市川崑その他

San Francisco Chronicleに掲載されたAssociated Pressの記事；

Japanese Film Director Kon Ichikawa Dies

By CARL FREIRE, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

(02-13) 07:14 PST TOKYO, Japan (AP) --

Kon Ichikawa, the Japanese director who married artistic technique with humanistic spirit in such films as the Oscar-nominated "Harp of Burma" and "Tokyo Olympiad," has died. He was 92.

Ichikawa died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital on Feb. 13, said Chizuko Wagatsuma, a spokeswoman with Toho Co., the company that released "The Makioka Sisters" and many of his other films over a long directing career that began in 1945.

He had been hospitalized since late January, she said.

Known for his artistic technique and the wide range of genres in which he worked, Ichikawa won a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960 for his movie, "Kagi."

He also received a lifetime achievement award in 2001 from the World Film Festival of Montreal.

"Ichikawa surely stands alongside Akira Kurosawa and Keisuke Miyashita as one of Japan's great directors," said noted Japanese film critic Tadao Sato.

"He made not just art films, but also melodramas, documentaries, mysteries and others ... and he brought to all of them a technique and craft that showed he took the works seriously no matter the subject," Sato said. "Even his light entertainments had class."

Ichikawa first attracted attention outside of Japan with the Oscar-nominated 1956 drama, "Harp of Burma." Based on a novel, the film told the story of Japanese soldier at the end of World War II who, overwhelmed by the sight of his dead comrades in arms, vows to live a life of prayer and bury the dead.

"Humanism was at the core of all of Ichikawa's movies. He thought it was important to show that there was good in everyone, but to show that in a war movie, too, made it unique," Sato said.

Ichikawa also drew wide notice for "Tokyo Olympiad," a documentary on the 1964 Tokyo Olympics that earned an out-of-competition screening the following year at Cannes.

"The athletes are seen not as national symbols but as people enjoying themselves, and he showed not just the winners but the losers, too. It was the opposite of what viewers expected from a film about the Olympics," Sato said.

Ichikawa is survived by two children, both sons, said Toho spokesman Atsuhi Minamikawa. His wife passed away in 1983.

Ichikawa's elder son, Tatsumi, is planning to hold a funeral for family and close friends, with a public memorial service to be held at a later date, Toho said in a statement.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/02/13/entertainment/e071457S33.DTL&feed=rss.news

佐藤忠男氏のコメントがフィーチャーされている。
ここ数日、けっこう神経を使う仕事をしていて、現実逃避のためにネットをうろちょろするということもしていたのだが、既に何処の誰だか失念してしまったが、どなたかのblogで長谷川一夫主演の『雪之丞変化』に言及しているのがあって、それがどういうわけか知らないが、印象に残ってしまった。上のニュースを知ったのはその次の日である。市川崑といえば、1974年に『丹下左膳』という時代劇が放映されたのだが、これが目茶苦茶クールな時代劇であった。http://homepage3.nifty.com/maneki03/14contents.htmlで詳しく紹介されているが、これによると、まだDVDはないという。

雪之丞変化 [DVD]

See also http://d.hatena.ne.jp/mariko-t/20080209

さて、ソウルの南大門（崇礼門）焼失。

Seoul's iconic ancient city gate destroyed by fire

Sun Feb 10, 7:58 PM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - A 600-year-old gate in central Seoul listed as South Korea's number one national treasure has been destroyed by a likely arsonist, police said.

Namdaemun, or "Great South Gate," was engulfed in flames late on Sunday, they said.

Police said they were searching for a man who is suspected of breaking into the stone and wooden structure and starting the fire.

"From what we can see, except for the pillars on the first floor, the gate has been completely burnt down," said a fire official.

The wooden pavilion on top of the gate's stone base was reduced to a smoldering hulk by the fire.

The gate was constructed in 1398 and served as the main southern entrance for Seoul when it became Korea's capital more than 600 years ago and was a walled city, the Cultural Heritage Administration said.

The structure, also called Sungnyemun or "Gate of Exalted Ceremonies," has been rebuilt several times, with the most recent renovation taking place from 1961-1963, it said.

(Reporting by Jessica Kim and Rhee So-eui, Writing by Jon Herskovitz, Editing by Yoo Choonsik and Sonya Hepinstall)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080211/sc_nm/korea_gate_dc_1

Tvニュースの映像では花を持って訪れている人が映し出されていた。また、別の日の映像では、日本の葬式で使うような花輪が掲げられていた。東京とかで、市民が花を持って弔問に訪れ、花輪が掲げられる建物はどこだろうと思った。

14日はヴァレンタイン・デイ（情人節）なので、上海の街には薔薇の花を売る人が溢れている。また、夕方以降、レストランにはカップルしかいない。