Celebrating the Life and Career of Director Nobuo Nakagawa!

Nobuo Nakagawa, as painted by Yuji Yorimoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, June 20, I attended a special tribute event for one of Japan's most recognized directors around the world, Nobuo Nakagawa (1905-1984). The event was held at the Laputa Asagaya, a venue at which I've seen countless movies over the years. For this Nobuo Nakagawa event, I elected to attend only the reception.

A script for The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) on display. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last month, I received an invitation to attend via email, and naturally I RSVPed. All I knew was that the guest of honor would be Yuji Yorimoto, who worked as an assistant director for director Nakagawa on television for series like Oniwaban (1968) and The Wandering Samurai (1973). Mr. Yorimoto, who was born in 1941, is currently a painter.

Akihide Tsuzawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I entered the hall as Mr. Yorimoto was finishing up his Q&A. In the audience, I thought I saw Akihide Tsuzawa, who worked with director Nakagawa as a child actor, but in the moment I couldn't be 100% sure. After the interview was over, and I was looking at some of the artwork and photos on display, Mr. Tsuzawa approached me and asked if I was me. Well, of course I'm me! Mr. Tsuzawa didn't know I had returned to Japan and was surprised to see me. He also wasn't quite sure if it was me because I've apparently lost a little weight since he last saw me. It's true; I haven't been chowing down like I used to!

With Akihide Tsuzawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I spent a good while chatting with Mr. Tsuzawa and even exchanged phone numbers and messaging-app info with him until he was called upon to give a kampai speech in honor of director Nakagawa. I caught up with Mr. Tsuzawa toward the end of the reception and continued our conversation.

Shinkichi Nakagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also greeted the son of director Nakagawa, Shinkichi Nakagawa, who greeted me and thanked me for coming back to the event. If I recall correctly, I only saw Mr. Nakagawa in passing at the last one I attended, so it'd been a few years since we actually spoke to one another.

With Shinkichi Nakagawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One semi-amusing anecdote was, when I went to say my farewells to Mr. Nakagawa, a staff member was introducing a young man to Mr. Nakagawa, pointing out that he was 19 years old. So I joked that I was also just 19 years old, to which Mr. Nakagawa replied something like, "And then some!" Really glad I got a chance to see Mr. Nakagawa again.

Tomoo Haraguchi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

At these particular events, it's rare to see a figure from the film world in attendance who didn't have some direct connection with director Nakagawa, so I was surprised when I spied Tomoo Haraguchi in the audience.

With Tomoo Haraguchi.

It was doubly surprising because Mr. Haraguchi is a pretty rare guest at recent kaiju-related events, so it was great to speak with him and to get his business card. 

Masahisa Sakashita with Mr. Yorimoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Right before I left, I wanted to greet Masahisa Sakashita, whom I've met at each Nobuo Nakagawa event I've attended. While he worked his way up through Nikkatsu Studios during the 1970s, more recently he has worked as a freelance television director.

With Masahisa Sakashita. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Mr. Sakashita asked me what Nikkatsu movies I liked since that was his studio. I named Gappa (1967) and the movies of director Seijun Suzuki and actress Masako Izumi. I think he was a bit surprised that I actually knew some names!

With Mr. Yorimoto.

And that's a wrap! It was raining cats and dogs when I attended, but the fun I had and connections I made during the event certainly made the trek well worth it. 

No.

Brought to you by the "Oscar-winning team behind Godzilla Minus One," or whatever.

No. Nope. Sorry. Not even out of the gate. Uh-uh. No way. Not a chance in a million. Nothing doing. Absolutely not. Aw, hell nah. Shuffle all the way off to Buffalo with that.

Much like cow dung on the farm, the trailer for the Netflix adaptation of The Human Vapor (1960) just "dropped," and it's just as bad as I was expecting. I gave up on it completely upon seeing the image above. Thanks but no thanks -- waste somebody else's time, who will no doubt give it seven stars and three thumbs up on his personal Letterboxd account. "The greatest Japanese film since either Rental Family or Bullet Train Explosion! (I haven't seen Exit 8 yet.)"

I can't imagine why this thing would appeal to anybody who admires the original film or even any pre-Shin Godzilla (2016) tokusatsu work, but I can't imagine a lot of things that nonetheless exist. I mean, I don't know why someone's interest in Japanese SFX would start with Heisei-era Ultraman shows and pretty much ignore everything that came before them, so I'm bemused by how many such people are active on Twitter.

Great idea!

Even Godzilla (1954), formerly the undisputed sacred cow of fandom if there ever was one, is no longer secure in its position of "You don't understand cinema if you don't automatically rank it number one." Once slapped onto every top 10 list in the number-one position by rote, now it's more and more often supplanted by the overhyped, overpraised, and overdiscussed CG cartoons of the last 10 years. (Recency bias? What dat?)

We sure are in a brave new world of discourse if the year 1954 doesn't elicit the reflexive oohs and aahs of yore from the online purveyors of Martin Scorsese memes. Get with the times, yo! How can anything Ishiro Honda ever committed to celluloid compete with a truly C I N E M A T I C lecture on Freon gas? Do I need to show you a picture of David Lynch talking into a microphone in order for you to get it? How can you even think to question me when it says "film critic" right there in my Twitter bio?

There are folks who I assume are sincere when they say they like the Attack on Titan movies, so I'm sure the latest toku offering from the streaming platform that gave us Godzilla Singular Point and Ultraman Rising will see its defenders, too. (In fairness, those two projects do share a voice actor in common who gave us the single greatest line in film history, per Roger Ebert.) I mean, yeah, it may not be worth a whole lot, but I guess it's something.

