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Satoshi Kon has passed away - Rest in Peace

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Blader5489 said:
Hosoda is the future.

I'd also throw Makoto Shinkai up there.
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I feel obligated to mention Mamoru Oshii, although he's hit or miss and a much better director than he is a writer. I did enjoy his first live action film (Avalon) though, despite it's numerous faults :lol
 
Unknown Soldier said:
Pick any one of his movies and watch it tonight or tomorrow.
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Our weekly movie night get-together's already been switched to a Paprika love-in.

I remember seeing it Christmas 2006 in a tiny theatre in Paris, and the linguistic pileup in my head from the Japanese VO, French subtitles and trying to process it in English made it even better. Such a perfect film.
 
RIP Satoshi Kon :(

I was planning on watching Perfect Blue tonight for the first time (have been holding onto it from Netflix for about a week). And Millennium Actress just shipped too.

This sucks. :(
 
It's really hard to believe that this happened. It seems so rare that such a prominent director actually passes away, and suddenly at that. I really enjoyed both of his works that I've seen, Paranoia Agent and Paprika... it's just crazy that we'll never see anything like them again.

At least he lived doing what he loved, and made an impact on the world with his work. He won't be forgotten.
 
Millenium Actress is still my favorite film of all time. I watch it at least once a year and MAN TEARS the end everytime :(
 
I can't believe it. Such a shitty way to wake up in the morning to see an excellent director pass on.

Had only just rewatched Millennium Actress a few nights ago, it had been years since I last watched it and I had the intent on watching everything by Kon within the next week. I guess now is probably the best time to go through everything once more in remembrance of such a visionary person.

RIP Satoshi Kon. You will be missed dearly. *pours out beer upon the ground*
 
harSon said:
I feel obligated to mention Mamoru Oshii, although he's hit or miss and a much better director than he is a writer. I did enjoy his first live action film (Avalon) though, despite it's numerous faults :lol
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Actually, he's directed 3 live-action movies before Avalon. The Red Spectacles (1987), Stray Dog (1991), and Talking Head (1993). I haven't seen Stray Dog, but it's needless to say that they're pretty hard to describe.

And :( RIP Kon.
 
Bebpo said:
I don't see enough live-action Japanese films to comment, so I'm just going by anime feature film directors:

Hayao Miyazaki/Isao Takahata (Ghibli), Satoshi Kon, and Mamoru Hosuda imo.
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Japan's current stock of live action directors is incredibly disappointing, especially when you consider the history of Japanese cinema. Takashi Miike is pretty much the only modern Japanese director who I'd consider worthy of recognition. I enjoy people like Yôji Yamada and Takeshi Kitano, but they aren't really a part of the current generation of Japanese directors. That's not to say that I don't enjoy modern live-action films from Japan (Sion Sono's Love Exposure was one of the best films of the last decade), simply that there seems to be an unfortunate lack of young consistent talent in the country.
 
harSon said:
I feel obligated to mention Mamoru Oshii, although he's hit or miss and a much better director than he is a writer. I did enjoy his first live action film (Avalon) though, despite it's numerous faults :lol
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Completely forgot about Oshii, yeah I'd put him up there too. I don't even really like his Ghost in the Shell movies (I actually kinda hate Innocence), but Jin-Roh and Patlabor 1/2 are all pretty excellent.
 
This is horrible...

I'm not a huge fan of anime but his work was both meaningful, beautiful and inspiring. I'm so sad about this :( Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress are two of my favourite films ever... RIP..
 
Blader5489 said:
Completely forgot about Oshii, yeah I'd put him up there too. I don't even really like his Ghost in the Shell movies (I actually kinda hate Innocence), but Jin-Roh and Patlabor 1/2 are all pretty excellent.
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He didn't direct Jin-Roh though :P

That was directed by Kenji Kamiyama who is a great director that went on to TV with Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex & 2nd Gig, then Seiriei no Moribito and then Eden of the East which I hear actually turned into a strike against his otherwise great career to date.
 
harSon said:
Japan's current stock of live action directors is incredibly disappointing, especially when you consider the history of Japanese cinema. Takashi Miike is pretty much the only modern Japanese director who I'd consider worthy of recognition. I enjoy people like Yôji Yamada and Takeshi Kitano, but they aren't really a part of the current generation of Japanese directors. That's not to say that I don't enjoy modern live-action films from Japan (Sion Sono's Love Exposure was one of the best films of the last decade), simply that there seems to be an unfortunate lack of young consistent talent in the country.
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Only counting active (ie. working) directors, these are whom I would consider to be in the top tier (not in order):

