Profile of Mansaku Itami on Famous Like Me

Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; 1900-1946) was a Japanese film director. His samurai movies diverged from the norm in that they were not heroic epics of the sort which had by that time become formulaic, but rather satires that used the established symbols and iconography of the samurai culture to comment on both historical and modern society.

He died of tuberculosis in 1946. His screenplays' popularity endured, however, and he is credited as a writer as recently as 1986's Kokushi Muso, a remake of his 1932 film of the same name.

His son Yoshihiro Ikeuchi, who later changed his name to Juzo Itami, followed in his footsteps, becoming one of the pre-eminent Japanese filmmakers of the 20th century.

Filmography

1. Kyojin-den (1938)
2. Atarashiki Tsuchi (The New Earth), also known as Die Tochter des Samurai (Death of a Samurai) (1937)
3. Akanishi Kakita (Capricious Young Man) (1936)
4. Chuji Uridasu (1935)
5. Kokushi Muso (1932)
6. Katakiuchi Ruten (1928)
7. Zoku Banka Jigoku: Dai Ippen (Elegy of Hell) (1928)

Additional Screenwriting Credits

1. Kokushi Muso (1986)
2. Ore wa Yojimbo (I'm the Bodyguard) (1950)
3. Te o Tsunagu Kora (Children Hand in Hand) (1948, 1963)
4. Muhomatsu no Issho (the 1958 version is also known as The Rickshaw Man; the others are also known as The Life of Matsu the Untamed) (1943, 1958, 1965)
5. Hōrō Zanmai (The Wandering Gambler) (1928)
6. Tenka Taiheiki (Peace on Earth) (1928)

External Links

• IMDB entry for Mansaku Itami

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