Nobuhiko Obayashi (大林 宣彦, Ōbayashi Nobuhiko, 9 January 1938
â€" 10 April 2020) was a Japanese director, screenwriter and editor of
films and television advertisements. He began his filmmaking career as
a pioneer of Japanese experimental films before transitioning to
directing more mainstream media, and his resulting filmography as a
director spanned almost 60 years. He is best known as the director of
the 1977 horror film House, which has garnered a cult following. He
was notable for his distinct surreal filmmaking style, as well as the
anti-war themes commonly embedded in his films.Obayashi was born on 9
January 1938 in the city of Onomichi, Japan. After his father, a
doctor, was called to the battlefront during World War II, he was
raised in his early infancy by his maternal grandparents. Through his
childhood and adolescence, Obayashi followed many artistic pursuits,
including drawing, writing, playing the piano, and possessed a growing
interest in animation and film.In 1955 Obayashi, at the urging of his
father, began procedures to enter medical school and become a
physician. However, he abandoned the prospect of a career in medicine
in favor of following his artistic interests at Seijo University. In
1956 he was accepted to the university's liberal arts department,
where he began to work with 8 and 16 mm film. Toward the end of his
stay at the university Obayashi began working on a series of short
experimental films. Togetherâ€"with Takahiko Iimura, Yoichi
Takabayashi, and Donald Richieâ€"Nobuhiko Obayashi established the
Japanese experimental-film group Film Independent, or "Japan Film
Andepandan," who were awarded at the 1964 Knokke-Le-Zoute Experimental
Film Festival. Along with works by other filmmakers such as Shuji
Terayama and Donald Richie, Obayashi's films would develop the tone of
Japanese experimental cinema through the 1960s. In these early
experimental films Obayashi employed a number of avant-garde
techniques that he would carry into his later mainstream work. Though
these films tended to be of a personal nature, they received public
viewership due to distribution by the Art Theatre Guild.
â€" 10 April 2020) was a Japanese director, screenwriter and editor of
films and television advertisements. He began his filmmaking career as
a pioneer of Japanese experimental films before transitioning to
directing more mainstream media, and his resulting filmography as a
director spanned almost 60 years. He is best known as the director of
the 1977 horror film House, which has garnered a cult following. He
was notable for his distinct surreal filmmaking style, as well as the
anti-war themes commonly embedded in his films.Obayashi was born on 9
January 1938 in the city of Onomichi, Japan. After his father, a
doctor, was called to the battlefront during World War II, he was
raised in his early infancy by his maternal grandparents. Through his
childhood and adolescence, Obayashi followed many artistic pursuits,
including drawing, writing, playing the piano, and possessed a growing
interest in animation and film.In 1955 Obayashi, at the urging of his
father, began procedures to enter medical school and become a
physician. However, he abandoned the prospect of a career in medicine
in favor of following his artistic interests at Seijo University. In
1956 he was accepted to the university's liberal arts department,
where he began to work with 8 and 16 mm film. Toward the end of his
stay at the university Obayashi began working on a series of short
experimental films. Togetherâ€"with Takahiko Iimura, Yoichi
Takabayashi, and Donald Richieâ€"Nobuhiko Obayashi established the
Japanese experimental-film group Film Independent, or "Japan Film
Andepandan," who were awarded at the 1964 Knokke-Le-Zoute Experimental
Film Festival. Along with works by other filmmakers such as Shuji
Terayama and Donald Richie, Obayashi's films would develop the tone of
Japanese experimental cinema through the 1960s. In these early
experimental films Obayashi employed a number of avant-garde
techniques that he would carry into his later mainstream work. Though
these films tended to be of a personal nature, they received public
viewership due to distribution by the Art Theatre Guild.
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