During the Fall 2017 semester, the Harvard Film Archive presented a retrospective of the works of Shuji Terayama (b. 1935), a pioneer filmmaker of the postwar Japanese avant-garde. Also a poet, playwrite, and photographer, Terayama was known for his rich cinematic expression and innovative usage of different media.
This film series was organized in partnership with the Anthology Film Archives, National Film Archive of Japan, and George Eastman Museum with support from the Kinoshita Group, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and the Reischauer Institute.
3 November 2017
Pastoral Hide and Seek (Denen ni shisu)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Kaoru Yachigusa, Keiko Niitaka, Masumi Harukawa.
Japan, 1974, 35mm, color, 104 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation.
preceded by
Father (Chichi)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
1977, 16mm, color, 3 min.
Details on HFA website
4 November 2017
Fruits of Passion (Les fruits de la passion)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Illiers, Arielle Dombasle.
France/Japan, 1981, 35mm, color, 90 min.
French, Japanese, English & Cantonese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation.
Details on HFA website
4 November 2017
A Tale of Smallpox (Hosotan)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Keiko Niitaka, Yoko Ran, Takeshi Wakamatsu.
Japan, 1975, 16mm, color, 34 min.
Print source: National Film Center, Japan.
Grass Labyrinth (Kusa-meikyu)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Takeshi Wakamatsu, Hiroshi Mikami, Juzo Itami.
Japan/France, 1979, 16mm, color, 40 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation.
Details on HFA website
6 November 2017
Farewell to the Ark (Saraba hakobune)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Tsutomu Yamazaki, Mayumi Ogawa, Yoshio Harada.
Japan, 1984, 35mm, color and b&w, 127 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation.
Details on HFA website
12 November 2017
The Boxer (Bokusa)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Bunta Sugawara, Kentaro Shimizu, Masumi Harukawa.
Japan, 1977, 35mm, color, 94 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: The Japan Foundation.
Details on HFA website
13 November 2017
Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (Sho o suteyo machi e deyou)
Directed by Shuji Terayama.
With Hideaki Sasaki, Masahiro Saito, Yukiko Kobayashi.
Japan, 1971, 35mm, color and b&w, 137 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
Details on HFA website
17 November 2017
Young Person's Guide to Cinema
Introduction by JULIAN ROSS, Curator and Scholar
and CHIZURU USUI, National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
This screening included the following four short films by Shuji Terayama:
Young Person’s Guide to Cinema (Seishonen no tameno eiganyumon), 1974
The Reading Machine (Shokenki), 1977
Les chants de Maldoror (Marudororu no uta), 1977
An Attempt to Describe the Measure of Man (Issunboshi o kijutsusuru kokoromi), 1977
Details on HFA website
In addition to the feature films listed above, the following short films were screened in two programs:
3 November 2017
Short Films - Program One
Click HERE for details.
Butterfly Dress Pledge (Chofukuki), 1974
The Cage (Ori), 1964
The Labyrinth Tale (Meikyutan), 1975
Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Tomato kechappu kotei), 1971/1966
18 November 2017
Short Films - Program Two
The second program was followed by a conversation between JULIAN ROSS, curator and scholar; CHIZURU USUI, Assistant Curator, National Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; HENRIKKU MORISAKI, long-time Terayama collaborator and Tenjo Sajiki member; and ALEXANDER ZAHLTEN, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Click HERE for details.
Shadow Film: The Woman with Two Heads (Kage no eiga: nito onna), 1977
The Eraser (Keshigomu), 1977
The War of Jan-Ken Pon (Janken senso), 1971
Laura, 1974
The Trial (Shinpan), 1974