Warning: mkdir() [
function.mkdir]: Permission denied in
/home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line
12
Warning: mkdir() [
function.mkdir]: No such file or directory in
/home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line
12
Warning: fopen(/home/templatecore2cache//*cluesnet.com/3b/3b99dca6ec9cb4c4323cbc1a69b66ae0ee6ef2b8.tc2cache) [
function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in
/home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line
130
Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in
/home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line
131
Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in
/home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line
132
Mamoru Oshii (押井守
Oshii Mamoru; born
August 8, 1951 in Tokyo) is a
Japanese
animation and live-action
film writer and director famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling. Presently, Oshii lives in Atami,
Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan with his dogs – a basset hound named Gabriel (ガブリエル) and a Mixed-breed dog named Daniel (both are featured in
Tachiguishi-Retsuden).
Career
As a student, Mamoru Oshii was fascinated by the film La Jetée by
Chris Marker as well as the films of
Andrzej Wajda,
Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Andrzej Munk and
Ingmar Bergman.
In
1976, he graduated from The Fine Arts Education School of the Education Department of Tokyo Liberal Arts University ("Tokyo Gakugei Daigaku"). The following year, he entered
Tatsunoko Productions and worked on his first
anime as animation director on
Ippatsu Kanta-kun. In 1980, he moved to Studio Pierrot under the supervision of his mentor, Hisayuki Toriumi. During production of the
Nils no fushigi na tabi ("Wonderful Adventures of Nils") and Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman II TV series, Oshii first met longtime collaborators, writer
Kazunori Itō and painter and character designer
Yoshitaka Amano.
Mamoru Oshii's work as director and storyboard artist of the animated
Urusei Yatsura TV series brought him into the spotlight. Following its success, he directed two
Urusei Yatsura films:
Urusei Yatsura 1: Only You in 1983 and
Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer in 1984. While the first film was adapted directly from the series, the second film was a big departure and an early example of Mamoru Oshii's contemporary style. It deviated so far from the original manga by Rumiko Takahashi, she barely approved the script.
In the midst of his work with Studio Pierrot, Oshii took on independent work and directed the first direct-to-video OVA series, Dallos, in 1983. In
1984, he left Studio Pierrot and has remained independent ever since. He next wrote and directed
Tenshi no Tamago ("
Angel's Egg") released in
1985, a surreal film with biblical themes featuring the painting-like character designs of
Yoshitaka Amano. The producer of the film, Toshio Suzuki (studio ghibli), later founded the renowned
Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Following the release of the film, Miyazaki and Takahata began collaborating with Mamoru Oshii on his next film,
Anchor. The film was cancelled early in the initial planning stages when the trio had artistic disagreements. Despite their differences, Toshio Suzuki and Studio Ghibli would later help Oshii with his production of
Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2 (2004). To this day, Oshii and Miyazaki maintain skeptical, but respectful, views of each other's films. Oshii criticizes Miyazaki as being too idealistic, unrealistic, and ruthless with his workers. Miyazaki criticizes Oshii as being too much of a philosopher and not enough of an entertainer in his work.
In the late 1980s, Oshii was solicited by his friend Kazunori Itō to join Headgear (artist group) as a director. The studio pooled the different talents of Itō (screenwriter), Masami Yuki (scenarist/concept), Kenji Kawai (music composer),
Yutaka Izubuchi (mechanical designer),
Kazuchika Kise (animation director), Akemi Takada (character designer), and
Hiromasa Ogura (art director). Together they were responsible for the
Patlabor OVA (1988),
Twilight Q Episode 2: Meikyu Bukken File 538 (1987), and the
Patlabor (1989), and
Patlabor (
1993) films. Released in the midst of Japan's economic crisis, the Patlabor series and films projected a dynamic near-future world in which grave social crisis and ecological challenges were overcome by technological ingenuity, and were a big success in the mecha genre.
Between production of the Patlabor movies/series, Oshii directed three live action films. The first was
The Red Spectacles (
1987) which led into his later work
Stray Dogs: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991). The third was
Talking Head (
1992), a surreal look at Oshii's view on film executed through a plot about an anime production where the director is missing and has to be replaced by a new one.
In 1995, Mamoru Oshii released his landmark animated cyberpunk film,
Ghost in the Shell (film), in Japan, the United States, and Europe simultaneously. It hit the top of the US Billboard magazine video charts in 1996.
After a 5-year hiatus from directing to work on other projects, Oshii returned to directing with the long-awaited Japanese-
Poland live action film
Avalon (Japanese film) shown at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2001. His latest animated film
Innocence: Ghost in the Shell was selected to compete at 2004 Cannes Film Festival for the coveted Palme d'Or prize, the first animated film in this top category and only the sixth animated film shown at Cannes. The festival described
Innocence as a film in which
"the political tone has given way to a philosophical one, a hymn to life. Furthermore, the technical rendering is much more formal, mixing 2D, 3D and computer graphics."
