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{{Short description|Film director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Yoshimitsu Morita
| name = Yoshimitsu Morita
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| birth_date = 25 January 1950
| birth_date = 25 January 1950
| birth_place = [[Chigasaki, Kanagawa|Chigasaki]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]], [[Japan]]
| birth_place = [[Chigasaki, Kanagawa|Chigasaki]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]], [[Japan]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|12|20|1950|01|25|df=y}}<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/20/4136644/award-winning-japanese-director.html |title=Award-winning Japanese director Morita dies at 61 - Wire Entertainment - Movie News |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=21 December 2011 |accessdate=21 December 2011 |deadurl=yes }}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|12|20|1950|01|25|df=y}}<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/20/4136644/award-winning-japanese-director.html |title=Award-winning Japanese director Morita dies at 61 - Wire Entertainment - Movie News |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=21 December 2011 |access-date=21 December 2011 }}</ref>
| death_place = [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| death_place = [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| occupation = [[Film director]]
| occupation = [[Film director]]
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| awards = Best Director, [[Japanese Academy Awards]] 2004
| awards = Best Director, [[Japanese Academy Awards]] 2004
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''Yoshimitsu Morita'''|森田 芳光|Morita Yoshimitsu|25 January 1950 &ndash; 20 December 2011}} was a [[Japanese (language)|Japanese]] [[film]] director who was born in [[Tokyo]].
{{nihongo|'''Yoshimitsu Morita'''|森田 芳光|Morita Yoshimitsu|25 January 1950 &ndash; 20 December 2011}} was a [[Japanese (language)|Japanese]] [[film]] director. He was known for his versatility, having directed [[Pink film|pinku films]], [[Satire (film and television)|satires]], [[Melodrama|melodramas]], and [[Crime fiction|crime thrillers]].
==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).<ref name="Schilling">Mark Schilling [http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201112211704reedbusivarietynvr1118047819dec21,0,3699700.story "Director Yoshimitsu Morita dies"], ''Chicago Tribune'', 21 December 2011</ref>
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).<ref name="Schilling">Mark Schilling [http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201112211704reedbusivarietynvr1118047819dec21,0,3699700.story "Director Yoshimitsu Morita dies"], ''Chicago Tribune'', 21 December 2011</ref>


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.<ref name="Macy">Roger Macy [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/yoshimitsu-morita-director-best-known-for-the-family-game-6284147.html "Yoshimitsu Morita: Director best known for 'The Family Game'"], ''The Independent'', 3 January 2012</ref> 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]].<ref name="DGJ1">{{cite web|url=http://www.dgj.or.jp/award_g/|title=Nihon Eiga Kantoku Kyōkai Shinjinshō|publisher=Directors Guild of Japan|language=Japanese|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Macy">Roger Macy [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/yoshimitsu-morita-director-best-known-for-the-family-game-6284147.html "Yoshimitsu Morita: Director best known for 'The Family Game'"], ''The Independent'', 3 January 2012</ref> The magazine went on to vote it as the best Japanese film of the 1980s (in 2018) and the 10<sup>th</sup> best Japanese film of all time (in 2009).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/312777/ |title=キネマ旬報が選ぶ1980年代日本映画ベストテン、第1位は「家族ゲーム」|last= |first= |date=19 December 2018|access-date=11 September 2024 |language=jpn |trans-title=Kinema Junpo's 1980s Japan Best Ten Movies, No. 1 is "Family Game"}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="DGJ1">{{cite web|url=http://www.dgj.or.jp/award_g/|title=Nihon Eiga Kantoku Kyōkai Shinjinshō|publisher=Directors Guild of Japan|language=ja|access-date=11 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122022302/http://dgj.or.jp/award_g/|archive-date=22 November 2010}}</ref>


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)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/21-1999/21_1999_shou.html |script-title=ja:第２１回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９９年日本映画個人賞|accessdate= 2010-03-31|language= Japanese |publisher= [[Yokohama Film Festival]]}}</ref> and the award for best screenplay at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for ''[[Haru (1996 film)|Haru]]'' (1996).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/18-1996/18_1996_shou.html |script-title=ja:第１８回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９６年日本映画個人賞|accessdate= 2010-04-11|publisher= [[Yokohama Film Festival]]|language=Japanese}}</ref> ''[[Sanjuro (2007 film)|Sanjuro]]'' (2007) is a remake of the [[Sanjuro|Kurosawa film]]
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)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/21-1999/21_1999_shou.html |script-title=ja:第２１回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９９年日本映画個人賞|access-date= 2010-03-31|language= ja |publisher= [[Yokohama Film Festival]]}}</ref> and the award for best screenplay at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for ''[[Haru (1996 film)|Haru]]'' (1996).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/18-1996/18_1996_shou.html |script-title=ja:第１８回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９９６年日本映画個人賞|access-date= 2010-04-11|publisher= [[Yokohama Film Festival]]|language=ja}}</ref> His 2007 film ''[[Sanjuro (2007 film)|Sanjuro]]'' is a remake of the [[Sanjuro|Kurosawa film]].
==Themes ==
According to film critic [[Saburo Kawamoto|Saburō Kawamoto]] in 1985, Morita’s early features presented a new cinema and sensibility that represented “the new human species.” Morita’s aesthetic was minimalistic, transparent, and featured empty landscapes with light and abstract characters. This was in direct contrast to the youth films of 1960s and 1970s in which the directors would aim for a fullness of sensuality, emotion, and physicality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerow |first=Aaron |author-link=Aaron Gerow |title=Japanese Cinema, Texts and Contexts |date=December 20, 2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780415328487 |editor-last=Phillips |editor-first=Alastair |page=241 |language=en |chapter=Playing With Postmodernism: Morita Yoshimitsu's The Family Game (1983) |editor-last2=Stringer |editor-first2=Julian}}</ref>


