SEIJUN SUZUKI
An iconoclastic director in Japanese studios
By Romain Dabert
About five films: The Flesh Trilogy: Gate of Flesh – Story of a Prostitute – Carmen from Kawachi, Tokyo Drifter, Branded to Kill.
Japanese director Seijun Suzuki is an icon for a generation of cinephiles, and even today remains a rebellious and unconventional author.
A prominent figure at Nikkatsu studio, where he worked until his dismissal in 1967, he distinguished himself with an audacious, sometimes experimental visual style, and a transgressive tone that subverted established genre film codes. The result was spectacular, surprising, and playful works.
This book looks back at the final years of his career at the studio through five films made between 1964 and 1967: The Flesh Trilogy: Gate of Flesh (1964), Story of a Prostitute (1965), Carmen from Kawachi (1966), Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
A prominent figure at Nikkatsu studio, where he worked until his dismissal in 1967, he distinguished himself with an audacious, sometimes experimental visual style, and a transgressive tone that subverted established genre film codes. The result was spectacular, surprising, and playful works.
This book looks back at the final years of his career at the studio through five films made between 1964 and 1967: The Flesh Trilogy: Gate of Flesh (1964), Story of a Prostitute (1965), Carmen from Kawachi (1966), Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
Romain Dabert holds a degree in film studies from Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 University. Passionate about Asian cinema, his research focuses on Japanese cinema of the 1960s, and particularly on the career of director Seijun Suzuki.