Style
Mamoru Oshii's films typically follow a rhythm of slow-paced exposition in near-silence, punctuated by several sequences of fast action. His visual style is easily recognizable with long dramatic moments of beautiful images in
Montage sequence in which nothing significant generally occurs. Frequently repeated elements include flocks of birds (like Hong Kong action director
John Woo), and basset hounds similar to his own. The basset hound was seen most prominently
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and was a major plot point in his live action film,
Avalon (2001 film).
Oshii is especially noted for how his directing style has uniquely influenced the films for
Urusei Yatsura,
Patlabor, and
Ghost in the Shell. In their original manga or anime forms, these three titles exhibited a mood that was more frantic slapstick comedy (
Urusei Yatsura) or convivial seriocomic (
Patlabor,
Ghost in the Shell). Oshii, in adapting the works created a slower, more grey overcast atmosphere especially noticeable in
Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer and
Patlabor: The Movie. For the
Ghost in the Shell movie, Oshii elected to leave out the humor and character banter of
Masamune Shirow's manga, resulting in a presentation reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick.
Oshii also wrote and directed numerous animated movies and live-action films based on his personal worldview influenced by the ANPO Hantai (opposition to the
Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan) student movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Because the student movements were falling apart by the time Oshii became involved, he has a much more cynical worldview than older members of the same movements, like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. The first film to touch on his political background was the live action film,
Akai megane, known in English as
The Red Spectacles (1987). This film, set in the same world as
Hiroyuki Okiura's film
Jin-Roh (for which Oshii wrote the script), is about a former member of the special unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force dealing with a Fascism government.
Themes in Oshii's work
- Stray dogs
- Tachigui
- Organized groups
Lifework: Kerberos saga
1980s
.The Kerberos saga is Oshii's lifework, created in 1986. It spawned on all medias and last for 20 years since his January 1987 radio drama
While Waiting For The Red Spectacles introducing the live-action feature film,
Akai megane, released one month later. Then the
manga adaptation
Kerberos Panzer Cop was serialized in 1988 until 1990.
1990s
The series compilation came in 1990, as a single volume (Acts 1~4). In 1991 the live-action film adaptation of the
tankōbon, was released as
StrayDog Kerberos Panzer Cops. In 1993, the 1990 volume was reissued as a "budget edition". In 1999, the manga was serialized again (under a completion perspective) and the 1993 edition was reissued for a "renewal edition". The same year,
Jin-Roh, the anime feature film adaptation of the first volume was directed by his collaborator Hiroyuki Okiura and was released in International Film Festivals starting in France, with Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
2000s
In 2000, the second season (Acts 5~8) was serialized, then published as a second volume. After the manga's completion and publishing as volumes 1 & 2, Jin-Roh was finally released in the domestic market. Following the Japanese release of the anime, a limited edition, single volume collector reissue of the manga series was made available. This 10-year issue celebration boxset included the radio drama edition of
While Waiting For The Red Spectacles. In 2003 the manga's sequel,
Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs was serialized, then it was compiled as a single volume in 2005. In 2006
Kerberos Panzer Jäger was broadcasted in Japan as a 20-year celebration of the saga. The same year, Oshii revealed his plan to release an anime/3DCG adaptation film of the drama in 2009, the
Kerberos Panzer Jäger#Anime feature adaptation project. In late 2006, Oshii launched a Kerberos saga crossover manga series titled
Kerberos & Tachiguishi.
Other work
In addition to his directing work, Oshii is a prolific screenwriter and author of manga and novels. He wrote the
Kerberos Panzer Cop manga drawn by Kamui Fujiwara (1988~90), which was translated into English and published by Dark Horse in North America under the name
Hellhounds Panzer Cops. In
1994, he wrote the manga
Seibu Shinjuku Sensen Ijou Nashi ("All's Quiet on the Seibu Shinjuku Front"). He wrote the script for the manga
Seraphim drawn by
Satoshi Kon and published by Animage between May 1995 and November 1996. He also wrote the script of
Jin-Roh and was involved in the supervision of
Blood: The Last Vampire in 2000. In 2005 he was involved in the production of the adaptation of
Patlabor animation for the PlayStation Portable console.
Selective works
Director
Anime feature film
Anime short film
- Patlabor (2002) three short films
Live action feature film
- The Red Spectacles aka Akai megane (1987)
- StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops aka Kerberos: Jigoku no banken (1991)
- Talking Head (film) (1992)
- Avalon (Japanese film) (2001)
Live action short film
Theme theater
OVA
TV series
Writer
Manga
Novel
Essay
Scenario
- Todo no Tsumari ("When All's Said and Done") (1984)
- While Waiting For The Red Spectacles (1987)
- Seibu Shinjuku Sensen Ijo Nashi ("All's Quiet on the Seibu Shinjuku Front") (1994)
- Seraphim (1995)
- Jin-Roh (1999)
- Blood the last vampire (novel, translated in English) (2000)
- Mini Pato (2002)
- Kerberos Panzer Jäger (2006)
- Acht acht (2007)
Producer
Quotes
Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2
On hearing about a
nomination for the film:
"This is only the 5th time that an animated film has been screened in competition in the history of Cannes Film Festival. I am very grateful for the film to receive this honor, as this nomination is yet more proof that Japanese animation (Anime) is finally being recognized as a "movie." However, I am not too happy about having to wear a tuxedo, but I know that it's part of my job as a director. Wish us luck."