Hirokazu Kore-eda
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Hayao Miyazaki
Isao Takahata
Yoji Yamada
Takeshi Kitano
Seijun Suzuki

On the lower auteur scale there are Naomi Kawase, Takashi Miike, Masayuki Suo, Shunji Iwaii, Nobuhiro Suwa, Shinji Aoyama, Masaki Kobayashi, Koji Wakamatsu, Shinya Tsukamoto, Sono Sion and Mamoru Oshii. Reason why I put them under the lower echelon is because their works are less consistent than the directors above. Still, they have a number of standout works which make them "auteurs".

Satoshi Kon hasn't really made enough films to be counted in the top tier list, but with PAPRIKA especially he was starting to be noticed as a major director. And when I mean major, I mean someone who is highly regarded not just in the animation circle, but also in the critics' circle as well. The Venice Competition slot and invitation to the New York Film Festival confirmed his rise. He was well on his way to becoming a major, but alas this tragedy stopped his career short....
 
Grimmy said:
Satoshi Kon hasn't really made enough films to be counted in the top tier list, but with PAPRIKA especially he was starting to be noticed as a major director. And when I mean major, I mean someone who is highly regarded not just in the animation circle, but also in the critics' circle as well. The Venice Competition slot and invitation to the New York Film Festival confirmed his rise. He was well on his way to becoming a major, but alas this tragedy stopped his career short....
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Ten years+ of feature length films is enough imo. Especially when they are all quite good.
 
I'd add my personal list of excellent Japanese directors, but I'll save that for another thread on another day.
 
Bebpo said:
He didn't direct Jin-Roh though :P

That was directed by Kenji Kamiyama who is a great director that went on to TV with Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex & 2nd Gig, then Seiriei no Moribito and then Eden of the East which I hear actually turned into a strike against his otherwise great career to date.
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I knew he didn't direct Jin-Roh, but Kamiyama didn't either. This guy did.

Kamiyama is awesome though, and I'm looking forward to the new film he's working on right now...plus 3rd Gig, if that's actually the "return of a popular franchse" Production I.G was hinting at.
 
Unknown Soldier said:
I mentioned this in the Summer Moe/Mecha Animu Thread, but we should do a group memorial movie watch. Pick any one of his movies and watch it tonight or tomorrow. It would be fun if we all picked the same one but he's got a pretty impressive filmography.
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I'm down for this.
 
Grimmy said:
Only counting active (ie. working) directors, these are whom I would consider to be in the top tier (not in order):

Hirokazu Kore-eda
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Hayao Miyazaki
Isao Takahata
Yoji Yamada
Takeshi Kitano
Seijun Suzuki

On the lower auteur scale there are Naomi Kawase, Takashi Miike, Masayuki Suo, Shunji Iwaii, Nobuhiro Suwa, Shinji Aoyama, Masaki Kobayashi, Koji Wakamatsu, Shinya Tsukamoto, Sono Sion and Mamoru Oshii. Reason why I put them under the lower echelon is because their works are less consistent than the directors above. Still, they have a number of standout works which make them "auteurs".
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Pretty decent list actually, although I think Seijun Suzuki peaked in the 60s.
 
Grimmy said:
Satoshi Kon hasn't really made enough films to be counted in the top tier list, but with PAPRIKA especially he was starting to be noticed as a major director. And when I mean major, I mean someone who is highly regarded not just in the animation circle, but also in the critics' circle as well. The Venice Competition slot and invitation to the New York Film Festival confirmed his rise. He was well on his way to becoming a major, but alas this tragedy stopped his career short....
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Paprika was probably his weakest, and him started to get invited was more thanks to idiotic film communities who seem to be loosing up to the idea that cartoons can't be high literature.

Kon's done enough high quality work to easily be considered in the same likes as Fincher, Nolan, and other younger directors. And his work for the most part was better overall.
 
Anyone know where to get Paranoia Agent for a reasonable price? I watched it through Netflix a while back but I'd like to complete my Kon collection and it seems discontinued. I'll also have to pick up Memories, which I've also seen but don't own.
 
