Occurring alongside the French New Wave—and often unjustly overshadowed by it—the Japanese New Wave was also empowered by young, inexperienced filmmakers’ outright disdain for many of their countries’ much-lauded directors that came before them. But Japan’s fiery young directors coming up in the late 1950s and early 60s, including Nagisa Oshima, Shohei Imamura, Masahiro Shinoda, and Seijun Suzuki, were part of a much larger societal shift that extended far beyond film aesthetics and the burgeoning ethos of auteurism. Where the French New Wave ended, or at least began its decline, around the May 1968 protests, the Japanese New Wave was fueled by the Anpo protests in 1959 and 1960 and the films of this movement embodied that revolutionary spirit in both their form and content.
https://youtu.be/7p-LA90UlXE?si=PXh9WVUXkBaKx3iE
In this 10-week online class, divided into two parts, A Survey of the Japanese New Wave, we will explore the social and political tensions that served as a catalyst for numerous filmmakers as well as how changes in the Japanese studio system and declining theatrical attendance impacted the country’s cinema through the 1960s into the early 1970s. Covering 19 films by 13 different directors, the class will touch on most of the major filmmakers in the movement, while also leaving room to look at the works of lesser known artists. We will also look at several genres—the samurai film, film noir, and horror—to see how they were impacted in the midst of all the new blood driving the Japanese film industry during this time and how shifting social and sexual mores are reflected in these films as a rejection of the humanism found in many Japanese classics in the 1940s and 1950s.
Join us as we examine these fascinating, diverse, and (sometimes) wildly entertaining films and the cultural context in which they thrived! Classes are 2 hours long and we will meet every Sunday from August 3, 2025 to August 31, 2025 at 11am PST/2pm EST. Each class will start with a 20-30 minute lecture to be followed by a group discussion of each film assigned that week.
15 of the films on the syllabus are available to stream on the Criterion Channel, while 2 more (both of the Masumura films in Class #4) are available on Arrow’s streaming service, Arrow Player. Links will be provided for the other 2 films.
The only homework for this class will be watching the films for each week, with the occasional optional reading. There are no tests or grades as this class is entirely for the purpose of learning and discussion.
Syllabus
Class #1: August 3rd: Tales of the Occupation
Pigs & Battleships (Shohei Imamura)
Gate of Flesh (Seijun Suzuki)
Suggested Viewing: Eighteen Years in Prison (Tai Katô)
Class #2: August 10th: Samurai Films on the Cutting Edge
Sword of Doom (Kihachi Okamoto)
Demons (Toshio Masumoto)
Class #3: August 17th: Race & the Japanese Identity
Death By Hanging (Nagisa Oshima)
Profound Desire of the Gods (Shohei Imamura)
Class #4: August 24th: The Art Theatre Guild
Double Suicide (Masahiro Shinoda)
Funeral Parade of Roses (Toshio Matsumoto)
Class #5: August 31st: New Visions of Horror
Demon Pond (Masahiro Shinoda)
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (Hajime Satô)
To register, please complete the form below. Note that there are payment options through various providers (such as Klarna,) provided they are available in your region.
Founding Members and Magic Hour Subscribers get a 25% discount. Check the Founding Member’s Hub for the coupon code.
Registration is closed. We hope you’ll join Derek for his David Lynch class.