Yoshimitsu Morita

Yoshimitsu Morita (森田 芳光, Morita Yoshimitsu, 25 January 1950 – 20 December 2011) was a Japanese film director who was born in Tokyo.

Yoshimitsu Morita
Born25 January 1950
Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died20 December 2011(2011-12-20) (aged 61)[1]
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationFilm director
Years active1981–2011
Spouse(s)Misao Morita
AwardsBest Director, Japanese Academy Awards 2004

Career

Self-taught, first making shorts on 8 mm film during the 1970s, he made his feature film debut with No Yōna Mono (Something Like It, 1981).[2]

In 1983 he won acclaim for his movie Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game), which was voted the best film of the year by Japanese critics in the Kinema Junpo magazine poll.[3] This black comedy dealt with then-recent changes in the structure of Japanese home life. It also earned Morita the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award.[4]

The director has been nominated for eight Japanese Academy Awards, winning the 2004 Best Director award for Ashura no Gotoku (Like Asura, 2003). He also won the award for best director at the 21st Yokohama Film Festival for 39 keihō dai sanjūkyū jō (Keiho, 2003)[5] and the award for best screenplay at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for Haru (1996).[6] Sanjuro (2007) is a remake of the Kurosawa film

Death and legacy

Yoshimitsu Morita died from acute liver failure in Tokyo in December 2011.[3] His last film Bokukyû: A ressha de iko (Take the "A" Train, 2011), a romantic comedy about two male train enthusiasts, was released in Japan in March 2012.[2][7]

Filmography
  • No Yōna Mono (1981) (Something Like It)
  • Come On Girls! (Shibugakitai Boys & Girls, 1982)
  • Zūmu Appu: Maruhon Uwasa no Sutorippa (also known as Uwasa no Stripper, 1982)
  • Futoku Aishite Fukaku Aishite (Pink Cut, 1983)
  • Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game, 1983)
  • Tokimeki ni Shisu (1984)
  • Mein tēma (Main Theme, 1984)
  • Sorekara (And Then, 1985)
  • Sorobanzuku (1986)
  • Kanashi Iro Yanen (1988)
  • Ai to Heisei no Iro - Otoko (1989)
  • Kitchen (1989)
  • Oishii Kekkon (Happy Wedding) (1991)
  • Mirai no Omoide (Future Memories: Last Christmas, 1992)
  • Haru (1996)
  • Shitsurakuen (A Lost Paradise, 1997)
  • 39 Keihō dai Sanjūkyū jō (Keiho, 1999)
  • Kuroi Ie (The Black House, 1999)
  • Mohou-han (Copycat Killer, (2002)
  • Ashura no Gotoku (Like Asura, 2003)
  • Umineko (The Seagull, 2004)
  • Mamiya kyodai (The Mamiya Brothers, 2006)
  • Sanjuro (2007)
  • Southbound (2007)
  • Bushi no kakeibo (Abacus and Sword, 2010)
  • Watashi dasu wa (It's on Me, 2009)
  • Bokukyû: A ressha de iko (Take the "A" Train, 2012)

References
  1. "Award-winning Japanese director Morita dies at 61 - Wire Entertainment - Movie News". The Sacramento Bee. Associated Press. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. Mark Schilling "Director Yoshimitsu Morita dies", Chicago Tribune, 21 December 2011
  3. Roger Macy "Yoshimitsu Morita: Director best known for 'The Family Game'", The Independent, 3 January 2012
  4. "Nihon Eiga Kantoku Kyōkai Shinjinshō" (in Japanese). Directors Guild of Japan. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  5. 第２１回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９９年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  6. 第１８回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９６年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  7. "僕達急行 A列車で行こう" (in Japanese). MovieWalker. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
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