==Death and legacy==
Yoshimitsu Morita died from acute liver failure in Tokyo in December 2011.<ref name="Macy"/> His last film ''Bokukyû: A ressha de iko'' (''[[Take the 'A' Train (2011 film)|Take the "A" Train]]'', 2011), a romantic comedy about two male train enthusiasts, was released in Japan in March 2012.<ref name="Schilling"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://movie.walkerplus.com/mv47660/|title=僕達急行 A列車で行こう|publisher=[http://movie.walkerplus.com/ MovieWalker]|language=Japanese|accessdate=2014-04-12}}</ref>
Yoshimitsu Morita died from acute liver failure in Tokyo in December 2011.<ref name="Macy" /> His last film ''Bokutachi kyūkō: A ressha de ikō'' (''[[Take the 'A' Train (2011 film)|Take the "A" Train]]'', 2011), a [[romantic comedy]] about two male train enthusiasts, was released in Japan in March 2012.<ref name="Schilling" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://movie.walkerplus.com/mv47660/|title=僕達急行 A列車で行こう|publisher=MovieWalker|language=ja|access-date=2014-04-12}}</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
* ''[[No Yōna Mono]]'' (1981)
* ''[[No Yōna Mono]]'' (1981) (''Something Like It'')
* ''[[Shibugakitai]]'' (''Boys and Girls'', 1982)
* ''[[Come On Girls!]]'' (''Shibugakitai Boys & Girls'', 1982)
* ''[[Zūmu Appu: Maruhon Uwasa no Sutorippa]]'' (also known as ''Uwasa no Stripper'', 1982)
* ''[[Zūmu Appu: Maruhon Uwasa no Sutorippa]]'' (also known as ''Uwasa no Stripper'', 1982)
* ''[[Futoku Aishite Fukaku Aishite]]'' (''Pink Cut'', 1983)
* ''[[Futoku Aishite Fukaku Aishite]]'' (''Pink Cut'', 1983)
* ''[[The Family Game|Kazoku Gēmu]] (''The Family Game'', 1983)
* ''[[The Family Game|Kazoku Gēmu]]'' (''The Family Game'', 1983)
* ''[[Tokimeki ni Shisu]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Tokimeki ni Shisu]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Mein tēma]]'' (''Main Theme'', 1984)
* ''[[Mein tēma]]'' (''Main Theme'', 1984)
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* ''[[Kitchen (1989 film)|Kitchen]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Kitchen (1989 film)|Kitchen]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Oishii Kekkon]] (Happy Wedding)'' (1991)
* ''[[Oishii Kekkon]] (Happy Wedding)'' (1991)
* ''[[Future Memories: Last Christmas|Mirai no Omoide]] (''Future Memories: Last Christmas'', 1992)
* ''[[Future Memories: Last Christmas|Mirai no Omoide]]'' (''Future Memories: Last Christmas'', 1992)
* ''[[Haru (1996 film)|Haru]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Haru (1996 film)|Haru]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Shitsurakuen (film)|Shitsurakuen]]'' (''A Lost Paradise'', 1997)
* ''[[Shitsurakuen (film)|Shitsurakuen]]'' (''A Lost Paradise'', 1997)
* ''[[39 Keihō dai Sanjūkyū jō]]'' (''Keiho'', 1999)
* ''[[39 Keihō dai Sanjūkyū jō]]'' (''Keiho'', 1999)
* ''[[Kuroi Ie]]'' (''The Black House'', 1999)
* ''[[Kuroi Ie]]'' (''The Black House'', 1999)
* ''[[Mohou-han]]'' (''Copycat Killer'', 2002)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/copycat-killer-1200545949/|title=Copycat Killer|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 24, 2002|first=Derek|last=Elley|access-date=November 28, 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[Mohou-han]]'' (''Copycat Killer'', (2002)
* ''[[Ashura no Gotoku]]'' (''Like Asura'', 2003)
* ''[[Like Asura|Ashura no Gotoku]]'' (''Like Asura'', 2003)
* ''[[Umineko (film)|Umineko]]'' (''The Seagull'', 2004)
* ''[[Umineko (film)|Umineko]]'' (''The Seagull'', 2004)
* ''[[Mamiya kyodai]]'' (''The Mamiya Brothers'', 2006)
* ''[[Mamiya kyodai]]'' (''The Mamiya Brothers'', 2006)
* ''[[Sanjuro (2007 film)|Sanjuro]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Sanjuro (2007 film)|Sanjuro]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Southbound (film)|Southbound]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Southbound (2007 film)|Southbound]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Bushi no kakeibo]]'' (''Abacus and Sword'', 2010)
* ''[[Bushi no kakeibo]]'' (''Abacus and Sword'', 2010)
* ''[[Watashi dasu wa]]'' (''It's on Me'', 2009)
* ''[[Watashi dasu wa]]'' (''It's on Me'', 2009)
* ''[[Take the 'A' Train (2011 film)|Bokukyû: A ressha de iko]]'' (''Take the "A" Train'', 2012)
* ''[[Take the 'A' Train (2011 film)|Bokutachi kyūkō: A ressha de ikō]]'' (''Take the "A" Train'', 2012)


