Satsuo Yamamoto
Satsuo Yamamoto (山本 薩夫, Yamamoto Satsuo, July 15, 1910 – August 11, 1983) was a Japanese film director.[1]
Satsuo Yamamoto | |
|---|---|
 Satsuo Yamamoto in 1950. | |
| Born | July 15, 1910 |
| Died | August 11, 1983 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Relatives | Kei Yamamoto (nephew) |
Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima City. After leaving Waseda University, where he had become affiliated with left-wing groups, he joined the Shochiku film studios in 1933, where he worked as an assistant director to Mikio Naruse.[2][3] He followed Naruse when the latter moved to P.C.L. film studios (later Toho) and debuted as a director in 1937 with Ojōsan.[2][3] During World War II he directed the propaganda films Winged Victory and Hot Winds[1][4] before being drafted and sent to China.[3]
After returning to Japan, Yamamoto's first film was the 1947 War and Peace (not based on the Leo Tolstoy novel),[5] co-directed with Fumio Kamei.[1][4] Being a communist and an active supporter of the union during the Toho labour strikes, he left the studio in 1948 after the strikes' forced ending and turned to independent filmmaking.[3][6] The left-wing production company Shinsei Eiga-sha, formed by former Toho unionists, produced his commercially successful Street of Violence (1950)[4][6] and the anti-war film Vacuum Zone (1953), which film historian Donald Richie called "the strongest anti-military film ever made in Japan" in 1959.[4] The 1959 Ballad of the Cart was produced by the National Rural Film Association.
In the 1960s, Yamamoto again worked for major companies like Daiei and Nikkatsu, directing films like Band of Assassins (1962), The Ivory Tower (1966) and Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967).[7] He died in Tokyo on August 11th 1983 at the age of 73.[2]
Selected filmography
Films
| Title[8] | Studio | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Ojosan お嬢さん |
PCL | 1937 |
| Konna Onnani Daregashita こんな女に誰がした |
Toyoko Film (Distributed by Daiei Film) | July 4, 1949 |
| Street of Violence 暴力の街 Boryoku no Machi |
Daiei Film | February 26, 1950 |
| Hakone Fūunroku 箱根風雲録 |
Shinsei Film, Zenshin Za | March 14, 1952 |
| Vacuum Zone 真空地帯 Shinkūchitai |
Hokuto Film | December 15, 1952 |
| Hi no Hate 日の果て |
Shociku Film | February 3, 1954 |
| Taiyō no nai Machi 太陽のない街 |
Shinsei Film | June 24, 1954 |
| Taifu Sodoki 台風騒動記 |
Yamamoto Production | December 19, 1956 |
| Ballad of the Cart 荷車の歌 Niguruma no Uta |
Zenkoku Noson Eiga Kyokai | February 11, 1959 |
| Ningen no Kabe 人間の壁 |
Yamamoto Production (Distributed by Shintoho) | January 27, 1961 |
| Matsukawa Jiken 松川事件 |
Matsukawa Jikengeki Eiga Seisakuiinkai | January 27, 1961 |
| Shinobi no Mono 忍びの者 |
Daiei Film | December 1, 1962 |
| Zoku Shinobi no Mono 続・忍びの者 |
Daiei Film | August 10, 1963 |
| Nippon Dorobō Monogatari にっぽん泥棒物語 |
Daiei Film | May 1, 1965 |
| Ivory Tower 白い巨塔 |
Daiei Film | October 15, 1966 |
| Men and War 戦争と人間 第一部 運命の序曲 Senso to Ningen Daiichibu Unmei no Jyokyoku |
Nikkatsu | August 14, 1970 |
| Karei-naru Ichizoku 華麗なる一族 |
Geiensha (Distributed by Toho) | January 26, 1974 |
| Kinkanshoku 金環蝕 |
Daiei (Distributed by Toho) | September 6, 1975 |
| Barren Land 不毛地帯 |
Geiensha (Distributed by Toho) | August 14, 1976 |
| Kōtei no Inai Hachigatsu 皇帝のいない八月 |
Shochiku | September 23, 1978 |
| Nomugi Pass あゝ野麦峠 Ah Nomugi Toge |
Shin Nihon Eiga (Distributed by Toho) | June 30, 1979 |
| Nomugi Pass Shinryokuhen あゝ野麦峠 新緑篇 Ah Nomugi Toge Shinrokuhen |
Toho | February 6, 1982 |
Awards
- Kinema Junpo Awards
Yamamoto received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Director for Ivory Tower, which was also awarded Best Film.
- Blue Ribbon Awards
Yamamoto won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director for Shōnin no isu and Nippon dorobō monogatari (both 1965).[9] Ivory Tower was awarded Best Film the following year.
- Mainichi Fim Awards
Yamamoto was awarded Best Director at the Mainichi Film Awards for Ballad of the Cart and Ningen no kane (both 1959),[10] Ivory Tower,[11] Men and War[12] and Barren Land.[13] Ivory Tower, Barren Land and Nomugi Pass[14] were winners in the Best Film category.
- Festival prizes
Ivory Tower was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it was awarded the Silver Prize.[15]
References
- Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
- "山本 薩夫 (Satsuo Yamamoto)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "山本 薩夫 (Satsuo Yamamoto)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (1959). The Japanese Film – Art & Industry. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
- "戦争と平和 (War and Peace)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- Hirano, Kyoko (1992). Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo: Japanese Cinema Under the American Occupation, 1945–1952. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 978-1-56098157-2.
- "山本 薩夫 (Satsuo Yamamoto)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- Filmography from "satsuo Yamamoto" (in Japanese). kinenote. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- "ブルーリボン賞ヒストリー (Blue Ribbon Award)" (in Japanese). Cinema Hochi. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "14th Mainichi Film Awards 1959" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "21st Mainichi Film Awards 1966" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "25th Mainichi Film Awards 1970" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "31st Mainichi Film Awards 1976" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "34th Mainichi Film Awards 1979" (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "5th Moscow International Film Festival (1967)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
External links
- Satsuo Yamamoto at IMDb
- "Satsuo Yamamoto Special Program". Tokyo Filmex. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- Kato, Mariko (31 January 2008). "SATSUO YAMAMOTO: Classic director remembered". The Japan Times. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- "Satsuo Yamamoto, Director; Made Antiwar Films in Japan". The New York Times. 12 August 1983. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
Bibliography
- Yamamoto, Satsuo (2017). My life as a filmmaker. Chang, Chia-ning. Baltimore, Maryland: Project Muse. ISBN 9780472122493. OCLC 990075123.