Directing
May 14, 1933
Kyoto, Japan
Jūzō Itami
Directing
Biography
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 died under suspicious circumstances in December 1997 and may have been murdered by the yakuza.
Feature Films (63)
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.
Sweet Secret
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?
Private Collections
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.
Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "A-Ge-Man" a.k.a. "Tales of a Golden Geisha".
The Making of "Tales of a Golden Geisha"
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".
The Making of "Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion"
A documentary about the Juzo Itami memorial museum in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
Itami Juzo Museum's "13"
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.
Sing a Song of Sex
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.
Her Brother
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?
No More Easy Life
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".
The Making of "A Taxing Woman's Return"
A behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind Juzo Itami's "Marusa no Onna" a.k.a. "A Taxing Woman".
The Making of "A Taxing Woman"
Television & Series (2)
2012 NHK drama based on the Juzo Itami film "A Taxing Woman" (Marusa no Onna).