Hiroshi Teshigahara

Directing

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Born January 28, 1927 · Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan

Died April 14, 2001 · aged 74

Hiroshi Teshigahara (January 28, 1927 – April 14, 2001) was an avant-garde Japanese filmmaker. He was born in Tokyo, son of Sofu Teshigahara, founder and grand master of the Sogetsu School of ikebana. He graduated in 1950 from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and began working in documentary film. He directed his first feature film, Pitfall (1962), in collaboration with author…

Known For

Woman in the DunesWoman in the Dunes · 1964
Woman in the Dunes
8.21964
MovieDramaThriller
A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
The Face of AnotherThe Face of Another · 1966
The Face of Another
7.81966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
Moving Sculpture: Jean TinguelyMoving Sculpture: Jean Tinguely · 1981
Moving Sculpture: Jean Tinguely
1981
MovieDocumentary
Documentary about Jean Tinguely and his work.
PitfallPitfall · 1962
Pitfall
7.31962
MovieMysteryFantasy
A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.
Summer SoldiersSummer Soldiers · 1972
Summer Soldiers
6.71972
MovieDramaWar
During the Vietnam War, an American G.I. deserts his base in Japan and escapes to Tokyo with the help of his Japanese bar hostess girlfriend. In the capital he gets involved with an anti-war organization while dodging the military police.
RikyuRikyu · 1989
Rikyu
7.51989
MovieDrama
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.
Record of Bloodshed: SunagawaRecord of Bloodshed: Sunagawa · 1957
Record of Bloodshed: Sunagawa
1957
MovieDocumentary
On October 12, 1956, 53 surveyors and 1,300 armed police rushed the gathered union and Zen Gaku Ren (the All Japan Federation of Self-Governing Students Associations) members who then formed a scrum to protect themselves. 278 people from both sides were injured. On the 13th, at the protest’s peak, 5,000 workers and Zen Gaku Ren members had been mobilized when the police attacked the demonstrators’ picket lines. 844 protesters and 80 police were injured. Public opinion erupted against the the violence of the armed police and the government’s lack of a policy, and on the 14th, the radio suddenly announced that the government would stop its survey. Sunagawa overflowed with joy and excitement, and a victory demo was held. On the 15th, a National People’s Rally was held to celebrate the victory of Sunagawa’s fight against the base, and protesters who had sustained grave injuries came from the hospital to address the meeting.
Antonio GaudíAntonio Gaudí · 1984
Antonio Gaudí
7.11984
MovieDocumentary
Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926) designed some of the world's most astonishing buildings, interiors, and parks; Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara constructed some of the most aesthetically audacious films ever made. With camera work as bold and sensual as the curves of his subject's organic structures, Teshigahara immortalizes Gaudí on film.

Filmography

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Record of Bloodshed: SunagawaRecord of Bloodshed: Sunagawa · 1957
Record of Bloodshed: Sunagawa
1957
MovieDocumentary
On October 12, 1956, 53 surveyors and 1,300 armed police rushed the gathered union and Zen Gaku Ren (the All Japan Federation of Self-Governing Students Associations) members who then formed a scrum to protect themselves. 278 people from both sides were injured. On the 13th, at the protest’s peak, 5,000 workers and Zen Gaku Ren members had been mobilized when the police attacked the demonstrators’ picket lines. 844 protesters and 80 police were injured. Public opinion erupted against the the violence of the armed police and the government’s lack of a policy, and on the 14th, the radio suddenly announced that the government would stop its survey. Sunagawa overflowed with joy and excitement, and a victory demo was held. On the 15th, a National People’s Rally was held to celebrate the victory of Sunagawa’s fight against the base, and protesters who had sustained grave injuries came from the hospital to address the meeting.

Cinematography

The World Is Terrified: The Reality of the “Ash of Death”The World Is Terrified: The Reality of the “Ash of Death” · 1957
The World Is Terrified: The Reality of the “Ash of Death”
1957
MovieDocumentary
At a time when the USSR and the USA fervently vied to develop nuclear arms, the mass media buzzed with terms inspired by nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll such as the “Daigo Fukuryu Maru Incident,” the “ash of death,” “radioactive tuna,” and “radioactive rain,” and nuclear testing continued, Japan, the only nation to have suffered an atom-bomb attack, felt massive anxiety. “What is the radioactive ash of death?” “What effect does it have on living creatures?” Against the background of the era, the film scientifically describes the terrors of radioactivity with the cooperation of many scientists, physicians and research institutions.

Co-Director