Uchida Tomu

UCHIDA Tomu (1898-1970, Japan) is often regarded as one of the great overlooked Japanese filmmakers. He spent his early years in the lower social strata and worked as a piano tuner. He moved to Tokyo in the early 1920s, and became one of the most important pre-war directors after making A Living Puppet (1929). After great success in Tokyo, he spent several years working for the Manchuria Film Association in Northern China. Bloody Spear at Mt. Fuji (1955) was his first film after returning to Japan. His 1957 film Horse Boy was nominated for a Golden Bear, and The Mad Fox (1962) was nominated for a Golden Lion. In 1965, he released what is considered to be his masterpiece: A Fugitive from the Past. The three-hour crime epic was named third-greatest Japanese film of all time by film magazine Kinejun. In 1970, he died of cancer. In 1971, his final work was released, Swords of Death. It was his sixth film about legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. In 2005, a retrospective of Uchida’s work screened at IFFR as part of Cinema Regained.

Filmography

(selection) Aa, Konishi Junsa/Police Officer Konishi (1922), Kanimanji Engi/The Tale of Crab Temple (1925, short), Shônen bidan: Kiyoki kokoro (1925, short), Kyoei Wa Jigoku (1925, short), Giketsu (1925), Tôyô bukyôdan (1927), Namakemono/Idler (1927), Miraî no shusse/Rising in the World (1927), Kutsu/Pain (1927), Kyosô mîkkakân (1927), Toyo Bukyo-dan (1927), Hoen Danu/Cannon Smoke and Rain of Shells (1927), Chikyu Wa Mawaru Dai-san-bu Kuso Hen/Spinning Earth Wind of the World (1928), Hikari/A Ray (1928), Shane no kaze/Wind of this World (1929), Ikeru Ningyo/A Living Puppet (1929), Nikkatsu Koshinkoyoku: Undo Hen (1929), Kigeki Ase (1929), Sweat (1929), Miss Nippon (1931), Jean Valjean (1931), Adauchi Senshu/The Revenge Champion (1931), Sakebu Ajia (1933), Keisatsukan/Police Officer (1933), Kagirinaki Zenshin/Unending Advance(1936), Jinsei Gekijo/Theatre of Life (1936), Hadaka no Machi/The Naked Town (1937), Tsuchi/Earth (1939), Chiyari Fuji/A Bloody Spear at Mt Fuji (1955), Tasogare Sakaba/Twilight Saloon (1955), Jibun no Ana no Nakade/A Hole of My Own Making (1955), Kuroda Sodo/The Kuroda Affair (1956), Abarenbo Kaido/The Horse Boy (1957), Dotanba (1957), Mori to Mizumi no Matsuri/The Outsiders (1958), Senryo-Jishi (1959), Naniwa no Koi no Monogatari/Chicamatsu's "Love in Osaka" (1959), Daibosatsu Toge (1959), Sake to Onna to Yari/The Master Spearman (1960), Yoto Monogatari, Hana no Yoshiwara Hyakunin-giri/Yoshiwara: The Pleasure Quarter (1960), Miyamoto Musashi/Zen and Sword (1961), Miyamoto Musashi: Hannyazzaka no Ketto/Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights (1962), Koiya Koi Nasuna Koi/Love, The Mad Fox (1962), Nitoru Kaigen/Two Sword Fencing is Born(1963), Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji no ketto/The Duel at Ichijoji (1964), Miyamoto Musashi: Ganryu-jima no ketto/Mushashi vs.Kojiro (1965), Koi ya Koi Nasuna Koi/A Fugitive from the Past (1965), Jinsei gekijo, Hisyakaku to Kinesune/Hishakaku and Kirasune - A Tale of Two Yakuza (1968), Shinken Shobu/Swords of Death (1971).

More information: Wikipedia, Uchida Tomu