Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi æ± å†…ç¾©è±Š;
2 January 1900 â€" 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and
screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of
Japan and its history. He is the father of the director Juzo
Itami.Originally from Matsuyama, Ehime, Itami joined the Nikkatsu
studio in 1927, but the very next year moved to the actor ChiezÅ
Kataoka's company, ChiezÅ Productions, where he made his directorial
debut with Adauchi Ruten. His samurai films diverged from the norm in
that they were not heroic epics of the sort which had by that time
become formulaic, but rather satires that used the established symbols
and iconography of the samurai culture to comment on both historical
and modern society. His work was championed by the film critic
Fuyuhiko Kitagawa. His most famous work is Akanishi Kakita, which is
based on a story by Naoya Shiga and still survives (unlike many of his
other films).In 1937, he collaborated with director Arnold Fanck on a
German-Japanese co-production, starring the young Setsuko Hara. This
eventually became two slightly different films: Atarashiki Tsuchi (The
New Earth) in Japan, while Die Tochter des Samurai (Daughter of the
Samurai) was the German version.
2 January 1900 â€" 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and
screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of
Japan and its history. He is the father of the director Juzo
Itami.Originally from Matsuyama, Ehime, Itami joined the Nikkatsu
studio in 1927, but the very next year moved to the actor ChiezÅ
Kataoka's company, ChiezÅ Productions, where he made his directorial
debut with Adauchi Ruten. His samurai films diverged from the norm in
that they were not heroic epics of the sort which had by that time
become formulaic, but rather satires that used the established symbols
and iconography of the samurai culture to comment on both historical
and modern society. His work was championed by the film critic
Fuyuhiko Kitagawa. His most famous work is Akanishi Kakita, which is
based on a story by Naoya Shiga and still survives (unlike many of his
other films).In 1937, he collaborated with director Arnold Fanck on a
German-Japanese co-production, starring the young Setsuko Hara. This
eventually became two slightly different films: Atarashiki Tsuchi (The
New Earth) in Japan, while Die Tochter des Samurai (Daughter of the
Samurai) was the German version.
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