Jūzō Itami

Jūzō Itami

Born: May 15, 1933
Died: December 20, 1997
in Kyoto, Japan
Jūzō Itami (1933–1997) was a Japanese actor and, later, a popular modern screenwriter and film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His ten feature-length movies and one short film, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture. He was murdered by the yakuza in December 1997.

Movies for Jūzō Itami...

Title: Kodawari Otoko to Marusa no Onna
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 24, 2012
Type: TV
2012 NHK drama based on the Juzo Itami film "A Taxing Woman" (Marusa no Onna).
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Itami-ryū super na supermarket ga dekiru made
Title: Itami-ryū super na supermarket ga dekiru made
Character: Self
Released: January 27, 2012
Type: Movie
A special feature included with the Juzo Itami Film Collection about the production of "Super no Onna" a.k.a. "Supermarkt Woman".
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'Marutai no Onna' satsuei wo oete
Title: 'Marutai no Onna' satsuei wo oete
Character: Self
Released: January 27, 2012
Type: Movie
A special feature included with the Juzo Itami Film Collection about the production of "Marutai no Onna" a.k.a. "Woman in Witness Protection".
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Title: "Utsukishiki Shizuka na Seikatsu" + satsuei genba hōmonki
Character: Self
Released: January 27, 2012
Type: Movie
A special feature included with the Juzo Itami Film Collection about the production of "Shizuka na Seikatsu" a.k.a. "A Quiet Life".
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Itami Juzo Museum's
Title: Itami Juzo Museum's "13"
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 25, 2011
Type: Movie
A documentary about the Juzo Itami memorial museum in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
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Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
Title: Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 2007
Type: Movie
A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.
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Itami Jūzō Kinenkan ga dekiru made
Title: Itami Jūzō Kinenkan ga dekiru made
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2007
Type: Movie
Featurette included with "Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces" about the creation of the Itami Juzo Museum in Matsuyama, Ehime.
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北の国から 記憶 前編
Title: 北の国から 記憶 前編
Released: August 23, 2003
Type: Movie
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Making of Daibyonin
Title: Making of Daibyonin
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1993
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "Daibyonin" a.k.a. "The Last Dance".
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Convenience Jack
Title: Convenience Jack
Released: January 18, 1992
Type: Movie
A youth action drama depicting the struggles of a young man who gets involved in an extraordinary incident at a convenience store. This film is based on the novel of the same name written by Asato Izumi, written and directed by newcomer Hisashi Toma. Isamu Nagata of “Asatte DANCE” was in charge of the photography.
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Making of Minbo No Onna
Title: Making of Minbo No Onna
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "Minbo no Onna" a.k.a. "Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion".
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Shirayuri Girls' Academy Western Archery Club: A Silver Target
Title: Shirayuri Girls' Academy Western Archery Club: A Silver Target
Released: January 1, 1991
Type: Movie
An archery club on retreat in Hokkaido is forced to rescue their teacher who is kidnapped.
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The Making of A-Ge-Man
Title: The Making of A-Ge-Man
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1990
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "A-Ge-Man" a.k.a. "Tales of a Golden Geisha".
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Great SFX Adventure: Take Me to 'Sweet Home'
Title: Great SFX Adventure: Take Me to 'Sweet Home'
Character: Self
Released: April 1, 1989
Type: Movie
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Sweet Home
Title: Sweet Home
Character: Kenichi Yamamura
Released: January 21, 1989
Type: Movie
A TV production crew are making a documentary about the infamous painter Mamiya Ichiro. When they start filming at his old home, they come under attack from the ghost of the painter's wife.
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Making of Marusa No Onna 2
Title: Making of Marusa No Onna 2
Character: Self
Released: May 20, 1988
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "Marusa no Onna 2" a.k.a. "A Taxing Woman's Return".
