Kataoka Chiezo Production

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[Little-bitch films and the Narutaki crew]
Amid a dark social climate, with the economic recession caused by the Great Depression and the march towards war, films moved from silent to talkies, and with censorship also becoming tougher, period dramas underwent a major transformation. One of the centers of this whirlpool was Kataoka Chiezo Productions, where director Itami Mansaku, after films such as "The Runaway Kodenji" and "Fireworks," brought out a bright and intelligent spirit of humor and satire in "Unrivaled Swordsman" (1932), a story about a real sword master defeated by a fake, and continued with "The Night Attack" (1932), depicting the loneliness of Hirate Zoshu with the same attitude, and completing his filmmaking based on the intelligent spirit of prose with "Akanishi Kakita" (1936), set against the backdrop of the Date clan disturbance. On the other hand, director Inagaki Hiroshi's "Mother of the Eyelids" and "Ippon-Katana Dohyo-iri" (both 1931), as well as "Yataro Kasa" (1932), created a style of "matatabimono" film filled with melancholy and brightness. All of these films starred Kataoka Chiezo.

*Some of the terminology used in reference to "Kataoka Chiezo Productions" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

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［小市民映画と鳴滝組］
　世界大恐慌による不景気，戦争への歩みといった暗い世相の中，映画はサイレントからトーキーへと移り変わり，一方に検閲の強化もあって，時代劇は大きく変貌していく。その渦の一つの中心となったのは片岡千恵蔵プロダクションで，伊丹万作監督が《逃げ行く小伝次》《花火》などを経て，ほんものの剣聖がにせものに敗れるという話の《国士無双》(1932)で諧謔（かいぎやく）と風刺の精神を明朗かつ知的に打ち出し，《闇討渡世》(1932)では同じ姿勢で平手造酒の孤独を描いて，伊達騒動を背景にした《赤西蠣太》(1936)でその知的散文精神に基づく映画づくりを完成させる一方，稲垣浩監督《瞼の母》《一本刀土俵入り》(ともに1931)，《弥太郎笠》(1932)などが，哀愁と明朗さに満ちた股旅もの映画のスタイルをつくり出した。いずれも片岡千恵蔵主演作品である。…

※「片岡千恵蔵プロダクション」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報