Masaki Tamura
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese cinematographer
.
, Tamura early on worked at Iwanami Productions (Iwanami Eiga), where as an assistant he helped photograph documentary film
s. He became a full-fledged cinematographer working on many of the documentaries of Shinsuke Ogawa
. At the same time, he began photographing feature fiction films by directors such as Kazuo Kuroki
, Yōichi Higashi
, and Toshiya Fujita
. He particularly became known for his collaborations with Mitsuo Yanagimachi
. After working with many famous directors such as Jūzō Itami
, Sōgo Ishii
, Go Takamine
, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
, and Kaizō Hayashi
, he began working in the 1990s with a new generation of directors, such as Nobuhiro Suwa
, Naomi Kawase, and Makoto Sato
. His collaborations with Shinji Aoyama
have been notable in recent years.
. The same year, he won the best cinematography award at the Yokohama Film Festival
for Farewell to the Land and A Japanese Village - Furuyashikimura.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
.
Career
Born in Aomori PrefectureAomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, Tamura early on worked at Iwanami Productions (Iwanami Eiga), where as an assistant he helped photograph documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
s. He became a full-fledged cinematographer working on many of the documentaries of Shinsuke Ogawa
Shinsuke Ogawa
was a Japanese documentary film director. Ogawa and Noriaki Tsuchimoto have been called the "two figures [that] tower over the landscape of Japanese documentary."-Career:...
. At the same time, he began photographing feature fiction films by directors such as Kazuo Kuroki
Kazuo Kuroki
-Filmography:* Silence Has No Wings * Preparation for the Festival * Yūgure made * The Bridge of Tears * Tomorrow * Pickpocket * The Face of Jizo * The Blossoming of Kamiya Etsuko...
, Yōichi Higashi
Yōichi Higashi
is a Japanese film director. He began his career working on documentaries at Iwanami Productions but, after going independent, turned to fiction film...
, and Toshiya Fujita
Toshiya Fujita (director)
, also known as Shigeya Fujita, was a Japanese filmmaker, film actor, and screenwriter. He was born in Pyongyang, Korea. After graduating from Tokyo University, he entered the Nikkatsu studio in 1955 and made his debut as a director in 1967. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award...
. He particularly became known for his collaborations with Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Mitsuo Yanagimachi is an award-winning Japanese screenwriter and film director.-Career:...
. After working with many famous directors such as Jūzō Itami
Juzo Itami
, born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture....
, Sōgo Ishii
Sogo Ishii
', formerly is a Japanese filmmaker known for his striking visuals and sometimes outlandish subject matter.Ishii was born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and is a graduate of Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Nihon University College of Art....
, Go Takamine
Gō Takamine
is a Japanese director of fiction films, documentaries and experimental films. Born on Ishigaki Island and raised in Naha, Takamine went to university in Kyoto and there began making 8mm films...
, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre.-Biography:Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not related to director Akira Kurosawa...
, and Kaizō Hayashi
Kaizo Hayashi
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with To Sleep so as to Dream . Abroad, he is best known for his neo-noir Maiku Hama trilogy, The Most Terrible Time in My Life , Stairway to the Distant Past and The Trap .-Partial filmography:* To Sleep so as to Dream *...
, he began working in the 1990s with a new generation of directors, such as Nobuhiro Suwa
Nobuhiro Suwa
is a Japanese film director working in Japan and France. His directorial works and screenplays often make use of improvisation techniques. Currently, Suwa is the President of Tokyo Zokei University.-Biography:...
, Naomi Kawase, and Makoto Sato
Makoto Satō
Makoto Satō was a Japanese documentary film director. Among his best-known films were Living On the River Agano and Self and Others....
. His collaborations with Shinji Aoyama
Shinji Aoyama
is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film Eureka.-Biography:...
have been notable in recent years.
Awards
In 1982, he won the Mainichi Film Award for best cinematography for the film Farewell to the LandFarewell to the Land
is a 1982 Japanese drama film directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Jinpachi Nezu as Yukio Yamazawa* Kumiko Akiyoshi as Junko* Jirō Chiba as Akihiko Yamazawa...