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Making of Marusa No Onna
Title: Making of Marusa No Onna
Character: Self
Released: August 1, 1987
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "Marusa no Onna" a.k.a. "A Taxing Woman".
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The Making of
Title: The Making of "Tampopo"
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1986
Type: Movie
Documentary about the making of Juzo Itami's film "Tampopo" (1985).
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Bumpkin Soup
Title: Bumpkin Soup
Character: Professor Hirayama
Released: November 3, 1985
Type: Movie
A country girl visits Tokyo in search of her college heartthrob. Here she meets horny students, a psychology professor in search of the theory of shame, and Yoshioka who has become a campus nobody.
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MacArthur's Children
Title: MacArthur's Children
Character: Hatano
Released: June 23, 1984
Type: Movie
In this drama at the end of World War II, the inhabitants of a small Japanese fishing village must come to terms with their nation's defeat and the sudden occupation of General MacArthur and his troops.
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Make-Up
Title: Make-Up
Character: Kumakura
Released: May 2, 1984
Type: Movie
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Choji Snack Bar
Title: Choji Snack Bar
Character: Kawara
Released: November 12, 1983
Type: Movie
Eiji lives a quiet life running a small Izakaya with his wife. He spends his days cooking for and serving the lively residents of his small hometown.
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The Makioka Sisters
Title: The Makioka Sisters
Character: Tatsuo
Released: May 21, 1983
Type: Movie
This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.
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The Family Game
Title: The Family Game
Character: Mr. Numata
Released: May 4, 1983
Type: Movie
A sendup of the stereotypical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife; the older son is a moderate academic success; but the younger son is a rebellious goof-off for whom a tutor must be hired. The tutor, played by the prototypical bad boy actor Matsuda Yusaku, proceeds to blow the entire family apart.
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Kidnapping Blues
Title: Kidnapping Blues
Character: Walking Man
Released: October 9, 1982
Type: Movie
A man and a little girl meet in a bicycle parking in Tokyo. The little girl says she wants to watch the sea, and their travel begins. The man does not intend to be a kidnapper – he asks the girl to phone her mother and tell her she's with him. During their trip they meet various people, but they always must continue on, lest the man be arrested.
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Onna no naka no akuma
Title: Onna no naka no akuma
Released: July 17, 1982
Type: Movie
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Title: Toge no Gunzo
Released: January 10, 1982
Type: TV
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Island of the Evil Spirits
Title: Island of the Evil Spirits
Character: Ryuhei Ochi
Released: October 3, 1981
Type: Movie
Famous detective Kosuke Kindaichi follows a dying man's words to an enigmatic island, where he meets beautiful twin sisters and tragic events unfold.
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Baian the Assassin
Title: Baian the Assassin
Character: Sahei Oumiya
Released: April 11, 1981
Type: Movie
This is an ensemble period drama adapted from Shotaro Ikenami's popular novel, featuring the famous Kabuki actor brothers Kinnosuke Manya and Katsuo Nakamura, who made the transition from the Kabuki world to the film industry, and a cast of gorgeous and diverse faces. The Edo period. Nagato Abe, a Hatamoto (a feudal lord), is annoyed by his son's bad behavior, and when it becomes a hindrance to his own career, he asks Otowaya Hanemon, a black marketeer, to assassinate his son. The target is then taken care of by the assassin, Umeyasu. In order to keep his mouth shut, Nagatomon no Mamoru also attempts to take Otowaya's life. Nagato's brother-in-law, Omiya Sahei, a corrupt merchant from the Kamigata region, also plans to replace Otowaya as the head of Edo's black market business, so Umebayashi and his fellow trapper Hikojiro set out to eliminate them.
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Play it, Boogie-Woogie
Title: Play it, Boogie-Woogie
Character: Lawyer
Released: April 7, 1981
Type: Movie
A runaway cat-loving girl begins a love triangle with a reckless older man and a young biker in high school. The film follows their subsequent chaotic relationships.
