(1) Scandal / June 25 (Fri.) 19:00

(Shubun, 1950, 104 mins., b/w, Shochiku, new 35mm print)
Directed by KUROSAWA Akira, with MIFUNE Toshiro, YAMAGUCHI Yoshiko, SHIMURA Takashi.
The mass media smears an artist (Mifune) and a singer (Yamaguchi), and they go to the courts for vindication, more hindered than aided by a crooked lawyer (Shimura). Kurosawa's most impassioned protest against the unfairness of yellow journalism. Kurosawa made this film just before Rashomon. With a score by Fumio Hayasaka.

(2) Osaka Elegy /June 26 (Sat.) 13:00

(Naniwa Ereji, 1936, 71 mins., b/w, Daiichi Eiga / Shochiku Otani Library, 35mm print)
Directed by MIZOGUCHI Kenji, with YAMADA Isuzu, UMEMURA Yoko, SHINDO Eitaro.
A young switchboard operator (Yamada), trying to make both ends meet, allows herself to be set up as the mistress of her employer. Breaking free, and trying to help her brother, she falls into the same situation yet again. This was Yoda Yoshikata's first script for the director and the beginning of one of the most creative of film partnerships.

(3) The Idiot / June 26 (Sat.) 16:00

(Hakuchi, 1951, 166 mins., b/w, Shochiku, new 35mm print)
Directed by KUROSAWA Akira, with HARA Setsuko, MORI Masayuki, MIFUNE Toshiro.
The director's famed adaptation of the Dostoevsky novel in snowbound Hokkaido with two men (Mori and Mifune) in love with an elusive lady (Hara). Cut from the original four-hour version (never released), this is all that is left of the film that the director called his favorite.

(4) The Masseurs and a Woman / June 27 (Sun.) 13:00

(Anma to Onna, 1938, 65 mins., b/w, Shochiku, 16mm print)
Directed by SHIMIZU Hiroshi, with TAKEMINE Mieko, TOKUDAIJI Shin, HIMORI Shin'ichi.
Though Shimizu was until recently (the FILMeX 2003 and National Film Center's retrospective) forgotten, he is now revealed as one of Japan's most innovative directors. This sparkling light comedy owes its effervescence to its being almost scriptless, having been largely improvised by the director and his cast while on location.

(5) The Yellow Crow / June 27 (Sun.) 14:30

(Kiiroi Karasu, 1957, 104 mins., color, Shochiku, 35mm print)
Directed by GOSHO Heinosuke, with AWASHIMA Chikage, ITO Yunosuke, SHITARA Koji.
When his father returns from the war, a little boy (Shitara) finds it difficult to adjust to this comparative stranger. He feels rejected and estranged from both his parents. Gosho was one of the major film chroniclers of the ups and downs of middle-class Japanese life and made this film just after another film about children, the masterful Growing Up.

(6) Kokoro / June 27 (Sun.) 16:40

(Kokoro, 1955, 122 mins., b/w, Nikkatsu, 35mm print)
Directed by ICHIKAWA Kon, with MORI Masayuki, ARATAMA Michiyo, YASUI Shoji, MIHASHI Tatsuya.
This film version of NATSUME Soseki's famous novel (sometimes translated as The Heart) is one of director Ichikawa's finest literary adaptations. A young student (Yasui) idolizes his teacher (Mori) and then discovers the doubts to which this professor is prey. Ichikawa made the film just before The Harp of Burma.