Hiroshi Shimizu is probably the most prolific director you’ve never seen. Not only did he make 163 films, he also worked with his country’s biggest stars and played a large role in the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema after World War II.
A Hiroshi Shimizu Retrospective screens at the Museum of the Moving Image from Saturday, May 4, to Sunday, May 19.
Co-organized with the National Film Archive of Japan and the Japan Foundation, the schedule features rare, archival 35mm prints with newly commissioned subtitles. Some screenings include live piano accompaniment.
Editor’s note: There are actually two perspectives. Part I is at MoMI. Part II is at Japan Society from Thursday, May 16, to Saturday, June 1.
Here’s the lineup for MoMI, where tickets are $15 with discounts for students, seniors, and youth. All the movies are in Japanese with English subtitles.
May 4
Seven Seas: Chapter 1 – Virginity at 1 pm with live piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura, 1931, 72 minutes, 35 mm.
Seven Seas: Chapter 2 – Chastity at 2:30 pm with live piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura, 1932, 82 minutes, 35 mm.
Japanese Girls at the Harbor at 6 pm with live piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura, 1933, 78 minutes, 35 mm.
A Hero of Tokyo at 4:30 pm, 1935, 63 minutes, 35 mm.
May 5
A Woman Crying in Spring at 3:15 pm, 1933, 96 minutes, 35 mm.
Mr. Thank You at 5:30 pm, 1936, 75 minutes, 35 mm.
Forget Love for Now at 1:30 pm, 1937, 73 minutes, 35 mm.
May 10
Children in the Wind at 7 pm, 1937, 86 minutes, 35 mm.
May 11
Four Seasons of Children: Spring/Summer at 3 pm, 1939, 70 minutes, 35 mm.
Four Seasons of Children: Autumn/Winter at 4:30 pm, 1939, 71 minutes, 35 mm.
Ornamental Hairpin at 6:15 pm, 1941, 70 minutes, 35 mm.
Sayon’s Bell at 1:15 pm, 1943, 74 minutes, 35 mm.
May 12
A Star Athlete at 4 pm, 1937, 64 minutes, 35 mm.
The Masseurs and a Woman, 5:30 pm, 1938, 66 minutes, 35 mm.
Introspection Tower at 1:30 pm,1941, 111 minutes, 35 mm.
May 16
Children of the Beehive as part of the opening night reception at 7 pm.
May 19
Notes of an Itinerant Performer at 3 pm, 1941, 97 minutes, 35 mm.
Children of the Beehive at 5:15 pm, 1948, 86 minutes, 35 mm. (The only Part II film to show at MoMI.)
The Man
Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1903, Shimizu was 21 when he made his directorial debut in 1924. With close friend Yasujirō Ozu, he led the Shochiku studio from the mid-1920s until he left to form his own independent production company in the late 1940s. He died in 1966.
Shimizu specialized in melodramas and comedies that were loosely plotted, low-key, and shot on location. Frequently employing non-actors, he often depicted the transient lives and hardships of everyday people with a marked regard for those at the margins of society, including drifters, migrant workers, war veterans, persons with disabilities, outcast women, and especially children.
MoMI is at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District. Japan Society is at 333 East 47th St. in Manhattan.
Part II
Here’s the Japan Society’s schedule.
Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather on May 17 at 7 pm, 1948, 65 minutes, 35 mm.
Mr. Shosuke Ohara on May 30 at 7 pm, 1949, 97 minutes, 16 mm.
A Mother’s Love on May 17, 9 pm, 1950, 83 minutes, 35 mm.
Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next on May 31 at 7 pm, 1951, 94 minutes, 35 mm.
Children of the Great Buddha on June 1 at 8 pm, 1952, 102 minutes, 35 mm.
The Shiinomi School on May 18 at 7:30 pm, 1955, 100 minutes, 35 mm.
Sound in the Mist on May 23 at 7 pm and May 30 at 9:15 pm, 1956, 84 minutes, DCP.
The Sentimental Idiot on May 18 at 3 pm and May 23 at 9 pm, 1956, 71 minutes, DCP.
Dancing Girl on May 18 at 5 pm and June 1 at 3 pm, 1957, 96 minutes, DCP.
Image of a Mother on May 31 at 9:30 pm and June 1 at 5:30 pm, 1959, 89 minutes, DCP.
Images: Japan Society