Tomu Uchida
Directing
Born 1898-04-26
Died 1970-08-07
Okayama, Okayama, Japan
43 credits
Read biography
Uchida started out at the Taikatsu studio in the early 1920s, but came to prominence at Nikkatsu, adapting literary works with the screenwriter Yasutarō Yagi in a realist style. His 1929 film A Living Puppet (Ikeru ningyo) was selected as the fourth best film of the year by the film journal, Kinema Junpo. Many of his 1930s films featured the actor Isamu Kosugi. One such work, Policeman (Keisatsukan), has been called "a tremendously stylish gangster movie about the love-hate relationship between a cop and a criminal, once childhood friends" It is Uchida’s only surviving complete silent film. Uchida borrows from Hollywood gangster films and expressionist techniques in a story of a young policeman tracking down an old friend who is now a criminal. His work from the 1920 and 1930s possess a leftist social commentary and were often some of the most critically acclaimed films of the time. Kinema Junpo selected Jinsei Gekijo as the number two film of 1936, Karininaki Zenshin as the best film of 1937, and Tsuchi as the best film of 1939. The latter was praised for its realistic depiction of the lives of poor Meiji-period tenant farmers. Unfortunately, few of Uchida's prewar works survive in their entirety.
In 1941, Uchida quit the Nikkatsu studio, and after failing to start his own production company, in 1943 began to work with the Manchukuo Film Association, although he never completed a film there. In 1945 he was taken prisoner and held in Manchuria until 1954, when he returned to Japan.
Upon he return, he joined the Toei studio. His post-war movies reveal a strong genre stylist with no immediately discernible themes, much like many golden-age Hollywood directors. Uchida effortlessly directed chamber dramas, comedies, and samurai epics, often in color, and with a forward-looking dose of irony.
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Filmography
Directing
42 credits
The Naked Town
The Crown of Life
Unending Advance
Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza
A Fugitive from the Past
Jean Valjean: Part One
Hero of the Red Light District
Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple
Theater of Life: Youth Version
Miyamoto Musashi
Sweat
The Kuroda Affair
Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of Two Sword Style
The Mad Fox
Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights
The Revenge Champion
Souls in the Moonlight III
The King of Rowing
Miyamoto Musashi VI: Swords of Death
The Master Spearman
Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro
Souls in the Moonlight
Souls in the Moonlight II
A Hole of My Own Making
The Eleventh Hour
Sorcerer’s Orb
Earth
The Outsiders
Twilight Saloon
Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka
The Horse Boy
A Living Puppet
Konishi Junsa
History - Part I
Jean Valjean: Part Two
Sun over the River
Rebellion from Below
Police Officer
Tale of a Boy: Noble Heart
Crab Temple Omen
Return to Heaven
Writing
4 credits
Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of Two Sword Style
Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro
The Eleventh Hour
Sorcerer’s Orb
Acting
2 credits
Producing
1 credit
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