Dothery Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Mine was "Kwaidan," the Japanese film made in about 1964. It won awards at the French film festivals, as I recall. The tale begins in Tokyo, when I saw a movie which had a friend in it, an American girl who spoke fluent Japanese. She'd been hired by the producer to play a gun moll. It was a pretty silly picture, but we sat through it just to see her. A couple of years later we were posted to London. I was at the Tower of London, alone (my husband was home babysitting so I could go). I looked up to see the actor who had been in that movie. It was pretty unexpected ... out of context, so to speak. I spoke to a man who was with his party and asked if that were Tetsuro Tamba. He said yes, and introduced me. We spent most of the afternoon chatting and touring. Pleasant time. At one point we were talking about a Japanese story called "Hoichi, the Earless One," concerning a blind biwa player who had been brought to a cemetery to play for the spirits, unbeknownst to himself. We talked at length about the story. Later the movie "Kwaidan" hit the screens, and lo and behold there was Tamba, playing the ghost who comes to take Hoichi to the cemetery. I don't think he knew he was going to be in it at the time we talked in London. The timeline is difficult to figure, but he was there looping dialogue for "The Seventh Dawn" with William Holden and Capucine. They had finished photography and were in post-production. Later he played Tiger Tanaka in a James Bond movie. "Kwaidan" is such a beautiful movie, so touching, so delicately done. Great acting, great sets, great costuming. The credits alone are worth the price of admission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover2 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Mine is *Cinema Paradiso* h4. It sends my soul soaring. Edited by: casablancalover2 on Oct 1, 2012 7:35 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dothery Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Mine too ... I remember that wonderful series, "Empty Nest," where Dinah Maniff says, thinking of a terrible punishment for someone, "He should be made to see Cinema Paradiso dubbed!" Another favorite line of mine in that series was when they were going around thinking of the most awful thing they could find out, and Manoff says, "That there's no such thing as PMS, and this is who I really am." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValentineXavier Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 *Kwaidan* and *Cinema Paradiso* are both excellent films. TCM has shown many foreign favorites of mine. Probably Kurosawa's *Sanjuro*, and Fellini's *Juliet of the Spirits* are my two most favorite that they have shown. I am also looking forward to Jean Vigo's *L' Atalante*, which is coming up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 TCM has recently shown many wonderful movies in their tributes to Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. I feel they have also greatly improved their selections for TCM Imports recently and they have brought us many gems.. If I had to chose my favorite foreign movie airing in this past year it will have to be *Un homme et une femme* (1966). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dothery Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I've always thought Mifune was heart-stoppingly handsome, as Ty Power was here. Those eyes ... Richard Chamberlain talked about how gracious Mifune was when they worked together. A class act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 L' DIABOLIQUE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SansFin Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 *Les Diaboliques* (1955) is a wonderful movie! I rank it highly in my list of favorite movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover2 Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 *Babbette's Feast* *Amelie* just about anything by *Jacque Tati* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnoliasouth Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Seven Samurai (1954), no question. The irony is that it was probably the last thing I would ever want to see in my life. I was a little bit angry at my husband, so I stomped off into the living room. He lived in Japan for many years and loved it. I saw Seven Samurai was on and I deliberately turned it to that channel and turned it up. This way, when his curiosity could stand it no more, he'd have to come in there and apologize, just so he could see what it was. ] It worked too! In the meantime, I was immediately drawn into the story and was amazed by it. I told my husband that I was so glad I got mad at him. lol! The interesting thing is that we seldom argue. We are very close and have a great marriage. I sometimes think that God just wanted me to see that movie. So! It not only is entertaining, but is great for a healthy marriage too. :x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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