Donald Richie Movie Trailers

Cybele: A Pastoral Ritual in Five Scenes Trailer (1969)

18 February 1969

A documentary of an avant-garde theatre performance, presents an orgiastic rite of sex, degradation, and bloody sacrifice, performed by Zero-Jigen.

The Man Who Left His Soul on Film Trailer (1983)

02 February 1983

Documentary about Nagisa Oshima. It includes interviews with Oshima, Donald Richie, Roger Pulvers ag

Wargames Trailer (1962)

01 January 1962

A group of boys playing near the seashore in Tokyo find a goat, kill it in a tug of war for ownership, bury it with ceremony, and, except for one boy, run off in heedless laughter ready for more games.

Dead Youth Trailer (1967)

01 January 1967

The homoerotic poetry of Mutsuo Takahashi sets the stage for these associated images based on male desire.

Kurosawa: The Last Emperor Trailer (1999)

01 January 1999

A profile and history of film director Akira Kurosawa.

Atami Blues Trailer (1962)

01 January 1962

A young woman arrives at a resort and is soon pursued by a young man. Initially, he appears to be infatuated with her, but it becomes clear he simply wants to seduce her.

Futari Trailer (1963)

29 December 1963

Love affair between an older European woman and a younger Japanese man.

Life Trailer (1964)

16 December 1964

Short film for the "A Commercial for Myself" programme.

Sacrifice Trailer (1959)

01 January 1959

Filmed only a few months after Tatsumi Hijikata’s first explosive public butoh performance, “Gisei” features Hijikata and members of his Asbestos Hall Troupe in a brutal allegory of a closed society.

I Lived, But... Trailer (1983)

29 October 1983

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to work on this).

Tokyo 1958 Trailer (1958)

24 April 1958

A collaborative, newsreel-style portrait of Tokyo in 1957–58, blending photography, animation, and historical imagery to capture the city’s labor, rituals, and nightlife at the moment it became the world’s largest metropolis.

Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences Trailer (2006)

04 September 2006

A documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that helped shape Kurosawa's masterpiece.

Rikyu Trailer (1989)

15 September 1989

Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.

Kurosawa Trailer (2000)

24 December 2000

Documentary on film maker Akira Kurosawa

Five Filosophical Fables Trailer (1967)

14 August 1967

Donald Richie’s classic is, in the words of Yukio Mishima, an outrageous farce, and a pitiless indictment of all our false ‘human’ values.

A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Trailer (2006)

06 September 2006

Using rare archival footage and interviews with noted artists, philosophers, and scholars such as Huston Smith, this film examines the life and teachings of D.

Under the Skin Trailer (2002)

14 June 2002

A documentary on sixties counterculture in Japan featuring Donald Richie, Tadanori Yokoo, Masao Adachi, Koji Wakamatsu, Toshio Matsumoto and Akaji Maro among others.

The Inland Sea Trailer (1991)

01 December 1991

In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japan’s Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self-discovery.

Emotion Trailer (1966)

01 January 1966

Experimental short film depicting the life, perhaps real, perhaps a dream, of a young girl named Emi. Emi travels to the city where she encounters her counterpart, Sari, and falls in love with…a vampire?

Boy with Cat Trailer (1966)