Tomu Uchida

Regista, Sceneggiatore

26 aprile 1898 — 7 agosto 1970 (72 anni)
Uchida started out at the Taikatsu studio in the early 1920s, but came to prominence at Nikkatsu, adapting literary works with the screenwriter Yasutarō Yagi in a realist style. His 1929 film A Living Puppet (Ikeru ningyo) was selected as the fourth best film of the year by the film journal, Kinema Junpo. Many of his 1930s films featured the actor Isamu Kosugi. One such work, Policeman (Keisatsukan), has been called "a tremendously stylish gangster movie about the love-hate relationship between a cop and a criminal, once childhood friends" It is Uchida’s only surviving complete silent film. Uchida borrows from Hollywood gangster films and expressionist techniques in a story of a young policeman tracking down an old friend who is now a criminal. His work from the 1920 and 1930s possess a leftist social commentary and were often some of the most critically acclaimed films of the time. Kinema Junpo selected Jinsei Gekijo as the number two film of 1936, Karininaki Zenshin as the best film of 1937, and Tsuchi as the best film of 1939. The latter was praised for its realistic depiction of the lives of poor Meiji-period tenant farmers. Unfortunately, few of Uchida's prewar works survive in their entirety.

In 1941, Uchida quit the Nikkatsu studio, and after failing to start his own production company, in 1943 began to work with the Manchukuo Film Association, although he never completed a film there. In 1945 he was taken prisoner and held in Manchuria until 1954, when he returned to Japan.

Upon he return, he joined the Toei studio. His post-war movies reveal a strong genre stylist with no immediately discernible themes, much like many golden-age Hollywood directors. Uchida effortlessly directed chamber dramas, comedies, and samurai epics, often in color, and with a forward-looking dose of irony.

Famoso per

  • Lo stretto della fame
    Lo stretto della fame1965
  • A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji
    A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji1955
  • The Mad Fox
    The Mad Fox1962
  • Hero of the Red Light District
    Hero of the Red Light District1960
  • Miyamoto Musashi
    Miyamoto Musashi1961
  • Miyamoto Musashi II: Duel at Hannya Hill
    Miyamoto Musashi II: Duel at Hannya Hill1962
  • Miyamoto Musashi IV: Duel at Ichijyo-ji Temple
    Miyamoto Musashi IV: Duel at Ichijyo-ji Temple1964
  • Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of the Nito-ryu Style
    Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of the Nito-ryu Style1963
  • Miyamoto Musashi V: Duel at Ganryu Island
    Miyamoto Musashi V: Duel at Ganryu Island1965
  • Earth
    Earth1939
  • Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka
    Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka1959
  • Sword in the Moonlight
    Sword in the Moonlight1957
  • Souls in the Moonlight II
    Souls in the Moonlight II1958
  • Souls in the Moonlight III
    Souls in the Moonlight III1959
  • A Hole of My Own Making
    A Hole of My Own Making1955
  • The Master Spearman
    The Master Spearman1960
  • They Are Buried Alive
    They Are Buried Alive1957
  • Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza
    Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza1968
  • The Outsiders
    The Outsiders1958