Masaru Konuma

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Masaru Konuma (1937-), Japanese film director
Masaru Konuma (1937-), Japanese film director

Masaru Konuma (小沼勝 - Konuma Masaru) is a Japanese director most famous for his Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu during the 1970s.

Contents

[edit] Life and Career

Masaru Konuma was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, on December 30, 1937. He majored in film studies at Nihon University, and graduated in 1961.[1] Konuma went to work at Nikkatsu Studio, starting as a "fifth" assistant director, which meant he was in charge of the clipboard. He endured this low position at the studio in the hope that eventually he would become a director. [2] In his early career, he was the assistant director on such films as Nikkatsu's venture into the kaiju genre, Daikyojū Gappa (1967), which was released in the U.S. as Monster from a Prehistoric Planet.[3] Seijun Suzuki was one of the few directors who impressed Konuma during these early years at Nikkatsu.[4]

During the later 1960s, Nikkatsu began losing its audience to TV, and its film production dropped. At this time, assistant directors moved on to TV or non-film work. In order to find a new audience, Nikkatsu president Takashi Itamochi made the decision to put the company's high production values and professional talent entirely into the "pink-film" (softcore pornographic) industry, which had until then been made by independent and low-budget filmmakers like Koji Wakamatsu.[5] Many of Nikkatsu's staff either did not return to the studio or left, not wanting to make sex films. Konuma had no such reservations, however, later saying, "The pleasure of becoming a director was greater than anything else at that moment... I was just happy to be making movies."[6]

Konuma's first assignment as director was Call of the Pistil in 1971. Two of his most popular films-- Flower and Snake and Wife to be Sacrificed-- were made for Nikkatsu in 1974, both starring Naomi Tani. Commenting on his association with the S/M sub-genre of Nikkatsu's Roman Pornos, Konuma said, "In general, the roman porn audience wants to see something they can't experience in everyday life. These people get excited about seeing acts which they may - or may not want to do to their wives or mates. Things they would never be able to really do without ending up in jail or divorce. For example, I was often assigned to make movies with rape scenes. I am not a person who could possibly perform rape. I want to see a lady's happy face while having sex... Movies are fantasies. Sometimes they might be ugly, but they're still fantasies. I was the dreamweaver."[7]

In 2000, director Hideo Nakata made a documentary on Konuma entitled Sadistic and Masochistic.

[edit] Partial filmography

  • Call of the Pistil (花芯の誘い - Kashin No Izanai) (12/18/1971)
  • Afternoon Affair: Kyoto Holy Tapestry (昼下りの情事　古都曼陀羅 - Hirusagari no joji Koto-mandara) (4/4/1973)
  • Love Hunter: Hot Skin (Koi no karyudo: atsui hada) (1973)
  • Flower and Snake (花と蛇 - Hana to hebi) (1974)
  • Wife to be Sacrificed (生贄夫人 - Ikenie fujin) (1974)
  • Ohedo: maruhi onna isha arashi (1975)
  • Shudojo Runa no kokuhaku (1976)
  • Nureta tsubo (1976)
  • Kashin no irezumi: ureta tsubo (1976)
  • Okasareru (1976)
  • Seito ai no corrida (1977)
  • Kifujin shibari tsubo (1977)
  • OL kanno nikki: Ah! Watashi no naka de (1977)
  • Yumeno Kyusaku no shoujo jigoku aka Kasei no onna (1977)
  • Sasurai no koibito: memai (1978)
  • Kinyo-bi no shinshitsu (1978)
  • Toki niha Shoufu no youni (1978)
  • Mr. Dilemman: shikijo-garu (1979)
  • Izumi Daihachi no joshidaisei no kinyobi (1979)
  • Yamanote fujin: seiai no hibi (1980)
  • Tsumatachi no seitaiken: otto no me no maede ima (1980)
  • Dan Oniroku shoujo shibari ezu (1980)
  • Asobareru onna (1981)
  • Akujo gundan (1981)
  • Misetagaru onna (1981)
  • Dorei keiyakushu (1982)
  • Karuizawa fujin (1982)
  • Nawa to chibusa (1983)
  • Joshuu ori aka Female Prisoner: Cage (1983)
  • Final scandal: okusama wa okatai no ga osuki (1983)
  • Stewardess scandal: kemono no youni dakishimete (1984)
  • Hako no naka no onna: shojo ikenie (1985)
  • Hako no naka no onna II (1986)
  • Bed-In (1986)
  • XX: Utsukushiki karyuudo aka XX: Beautiful Hunter (1994) (V)
  • Lustful Revenge aka Decoy (1996)
  • Kairakusatsujin: onna sousakan (1996)
  • Nagisa (2000)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Masaru Konuma biography at NAGISA at berlinale.de (pdf file)
  2. ^ Konuma, Masaru. (1998). Interviewed by Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser on November 6, 1998, in Asian Cult Cinema, #22, 1st Quarter, 1999, p.19.
  3. ^ Daikyojû Gappa (1967) Combined details at IMDB
  4. ^ Konuma, p.19.
  5. ^ Macias, Patrick. (2001). "Nikkatsu's Roman Porno" in TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. Cadence Books, San Francisco. ISBN 1-56931-681-3, p.187-188
  6. ^ Konuma, p.23.
  7. ^ Konuma, p.26.

[edit] Sources

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