. The same year, he won the best cinematography award at the Yokohama Film Festival
Yokohama Film Festival
The is a noticed yearly awards ceremony held in Japan. The festival was started as a small affair by fans and film critics, and first held on February 3, 1980. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year, and various awards are given to personnel...
for Farewell to the Land and A Japanese Village - Furuyashikimura.
Selected filmography
- Narita: The Peasants of the Second Fortress (三里塚 第二砦の人々 Sanrizuka: Dainitoride no hitobito) (1971)
- Heta Village (三里塚 辺田部落 Sanrizuka: Heta buraku) (1973)
- Lady SnowbloodLady Snowblood (film)is a 1973 Japanese film directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji. It is based on the manga of the same name by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Kazuo Kamimura and follows the story of the eponymous assassin seeking vengeance upon the bandits who raped her mother and murdered her father.It...
(修羅雪姫 Shurayukihime) (1973) - Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of VengeanceLady Snowblood 2: Love Song of VengeanceLady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is a 1974 Japanese film directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji. It is based on the manga of the same name by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Kazuo.-Story:...
(修羅雪姫 怨み恋歌 Shurayukihime - Urami Renga) (1974) - Farewell to the LandFarewell to the Landis a 1982 Japanese drama film directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Jinpachi Nezu as Yukio Yamazawa* Kumiko Akiyoshi as Junko* Jirō Chiba as Akihiko Yamazawa...
(さらば愛しき大地 Saraba itoshiki daichi) (1982) - A Japanese Village - Furuyashikimura (ニッポン国 古屋敷村 Nipponkoku Furuyashikimura) (1982)
- The Crazy FamilyThe Crazy Familyis a 1984 Japanese film directed by Sōgo Ishii.-Awards and nominations:6th Yokohama Film Festival* Won: Best Newcomer - Youki Kudoh*8th Best Film...
(逆噴射家族 Gyakufunsha kazoku) (1984) - Fire FestivalFire Festival (film)is a 1985 Japanese drama film directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Kinya Kitaoji - Tatsuo* Kiwako Taichi - Kimiko* Norihei Miki - Yamakawa...
(火まつり Himatsuri) (1985) - TampopoTampopois a 1985 Japanese comedy film by director Juzo Itami, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first ramen western, a play on the term Spaghetti Western .-Plot summary:Tampopo begins when a pair of truck drivers, an experienced one named...
(タンポポ Tanpopo) (1985) - Magino Village: A Tale (1000年刻みの日時計 牧野村物語 1000-nen kizami no hidokei: Maginomura monogatari) (1987)
- Evil Dead TrapEvil Dead TrapEvil Dead Trap, known in Japan as , is a 1988 Japanese horror film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Japan Home Video.-Plot:TV show host Nami asks her viewers to send in home movies; she receives a snuff film apparently shot at a nearby factory. Taking a camera crew out to investigate,...
(死霊の罠 Shiryō no wana) (1988) - UntamagiruUntamagiruis a 1989 Japanese film directed by Gō Takamine. It is magical realist story of the legendary Okinawan hero Untamagiru participating in efforts to form an independent Okinawa before the island was returned to Japan in 1972. Many of the characters speak in the Okinawan language and thus mainland...
(ウンタマギルー) (1989) - EurekaEureka (2000 film)Eureka is a 2000 Japanese film directed and written by Shinji Aoyama. It stars Kōji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, and Masaru Miyazaki.-Synopsis:...
(2000) - Desert MoonDesert Moon (2001 film)is a 2001 film written, directed and edited by Japanese film director Shinji Aoyama. It was in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.-Synopsis:The film's main theme is the conflict between work and family commitments in modern Japan...
(月の砂漠 Tsuki no sabaku) (2001) - My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? is a 2005 Japanese drama film directed by Shinji Aoyama. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Tadanobu Asano - Mizui* Aoi Miyazaki - Hana...
(エリ・エリ・レマ・サバクタニ, Eri Eri rema sabakutani) (2005) - Sad VacationSad Vacationis a 2007 Japanese drama film written and directed by Shinji Aoyama, adapted from his own novel. It was named after the Johnny Thunders song.The film concerns a Japanese man, Kenji, who is involved in the human trafficking of illegal immigrants from China. When one of the children is left behind by...
(サッド ヴァケイション Saddo vakeishon) (2007)