extraordinary clarity (the characters are drawn in traditional fashion), the film is certainly a visual treat, even if it concentrates a little too heavily on lavish blood spurts. On the other hand, the story, which also inspired a novel and best-selling video game, is the sort of convoluted and often incoherent mess that is typical of the genre

no doubt, rabid anime fans are better equipped to decipher its intricacies.

BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE

Manga Entertainment

Credits:

Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo

Screenwriter: Kenji Kamiyama

Producers: SPE Visual Works, Sony Computer Entertainment, IG Plus, IPA

Character designer: Katsuya Terada

Animation director: Kazuchikia Kise

Art director: Yusuke Takeda

Music: Yoshihiro Ike

Voices: Saya: Youki Kudoh

Infirmary Doctor: Saemi Nkamura

David: Joe Romersa

No MPAA rating

Color/stereo

Running time -- 48 minutes...

The latest example of Japanese anime to hit our shores, "Blood: The Last Vampire" comes with some major-league endorsements, including lavish praise from such sci-fi auteurs as James Cameron and Andy Wachowski. Although it runs a scant 48 minutes, the film is playing theatrical engagements at New York's Village East and L.A.'s Sunset 5. An Aug. 28 DVD and video release will be augmented by a "making of" documentary.

Set at a U.S. military base in Japan during the Vietnam War, the film concerns a series of suspicious suicides taking place in a nearby town and the mysterious young girl, Saya (voiced by Youki Kudoh of "Snow Falling on Cedars"), who, armed with a giant samurai sword, has come to investigate. Apparently, the deaths are being caused by a group of vampires, here dubbed "chiropterans," who live within the compound. Posing as a student in the base's high school and aided by the matronly school nurse, Saya -- like American counterpart Buffy -- sets out on her mission of kicking some serious vampire butt. Ultimately, we will discover that she has a special reason for her particular brand of skill.

Using state-of-the-art digital animation that renders the backgrounds and settings with extraordinary clarity (the characters are drawn in traditional fashion), the film is certainly a visual treat, even if it concentrates a little too heavily on lavish blood spurts. On the other hand, the story, which also inspired a novel and best-selling video game, is the sort of convoluted and often incoherent mess that is typical of the genre

no doubt, rabid anime fans are better equipped to decipher its intricacies.

BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE

Manga Entertainment

Credits:

Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo

Screenwriter: Kenji Kamiyama

Producers: SPE Visual Works, Sony Computer Entertainment, IG Plus, IPA

Character designer: Katsuya Terada

Animation director: Kazuchikia Kise

Art director: Yusuke Takeda

Music: Yoshihiro Ike

Voices: Saya: Youki Kudoh

Infirmary Doctor: Saemi Nkamura

David: Joe Romersa

No MPAA rating

Color/stereo

Running time -- 48 minutes...