February 13, 2008

Kon Ichikawa, 1915 - 2008.

Kon Ichikawa
Kon Ichikawa, celebrated Japanese helmer whose career spanned more than seven decades, died on Feb 13 of pneumonia. He was 92.

Best known abroad for The Burmese Harp (1956) and Fires on the Plain (1959), pics that vividly, if grimly, portrayed the human costs of WWII, as well as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics docu Tokyo Olympiad (1965), Ichikawa was the last directorial giant of Japan's now vanished studio studio system, which reached its peak in the 1950s and early 1960s, before succumbing to the advance of television.

Mark Schilling, Variety.

See also: Alexander Jacoby's 2004 profile for Senses of Cinema; acquarello; Wikpedia and the BBC.

Update, 2/14: Ronald Bergan in the Guardian.



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Posted by dwhudson at February 13, 2008 10:44 AM

Comments

And the last of the "four knights" has fallen. Terrific filmmaker. Sad news.

Posted by: Brian at February 13, 2008 11:09 AM

very sad to hear about this. for those interested in a documentary about Ichikawa, you may want to look into Shunji Iwai's "The Kon Ichikawa Story". it's a bit hard to find but there is an english-subbed version of it out there.

respect to Ichikawa-san. he'll be greatly missed and always respected.

Posted by: ricky robot at February 13, 2008 7:38 PM