Fare thee well Kon Ichikawa

Ichikawa Kon has died at 93. Gone to the other side of the mountain, is one of the last great Japanese film makers of the 20th century. Although not as much a household word as Kurozawa Akiria, Ichikawa was a great cineaste. There once was a time in the West when his films had currency of the realm. Not anyone. And more the pity! Known for the 'Harp of Burma' and 'Fire on the Plain' bitter tales of the Japanese war in Asia, he also brought to the screen the great works of Japan's great writer, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, 'Odd Obsession' [Kagi] and 'the Makioka Sisters' [Sasame yuki]. A restored version of 'Sasame-yuki' [Gently falling snow] had a showing in late 2007 in an art cinema in New York. One showing a day for a week. Poor attendance sad to report. At a moment in his career almost a half century ago, the critics dealt harshly with his 'oeuvre', but the master had tasted the wine of revenge in his 'Actor's revenge', which is highly recommended.
Ichikawa Kon is dead but lucky us are left with a rich trove of his 60 years in making good films.