Kazuo Kuroki

Director

November 10, 1930 (75 years)

† April 12, 2006

Matsukasa, Japan

Biography

Kazuo Kuroki (黒木和雄 Kuroki Kazuo) was a Japanese film director who was particularly known for his films on World War II and the question of personal guilt. He attended Doshisha University, but left before graduating, instead finding employment at Iwanami Productions. There he directed PR films and documentary films, while also participating in the "Blue Group" (Ao no kai) with other Iwanami filmmakers such as Noriaki Tsuchimoto, Shinsuke Ogawa, and Yōichi Higashi, a group that was exploring new …

Filmography

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Keishi-K

" Keishi-K " is a detective drama directed and starring Shintaro Katsu. This drama tells the story of Inspector Katsutoshi Gatsu, a hammy detective, as he fights crime.

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Horror Theater Unbalance

Horror Theater Unbalance is a 1973 Japanese Anthology television series created by Tsuburaya and Fuji TV to air on the Fuji TV network on Monday Nights for 13 episodes. Originally started in production in 1969, it was shelved and took years for its airing debut to begin its broadcast, before production was eventually completed at the end of 1972. It was then aired on Fuji TV in 1973.

6.2

Ronin-gai

Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.

4.8

The Assassination of Ryoma

Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tried to unite the Choshu and Satsuma clans and prepared the way for the Meiji Restoration (1868).

6.8

Evil Spirits of Japan

Murase is a bodyguard of yakuza group. Ochiai is a police officer who once was a student activist. When they meet, they are surprised how identical they look.

5.4

Preparation for the Festival

Tateo, young and neurotic, wishes to leave the village his mother has raised him in.

6.9

Silence Has No Wings

After a young boy captures a rare butterfly in Nagasaki, a caterpillar begins a relay-trip toward the northern tip of Hokkaido, serving as a silent witness to a series of vignettes featuring people struggling with the psychological and social scars of post-war Japan.

7.6

The Blossoming of Etsuko Kamiya

In Kagoshima, in the final days of World War II, an offer of marriage comes to Etsuko Kamiya, who lives with her brother and his wife. The offer comes from Nagayo, but Etsuko is attracted to his friend, Akashi.

6.8

Pickpocket

Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: She lets herself be groped while Kaido relieves the groper of his wallet. More often than not they're observed by a middle-aged cop, who generally lets Kaido go free. Rei is unsettled when Kaido takes on a young street punk, Kazuki, as an apprentice -- with instructions to make Kaido stop drinking. Kazuki, however, would like to go into business with Rei.

7.0

Until Evening

Intellectual collegue professor Sasa becomes obsessed with beautiful Sugiko, a virgin. Eventually, luring her to a love hotel.

8.0

Tomorrow

On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their feelings of joy and sadness. These include a newlywed couple, an expectant mother, and lovers who must say farewell because the boy is called to serve in the army. Each of these people, like others in the city, hoped to live with their dreams for ‘tomorrow’. But tomorrow never comes for them, as their lives are brought to an abrupt and unexpected end. Knowing how the story ends, in this case, doesn't detract from it at all; rather, it enhances the emotional impact, which is further heightened by the poignant musical score from Teizo Matsumura. 'Ashita' is the first film in Kazuo Kuroki's 'War Requiem Trilogy,' which also includes 'Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima' (2002) and 'Chichi to Kuraseba' (2004).

6.4

Lost Love

At a seaside city somewhere in the Tohoku area, the corpses of Nozomi, daughter of an affluent family, and Yamazaki, son of an engineer at the local nuclear power-plant, are found tied-to on a beach, as if they intended to commit double suicide. Nogami, a reporter, begins to investigate.

7.0

The Face of Jizo

Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The film takes place during 4 days in the summer of 1948, as the ghost of her father visits Mitsué (Rié Miyama). He had somehow learned that she has fallen in love, and tries to convince her to start her new life. But Mitsué obstinately refuses his warm and humorous encouragements : « People were killed in my place. I do not have the right to find happiness », she says.

5.8

A Boy's Summer in 1945

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.

10.0

Record of a Marathon Runner

This was a sponsored documentary film by director Kazuo Kuroki of Japan. This highly artistic film focused entirely on Japanese marathon runner Kenji Kimihara. Kimihara finished eighth in the 1964 Olympic marathon with a time of 2:19:49. He had previously won the Japanese trials in 2:17:11 on April 12th of that year. He competed in a total of three Olympic marathons in all (finishing 2nd in 1968, and 5th in 1972) and he won 9 of 18 marathons prior to the Mexico City Games, including the Boston Marathon in 1966. Kimihara’s personal best was 2:13:25.

6.8

Cuban Lover

Japanese fishery instructor Akira is attracted to beautiful Cuban young girl Martia. Though initially rejected, Akira still returns with Martia to her homeland. On the way he sees a post-revolution Cuba, cultivating fields, relics from the revolution, armies in training, and Castro in a political rally.

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When the Night Breaks

In a bustling shopping district, a humble tailor accompanies his daughter for an afternoon out — until a trio of thugs begin harassing her in broad daylight. Unable to stay passive amidst the crowd’s indifference, he intervenes with tragic results. Two years later, having served time for excessive self-defense, he remains haunted by both the violence and the apathy of society. A veteran detective, still unsettled by the case, notices the tailor quietly providing money to the same thugs. What drives him? A modern horror tale with social undertones, adapted from Futaro Yamada’s short story “The Black Curtain,” this episode merges psychological unease, moral ambiguity, and a chilling critique of bystander indifference.

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The Sea Wall

From the opening sequence, combining underwater and aerial footage, this masterpiece about the construction of a steam-power plant in Kurihama (south of Tokyo) far surpasses the limitations of the promotional film genre, and emerges as one of the most staggering sensory experiences in Japanese documentary.

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The Solar Thread

Presentation of polymer chemistry-based synthetic fiber, and the manufacturing facilities and production process used by Toray, Japan’s leading textile maker. Also depicts the textiles being sold throughout Europe and the US.

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