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Until Evening
Title: Until Evening
Character: Sasa
Released: September 20, 1980
Type: Movie
Intellectual collegue professor Sasa becomes obsessed with beautiful Sugiko, a virgin. Eventually, luring her to a love hotel.
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No More Easy Life
Title: No More Easy Life
Character: Takamizawa
Released: December 25, 1979
Type: Movie
Mariko is living the life of a typical Japanese college student in the 70's, spending far more of her time balancing boyfriends and part-time jobs than on her schoolwork. She finds herself torn between a former boyfriend who's the tough, insensitive-but-sexy, type, and a new acquaintance who's more sensitive to her feelings, but who still acts childishly selfish at times. Will she choose one of them, or decide to go her own way?
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Private Collections
Title: Private Collections
Character: (segment "Kusa-Meikyu")
Released: June 27, 1979
Type: Movie
Three stories. A solitary sailor falls from his boat and washes ashore on a tropical island. While seeking rescue, he's found by a nearly naked woman who is playful and compliant. He decides to erase his signs of distress and remain on the island. What awaits? In the second, an adolescent searches for the words of a nursery rime he remembers bits of. His journey takes him into dreams, sexual awakening, and Oedipal fantasy. Third, a man of wealth in late-nineteenth century Paris hires a prostitute for the night. She's also cabaret performer and takes him to her room. He fears he's about to be robbed. What's her secret?
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Grass Labyrinth
Title: Grass Labyrinth
Character: Principal / Priest / Old man
Released: January 1, 1979
Type: Movie
Akira is haunted by a "bouncing ball" song that he remembers his mother singing when he was a small child, and now on the verge of a sexually active adulthood, he wants to find the origins of the song. The young man ostensibly wanders into a time-warp in which aspects from his childhood and adulthood mix together. In this never-never land he comes across a beautiful woman/witch who is lost inside the labyrinth of her mansion, just as the young man is lost in the labyrinth of time — and on some levels, perhaps the labyrinth of his subconscious.
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I Am a Cat
Title: I Am a Cat
Character: Meitei
Released: May 31, 1975
Type: Movie
Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!
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My Way
Title: My Way
Character: Dr. Takagi
Released: September 7, 1974
Type: Movie
Based on a true story, an elderly woman resiliently spends nine months attempting to retrieve her husband's dead body, fighting government bureaucracy and indifference all along the way.
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Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
Title: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
Character: Ransui Tokunaga
Released: June 15, 1974
Type: Movie
Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.
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Sweet Secret
Title: Sweet Secret
Released: August 25, 1971
Type: Movie
A dynamic woman who aspires to be a writer, living a wild life in constant search of freedom while indulging in lust with four men.
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The Gentle Japanese
Title: The Gentle Japanese
Released: March 5, 1971
Type: Movie
A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.
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A Young Man's Stronghold
Title: A Young Man's Stronghold
Released: April 4, 1970
Type: Movie
A 1970 juvenile delinquent drama.
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Heat Wave Island
Title: Heat Wave Island
Character: Iino
Released: October 29, 1969
Type: Movie
Otowa is a former Seto Inland Sea island farmer who has moved to the mainland in order to find work, but instead ends up dead. The film begins with the discovery of her corpse, which leads to an investigation that uncovers the narcotics, prostitution, and murder in which many poor farmers had found themselves trapped after World War II.
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Team of Ruffians
Title: Team of Ruffians
Released: September 19, 1969
Type: Movie
Prisoners with special skills from all over Japan are sent to the battlefront on a mission.
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Safari 5000
Title: Safari 5000
Released: July 19, 1969
Type: Movie
A Japanese racing driver for Nissan named Godai (Yujiro Ishihara) have a rivalry with a French driver named Pierre (Jean-Claude Drouot). Godai is enlisted to race in an annual endurance race, The East African Safari Rally. Peripheral to this is the story concerning Godai's former lover Yuko (Ruriko Asaoka), a fashion designer, and her friend Anna (Emmanuel Riva), who happens to be Pierre's wife.
