Gojoe
| Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sogo Ishii |
| Produced by | Takenori Sento |
| Written by |
Goro Nakajima Sogo Ishii |
| Starring |
Tadanobu Asano Masatoshi Nagase Daisuke Ryu Jun Kunimura |
| Music by | Hiroyuki Onogawa |
| Cinematography | Makoto Watanabe |
| Edited by | Shuichi Kasesu |
Production company | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
Gojoe (五条霊戦記 GOJOE Gojō reisenki GOJOE) is a 2000 Japanese jidaigeki action film directed by Sogo Ishii. In several English-speaking countries, it was released as Gojoe.[1] The film is a martial arts film set in twelfth century Japan about a battle between the Minamoto and Taira clans.
Production
Film producer Takenori Sento, who helped produce The Ring horror film series, wanted to create a box office hit by making an action film in the jidaigeki genre.[2]
Release
The film was first shown in North America as part of the 2000 Toronto Film Festival.[3] The film was also shown at the 2001 Sitges Film Festival.[4] The film was set for an October 7, 2001 theatrical release in Japan.[5]
Awards
Actor Tadanobu Asano won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the Hochi Film Awards in 2000 for his role in this film and in Taboo.[6]
Reception
Variety gave the film a mixed review, stating that "Despite an impressive opening and suitably titanic finale, yarn about various warriors battling one another during the "Dark Ages" is way overlong at almost 2-1/2 hours and soon palls with its endless succession of sylvan swordplay."[5] The Japan Times compared the final action scene to the "excessive episodes of the "Dragonball Z"" and that the film may "bring in the same kids who made the "Ring" films an event—but it's not going to make anyone forget "Shichinin no Samurai." Kurosawa's masterpiece delivers the essence of battle with gut-wrenching authority.[2] Film4 gave the film a positive review, stating that "What it lacks in humour (and there is absolutely none to be found in it), Gojoe more than makes up for in its sheer, unrelenting intensity, something which few other directors would be able to sustain over so long a duration."[7]
Notes
- ↑ "Gojoe page on the online catalogue of the distributor, Optimum Entertainment". Optimum. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- 1 2 Schilling, Mark (October 17, 2000). "Shock treatment for jidaigeki". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ↑ Deming, Mark. "Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle". Allrovi. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ↑ "34ed. Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya". Sitges Film Festival. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- 1 2 Elley, Derek (October 15, 2000). "Gojoe". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ↑ "Broadcast Film Award-winner work". Archived from the original on February 3, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ↑ "Gojoe". Film4. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
External links
- Gojoe at the Internet Movie Database
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