Bebpo said:
He didn't direct Jin-Roh though :P
That was directed by Kenji Kamiyama
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Okiura Hiroyuki, actually.
(damn, beaten)

... And that's about all I can bring myself to write in this topic right now...
 
Bebpo said:
Ten years+ of feature length films is enough imo. Especially when they are all quite good.
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He's only made 4 features. But then, Charles Laughton only needed to make one film - The Night of the Hunter - to become critically lauded. Alas I don't think Kon has made his masterpiece yet...

harSon said:
Pretty decent list actually, although I think Seijun Suzuki peaked in the 60s.
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I thought Yumeji and Zigeunerweisen were very good. His next project sounds excellent - and it will be his last film.

shintoki said:
Paprika was probably his weakest, and him started to get invited was more thanks to idiotic film communities who seem to be loosing up to the idea that cartoons can't be high literature.

Kon's done enough high quality work to easily be considered in the same likes as Fincher, Nolan, and other younger directors. And his work for the most part was better overall.
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I agree about PAPRIKA actually - it's more the result of the critical community warming up to him and elevating him above the cult crowd. They should have done that earlier perhaps. But I'd disagree re: film communities. Spirited Away won the Golden Berlin Bear, Triplets of Belleville was in Cannes, and Shrek 1 & 2 were actually in competition in Cannes. People this past decade have been far more accepting of animation as art than ever before.

And both Nolan and Fincher aren't really considered auteurist masters either.
 
I almost forgot about Memories. He seemed to have such a huge part in Magnetic Rose - my favourite short out of those three.
 
Wow, this is completely out of the blue. I've seen all of his movies and love them (besides maybe Paprika). A major loss for the film industry, I expected to be watching his new stuff for years to come. Perfect Blue's still my favourite - I'm going to have to get on watching Paranoia Agent. RIP.
 
Grimmy said:
He's only made 4 features. But then, Charles Laughton only needed to make one film - The Night of the Hunter - to become critically lauded. Alas I don't think Kon has made his masterpiece yet...
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His masterpiece is Paranoia Agent.
And 4 movies of that level is enough to be considered a master (tier lists don't make any sense). Marco Muller, the artistic director of the Venice film festival regarded him as a master, why shouldn't we?
 
Far too soon. Satoshi Kon's unique imagination lives on in his films, a body of work so rich and weird and human that its influence is sure to invigorate the next generation of great anime directors, and I hope many more to follow.

R.I.P.
 
So sad :( He was fantastic. Tokyo Godfathers is something I show everyone who thinks all Anime is the same, and will continue to do so. RIP
 
phalestine said:
So sad :( He was fantastic. Tokyo Godfathers is something I show everyone who thinks all Anime is the same, and will continue to do so. RIP
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My guilty pleasure is Tokyo Godfathers every winter. His ability to translate an uninteresting snow-city landscape into something grandoise so perfectly in that movie makes me weep.
 
Kikujiro said:
His masterpiece is Paranoia Agent.
And 4 movies of that level is enough to be considered a master (tier lists don't make any sense). Marco Muller, the artistic director of the Venice film festival regarded him as a master, why shouldn't we?
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Just because it was in Venice Competition doesn't mean Marco thinks he's a master. Plus, this is the man who put the abysmal English-language TETSUO in competition last year :lol I'll withhold my personal opinions about Marco since it's irrelevant to this thread, but just because one guy thinks so doesn't mean the rest of the world has to agree. And I've been to his festival a number of times.

I'll reiterate that I do admire Kon's works, but it's a shame that he never managed to make that one masterpiece which will lift him above most of his compatriots.
 
NO!

Millennium Actress is AMAZING.

Damn.

No. :( Rest in peace and condolences to his family. LOVE his work. Paranoia Agent was crazy fun. And his collaboration with Susumu Hirasawa was just great. Oh.

World is less of a place.
 
Its so out of the blue because he was relatively young. I'll marathon all his movies tomorrow but damn this depresses me.
 
I know I should be celebrating the life he led, and I will eventually later today now that I've rounded up all of his stuff in my boxes.. but damn. Dwelling on it makes it hit that bit harder, listening to the Millennium Actress soundtrack and I know overall it is supposed to be uplifting but there is such an undertone of sadness to it.
 
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