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Even If Life Withers
Title: Even If Life Withers
Character: Shinji Sakaguchi
Released: October 25, 1968
Type: Movie
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The Notorious Concubines
Title: The Notorious Concubines
Character: Ximen Qing
Released: September 27, 1968
Type: Movie
Dark, cynical Japanese epic brought to U.S. in a dubbed version by shlockmeister Harry Novak. Still, this gory, sexy epic is made with style and interesting for to compare to "Yojimbo" and other masterworks of the form.
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The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
Title: The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze
Released: June 1, 1968
Type: Movie
The film is dedicated to the souls of flight school graduates killed in World War II. Young boys dream about becoming pilots and apply to flight schools. However, the flight schools have extremely demanding, harsh training, and once they finally become pilots, they must become suicide bombers and give their lives for their homeland.
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Human Torpedoes
Title: Human Torpedoes
Released: January 3, 1968
Type: Movie
Story of loyal sailors giving their lives for their country as human torpedoes towards the end of the War.
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Parole
Title: Parole
Character: Kenji Kijima
Released: October 21, 1967
Type: Movie
Three men vs. gangsters in a fight involving smuggled gold.
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Sing a Song of Sex
Title: Sing a Song of Sex
Character: Ôtake
Released: February 23, 1967
Type: Movie
Four sexually hungry high school students preparing for their university entrance exams meet up with an inebriated teacher singing bawdy drinking songs. This encounter sets them on a less than academic path.
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By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him
Title: By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him
Character: Shunji Amemiya
Released: March 23, 1966
Type: Movie
Also known as "History of a Man’s Face" and "By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him" . Immigrant gangs terrorize a Japanese town with their threats, loud jazz, and tasteless fashion sense, and only the tough but suave Dr. Amamiya (Ando) can stop them, as long as he gets rid of his silly peace-loving ideals.
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Lord Jim
Title: Lord Jim
Character: Waris
Released: February 15, 1965
Type: Movie
After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself.
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The Flame of Devotion
Title: The Flame of Devotion
Character: Takuji Yoshii
Released: November 22, 1964
Type: Movie
The tragic tale of Kiyono, a young woman from the mountain who fell in love with Takuji, a fisherman's son, and her devotion to him during a time of war.
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55 Days at Peking
Title: 55 Days at Peking
Character: Col. Shiba
Released: May 6, 1963
Type: Movie
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals.
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Rubber Band Pistol
Title: Rubber Band Pistol
Released: October 22, 1962
Type: Movie
Jūzō Itami's debut short film, concerning a group of unique young people in the high economic growth period who are into games with rubber band pistols.
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Ten Dark Women
Title: Ten Dark Women
Character: Hanamaki
Released: May 3, 1961
Type: Movie
Kaze is a philandering TV producer. His wife and nine of his mistresses conspire to kill him. However each woman would rather keep him alive, as long as she was the only woman in his life.
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The Big Wave
Title: The Big Wave
Character: Toru
Released: April 2, 1961
Type: Movie
Yukio, a farm boy, and Toru, a fisherboy, live in a small Japanese village that is periodically threatened by a volcano on one side and tidal waves on the other. Yukio's younger sister Setsu follows then and dreams of becoming a pearl diver. Toru is preparing to go fishing with his father when a bell tolls and a danger flag is hung high on the hill behind the village to warn of an impending tidal wave by the village patriarch, known as Old Gentleman.
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Her Brother
Title: Her Brother
Character: Son of Factory owner
Released: November 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
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The False Student
Title: The False Student
Character: Sozo
Released: October 8, 1960
Type: Movie
A youth drama set in a Japanese university which is home to a group of active, leftist students.
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Kirai Kirai Kirai
Title: Kirai Kirai Kirai
Released: February 24, 1960
Type: Movie