27° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL

DENKI MOTAKUTO

THE LIFE OF MAO
by Nagisa Oshima
Country: Japan
Year: 1976
Duration: 66'


THE LIFE OF MAO
A collection of film clips and vintage
photos describe the figure of Mao
Zedong, who died a few days before
the film was televised on September 9,
1976. Old and rare films from the era
show the period between the birth of
Mao and his rise to power and marriage,
intertwining his personal story with the
evolution of history.

Biography

film director

Nagisa Oshima

Nagisa Ōshima (Tamano, Japan, 1931 - Fujisawa, Japan, 2013) is considered one of the maestros of Japanese cinema. An exponent of “nuberu bagu,” his films depict the contradictions of Japanese society since WWII, in which growing materialism is flanked by strict observance of centuries-old rules, generating oxymorons and irresolvable conflicts. His most important films include Cruel Story (1960); The Sun’s Burial (1960); Night and Fog in Japan (1960); The Ceremony (1971); In the Realm of the Senses (1976), a true sensation because of its explicit sexual content; Empire of Passion (1978), which won Best Director at Cannes; and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), which received a BAFTA for Best Score. His final film was Taboo (1999), presented in competition at Cannes. In 2009, the Torino Film Festival dedicated a complete retrospective to him.

FILMOGRAFIA

Seishun zankoku monogatari (Racconto crudele della giovinezza, 1960), Taiyō no hakaba (Il cimitero del sole, 1960), Nihon no yoru to kiri (Notte e nebbia in Giappone, 1960), Etsuraku (Il godimento, 1965), Muri shinju: Nihon no natsu (Japanese Summer: Double Suicide, 1967), Koshikei (Death by Hanging, 1968), Gishiki (La cerimonia, 1971), Ai no korīda (Ecco l’impero dei sensi, 1976), Ai no bōrei (L’impero della passione, 1978), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Furyo, 1983), Max mon amour (Max amore mio, 1986), Gohatto (Tabù - Gohatto, 1999). 

Cast

& Credits

regia/director
Nagisa Oshima
montaggio/film editing
Ryoichi Tomizuka
suono/sound
Hiroshi Ikeba
produttore/producer
Junichi Ushiyama
produzione/production
Nippon A-V Productions
(NAV)
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