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0605741|name=Yoshimitsu Morita}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0605741|name=Yoshimitsu Morita}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0199720.htm|title=森田芳光 (Morita Yoshimitsu)|accessdate=2007-07-12|language=Japanese|work=[[Japanese Movie Database]]}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0199720.htm|title=森田芳光 (Morita Yoshimitsu)|access-date=2007-07-12|language=ja|work=[[Japanese Movie Database]]}}
*Davis, Bob [https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2006/great-directors/morita/ "Morita Yoshimitsu"]''Senses of Cinema'', February 2006.


{{Yoshimitsu Morita}}
{{Yoshimitsu Morita}}
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{{Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year}}
{{Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year}}
{{Yokohama Film Festival Best Director}}
{{Yokohama Film Festival Best Director}}
{{Japanese Movie Critics Awards for Best Director}}
}}
}}


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[[Category:Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Japanese film directors]]
[[Category:Japanese film directors]]
[[Category:People from Tokyo]]
[[Category:People from Kanagawa Prefecture]]

Revision as of 04:37, 26 September 2024

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

Yoshimitsu Morita (森田 芳光, Morita Yoshimitsu, 25 January 1950 – 20 December 2011) was a Japanese film director. He was known for his versatility, having directed pinku films, satires, melodramas, and crime thrillers.

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] The magazine went on to vote it as the best Japanese film of the 1980s (in 2018) and the 10th best Japanese film of all time (in 2009).[4] 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.[5]

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)[6] and the award for best screenplay at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for Haru (1996).[7] His 2007 film Sanjuro is a remake of the Kurosawa film.

Themes

According to film critic Saburō Kawamoto in 1985, Morita’s early features presented a new cinema and sensibility that represented “the new human species.” Morita’s aesthetic was minimalistic, transparent, and featured empty landscapes with light and abstract characters. This was in direct contrast to the youth films of 1960s and 1970s in which the directors would aim for a fullness of sensuality, emotion, and physicality.[8]

Death and legacy

Yoshimitsu Morita died from acute liver failure in Tokyo in December 2011.[3] His last film Bokutachi kyūkō: A ressha de ikō (Take the "A" Train, 2011), a romantic comedy about two male train enthusiasts, was released in Japan in March 2012.[2][9]

Filmography

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. ^ a b Mark Schilling "Director Yoshimitsu Morita dies", Chicago Tribune, 21 December 2011
  3. ^ a b Roger Macy "Yoshimitsu Morita: Director best known for 'The Family Game'", The Independent, 3 January 2012
  4. ^ "キネマ旬報が選ぶ1980年代日本映画ベストテン、第1位は「家族ゲーム」" [Kinema Junpo's 1980s Japan Best Ten Movies, No. 1 is "Family Game"] (in jpn). 19 December 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  5. ^ "Nihon Eiga Kantoku Kyōkai Shinjinshō" (in Japanese). Directors Guild of Japan. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Gerow, Aaron (20 December 2007). "Playing With Postmodernism: Morita Yoshimitsu's The Family Game (1983)". In Phillips, Alastair; Stringer, Julian (eds.). Japanese Cinema, Texts and Contexts. Routledge. p. 241. ISBN 9780415328487.
  9. ^ "僕達急行 A列車で行こう" (in Japanese). MovieWalker. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  10. ^ Elley, Derek (24 September 2002). "Copycat Killer". Variety. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
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