On the origins of the film:
"When Production I.G first proposed the project to me, I thought about it for two weeks. I didn't make Innocence as a sequel to Ghost in the Shell. In fact I had a dozen ideas, linked to my views on life, my philosophy, that I wanted to include in this film. I attacked Innocence as a technical challenge; I wanted to go beyond typical animation limits, answer personal questions and at the same time appeal to filmgoers."
On his narrative intentions:
"for Innocence, I had a bigger budget than for Ghost in the Shell. I also had more time to prepare it. Yet despite the economic leeway, abundant details and orientations, it was still important to tell an intimate story. Personally, I adore the quotes in the film. It was a real pleasure for me. The budget and work that went into it contributed to the high quality of imagery. The images had to be up to par, as rich as the visuals.”
On life:
"This movie does not hold the view that the world revolves around the human race. Instead it concludes that all forms of life – humans, animals and robots – are equal. In this day and age when everything is uncertain, we should all think about what to value in life and how to coexist with others."
On
Jean-Luc Godard:
"This desire to include quotes by other authors came from Godard. The text is very important for a film, that I learned from him. It gives a certain richness to cinema because the visual is not all there is. Thanks to Godard, the spectator can concoct his own interpretation. The image associated to the text corresponds to a unifying act that aims at renewing cinema, that lets it take on new dimensions.”
On animation:
"I think that Hollywood is relying more and more on 3D imaging like that of Shrek. The strength behind Japanese animation is based in the designers' pencil. Even if he mixes 2D, 3D, and computer graphics, the foundation is still 2D. Only doing 3D does not interest me."
Avalon
On computer graphics :
"On the digital level, all movies become ‘anime’."
Studio Ghibli
His opinion about Studio Ghibli:
"I think Studio Ghibli is (like) the Kremlin. The real one is long gone, but it's still sitting in the middle of the field in Higashi Koganei (Ghibli's address)
. But in a sense, there is a reason for its existence, meaning, I think it plays a certain role by existing. Just like those steel-like athletes could not be produced other than in the communist countries, a certain kind of people cannot be produced by the principles of the market economy."
References
-
- Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii's Website
External links
- The official site (Japanese)
- The Straydog Fansite (Japanese)
- Mamoru Oshii Glossary
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
- Angel's Egg links
- Nine Sisters: Avalon, a UK perspective
- Hacking Your Own Ghost: Mythology in the Films of Oshii Mamoru by Brian Ruh
- Modern Ghosts, Postmodern Shells
- Miyazaki and Oshii discuss Patlabor 2
- Mamoru Oshii talks about Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata
- Information on Headgear
- TheBassethound.net - A Mamoru Oshii Fansite
- filmography by Richard Suchenski
- Mamoru Oshii entry at Anime.com
{{Persondata|NAME=Oshii, Mamoru|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Japanese film, TV, and anime director|DATE OF BIRTH=August 8, [1951|DATE OF DEATH=|PLACE OF DEATH=-->
Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii has 1 in-development credit available on IMDbPro.com. To view these credits click here.
Mamoru_Oshii
FW 8 DW 8 XHTML. Mamoru Oshii (押井守) Mamoru Oshii is different than another director.
Mamoru Oshii - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mamoru Oshii (押井守 Oshii Mamoru; born August 8, 1951 in Tokyo) is a Japanese animation and live-action film writer and director famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling ...
Mamoru OSHII - Anime News Network
Mentioned being inspired by French filmmaker Jean Luc Godard at Cannes 2004.
Mamoru Oshii - Channel 4 Film
The UK's most comprehensive film site with over 10,000 film reviews, 100,000 filmographies, 1000 DVD reviews movie news and listings ... avg. user rating: 5 (1 votes)
Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii ... Ghost In The Shell Movie Double Bill Actor: Akio Ohtsuka Director: Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii
by Richard Suchenski - profile of Mamoru Oshii ... Richard Suchenski is a film student at Princeton University. He is currently at work on a book on Japanese experimental ...
Mamoru Oshii - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile
Mamoru Oshii Celebrity Profile - Check out the latest Mamoru Oshii photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at Rotten Tomatoes!
Mamoru Oshii - Director - Cornerhouse
Description ... Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence Last shown on Tue 6 Dec 2005 Batou a cyborg detective is investigating the case of a female robot created specially for sexual ...
JIN-ROH creators
Jin-Roh © 1998 Mamoru Oshii/Bandai Visual/Production I.G. All rights reserved. TM & © 2001 by VIZ, LLC.. All Rights Reserved.