I'm doing my part!

Suffice it to say, I'll be happily skipping this one, even as it earns an 11/10 on Letterboxd by our intellectual superiors, who continue to be shocked and amazed at how emotional Brendan Fraser was in Rental Family or spout goony nonsense like, "This is the greatest video game adaptation ever!"

Though, in fairness, Street Fighter (1994) is pretty fun.

Ann Robinson, Star of 'The War of the Worlds,' Passes Away at 96

With Ann Robinson in April 2010.

Who says news travels fast in the age of the Internet? It's being reported that Ann Robinson, who played Sylvia Van Buren, opposite Gene Barry, in The War of the Worlds (1953), has passed away at the age of 96.

You may be surprised to learn that she passed away on September 26 of last year. 

Near as I can tell, there isn't a reason it took so long for her family to come forward with the news.

 I only met and interacted with Ann Robinson once, which was in April 2010, at an L.A.-area science-fiction/horror convention. I remember her being energetic and a joy to talk to, though I'm afraid the specific details of our conversation have since faded from memory.

All I remember is that she was lovely, which was wonderful to find, since The War of the Worlds was a childhood favorite of mine. I couldn't tell you how many times I watched it on VHS when I was in the fourth grade, but rest assured it was a lot. The Martian war machines remain arguably the best depiction of a hostile alien invasion in motion-picture history. There, I said it.

It's a shame our paths never crossed again, but that's life for you. Rest in peace, Ann Robinson. 

Another Evening of Chanson in Tokyo!

With Yoshiro Uchida.

On Thursday, May 14, I paid a visit to Gamera series star Yoshiro Uchida, who was performing chanson at a local venue in Tokyo. I hadn't seen Uchida-san in well over two years, so it was great to see him again. 

I had originally planned to show up unannounced at one of his performances and surprise him, but by coincidence Uchida-san learned that I was back in Japan and contacted me about my return. Oh, well, at least it was a fun thought!

All that aside, it really felt like old times again, and I was overjoyed to see Uchida-san sing chanson. What a fun evening it was!

New Toho Q&A on Vantage Point Interviews!

Ryo Tamura in November 2023. Photo by Brett Homenick.

My new vintage account with Showa-era Toho actor Ryo Tamura has just been published. In his debut film, Rise Against the Sword (1966), Mr. Tamura played the younger brother of Toshiro Mifune and Makoto Sato in an epic directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. No pressure!

The interview covers a lot of ground, and it contains plenty of fascinating anecdotes about some of Japan's best-known actors and directors. Don't miss out!

New Hong Kong Dubbing Q&A on Vantage Point Interviews!

Photo courtesy of Martin Pachy.

More Hong Kong dubbing insights revealed in my brand-new vintage account with Omni Productions alum Martin Pachy. The interview goes into great depth about the writing of a dubbing script, especially in the pre-digital era. Give it a read today!

TV Tokusatsu Legend Kenji Ohba Passes Away at 71

Kenji Ohba addresses the crowd in March 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Actor Kenji Ohba, best known for portraying Space Sheriff Gavan in the Toei Metal Hero TV show of the same name, passed away at 2:23 p.m. on May 6 following a lengthy illness. He was 71.

Japan Action Enterprise broke the news today on its website, which has quickly gone viral on social media. While the JAE press release claims that Ohba died at the age of 72, this is almost certainly based on traditional Japanese age reckoning and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Kenji Ohba shakes Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima's hand in March 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Ohba, who was born on February 5, 1955, made his mark on film and television throughout the decades. As a regular performer, his credits include: Battle Fever J (1979-80) as Battle Kenya, Denshi Sentai Denjiman (1980-81) as Denji Blue, Space Sheriff Gavan (1982-82) as Gavan, and Space Sheriff Sharivan (1983-84) as Gavan once again.

Kenji Ohba shakes the hand of Toho actor Akira Kubo in March 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A number of his other roles are: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977), Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), and Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), among many other credits. Ohba-san started as a suit actor on such classic Toei programs as Kamen Rider (1971-73), Android Kikaider (1972-72), and Robot Detective (1973). 

Kenji Ohba shakes the land of Toho actress Yukiko Kobayashi in March 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I first saw Space Sheriff Gavan about 20 years ago, thanks to some overpriced "gray market" DVDs of the show I bought at a convention. Admittedly, I lost interest in the proceedings kind of quickly and never revisited the show after that. Who knows -- maybe I would enjoy it more now -- but Toei Metal Heroes were never really my bag.

Kenji Ohba in March 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

To this day, I still remember a particular subtitle line from that DVD set: While an exciting battle is raging beyond their doorstep, a confused child turns to his/her mother and comments, "Mom, it's weird outside!"

Of course, no obituary for Kenji Ohba should contain any mention of RoboCop (1987). I think we've all heard enough of that tall tale by now!

Kenji Ohba is joined by fellow Battle Fever J alums Narimitsu Kurachi and Daisuke Ban in April 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I only met Kenji Ohba once, though maybe it was twice, and I just no longer remember the other time. I saw him in person at a March 2015 tokusatsu gathering that featured such Toho luminaries as Akira Kubo, Yukiko Kobayashi, and Haruo Nakajima. I photographed Ohba there but have no recollection of talking to him. If I did, it was essentially hello and goodbye.

Kenji Ohba in April 2016.

I certainly did meet him in April 2016 and have the photos to prove it! But that encounter wasn't much longer, as it took place at an autograph show. But I remember him as a friendly chap who seemed enthused about meeting his fans. I'm glad our paths crossed.

Rest in peace, Ohba-san.