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La serie continúa su épica historia de amor y supervivencia a través de cuatro generaciones. © Apple TV+

Apple TV+ ha publicado el tráiler de la segunda temporada de “Pachinko,” la galardonada y aclamada serie dramática. Un tráiler a ritmo de una nueva y emocionante versión de “Viva La Vida” de Coldplay, realizada por la superestrella mundial Rosé, del grupo de K-pop Blackpink.

Basada en la exitosa novela homónima, “Pachinko” es una épica y conmovedora historia de amor y supervivencia a través de cuatro generaciones, contada a través de los ojos de una extraordinaria matriarca, Sunja. En la segunda temporada, de ocho episodios, las historias paralelas continúan en la Osaka de 1945, donde Sunja se ve obligada a tomar decisiones peligrosas para la supervivencia de su familia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y en el Tokio de 1989, donde Solomon explora nuevos y humildes comienzos.

La segunda temporada, creada y escrita por Soo Hugh,...

The first series of Apple TV+'s sweeping yet somehow incredibly intimate, multiple generations spanning trilingual family saga Pachinko blew us away with its bold, intellectual, emotional, and incredibly cinematic brand of serialised storytelling. And if the first trailer for the second season of the streamer's Min Jin Lee adaptation is anything to go by, then showrunner Soo Hugh is set to take us on another incredible timey-wimey journey as the Baek family's story continues with S2. Here we see lovers Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) and Sunja (Minha Kim) reunite in war-torn Osaka, Japan in 1945 as businessman Solomon (Jin Ha) continues to wrestle with his identity in 1989 Tokyo. Check it out:

How about that 'Viva La Vida' cover from Blackpink's Rosé? That's sweeping, epic, bold, and emotional right there! And the trailer ain't half bad, either. The first series of Pachinko introduced us to Baek family matriarch Sunja,...

Today, Apple TV+ unveiled the trailer for the upcoming second season of Pachinko, the award-winning and globally acclaimed sweeping drama series by creator and executive producer Soo Hugh.

Hailing from Media Res and told in three languages — Korean, Japanese, and English — the eight-episode second season of Pachinko will premiere globally on Friday, August 23, with one episode, followed by one episode weekly every Friday through October 11.

The trailer debuts a brand-new moving cover of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida” by global superstar Rosé of the record-breaking K-pop group Blackpink. In addition to debuting as the series’ trailer anthem, Rosé’s cover is featured in the Pachinko season two finale.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and deeply moving story of love and survival across four generations, told through the eyes of Sunja, the remarkable matriarch.

In the second season, parallel stories...

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for “Pachinko” Season 2. Based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee, the second eight-episode season will premiere globally Aug. 23.

“Pachinko” chronicles four generations of a Korean family who moved to Japan before the start of World War II. According to an official synopsis for Season 2, “the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, and in Tokyo in 1989, which finds Solomon exploring new, humble beginnings.”

In the trailer, Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) reunites with Teen Sunja (Minha Kim) in war-torn Osaka, Japan after almost two decades apart. “It’s been 14 years. How did you find me?” Sunja asks upon seeing Hansu. “I never lost you,” he responds.

Other cast members for Season 2 include Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, newly minted Emmy nominee Anna Sawai, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han,...

The trailer for Season 2 of Pachinko has arrived (above), and so has the end of World War II in the multigenerational saga that spans decades.

“Your grandfather, he always wanted me to fly,” Sunja (Minha Kim) tells her son Noa Baek (Kang Tae ju) in the clip as a kite flies out in the fields where Sunja and her sister-in-law Kyunghee (Eunchae Jung) work. Sunja and Kyunghee look up to see bomber plans flying in droves toward their hometown of Osaka, Japan.

Rosé of Blackpink’s cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” starts up as Koh Hansu (Lee Minho) confronts Sunja after 14 years, telling her he never lost track of where she was. In addition to featuring in the trailer, the cover will also play in Season 2’s finale.

Based on Min Jin Lee’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and...

Love (including the unexpected kind) and war (as in World War II) both loom large in the first trailer for Season 2 of Apple TV+’s acclaimed Pachinko.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee and epic in scope, Pachinko chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in a quest to survive and thrive. Starting in South Korea in the early 1900s, the story has been told through the eyes of a remarkable matriarch, Sunja, who triumphs against all odds.

More from TVLinePresumed Innocent: Which...

“Pachinko” will continue to break hearts and inspire tears with a second season.

The critically acclaimed Apple TV+ epic drama series returns August 23, with one-episode weekly installments every Friday through October 11. The eight-episode season is produced by Media Res.

Told in three languages — Korean, Japanese, and English — “Pachinko” follows one family across four generations. The first season received eleven international awards including a Peabody Award, an American Film Institute Award, a Critics Choice Award, and a Gotham Independent Film Award.

“Pachinko” is created and written by Soo Hugh who serves as executive producer alongside Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer, and Theresa Kang for Blue Marble Pictures.

Season 2 stars “Shogun” breakout Anna Sawai, Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han, and Sungkyu Kim.

The season will be directed by Leanne Welham, Arvin Chen, and Sang-il Lee.

Showrunner Hugh told IndieWire that the...

Executive started in local-language production at Warner Bros.

Bill Ireton is stepping down from his position overseeing local production at Sony Pictures International Productions, Japan to launch an independent production venture.

Effective January 1, 2023, Ireton will develop and produce content for multiple platforms, primarily based on IP from Japan for audiences around the world.

At Sony Pictures, he shepherded production on a roster of features including Hell Dogs starring Junichi Okada under the direction of Masato Harada; I Am Makimoto starring Sadao Abe; and Violence Action, currently streaming on Netflix.

“Making movies with Sony Pictures over the past four years has...

Click here to read the full article.

Veteran Japan-based production executive Bill Ireton is departing Sony Pictures International Productions to launch his own indie venture. Ireton says the new company will leverage his longstanding industry relationships in Tokyo and Hollywood to develop and produce content for multiple global platforms, primarily based on I.P. from Japan. The new venture, which hasn’t yet revealed its name, will begin operation on Jan. 1, 2023.

Ireton started local production for Warner Bros. in Japan in 2007, releasing 49 movies over a seven-year span, including the Rurou ni Kenshin trilogy; Unforgiven, directed by Sang-il Lee and based on the Clint Eastwood movie; and The Straw Shield, directed by Takashi Miike. He was also involved in the production of Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima, starring Ken Watanabe.

During his four-year stint at Sony, Ireton shepherded production on features including Hell Dogs, starring Junichi Okada under the direction...

Tokyo-based production executive Bill Ireton is stepping down from his role at Sony Pictures International Productions, Japan, where he oversaw local production, to launch an independent production venture effective January 1, 2023.

The new venture will develop and produce content for multiple platforms, primarily based on Japanese I.P. for audiences around the world.

During his time at Sony, Ireton oversaw production on a slate of Japanese-language features, including Hell Dogs, starring Junichi Okada and directed by Masato Harada; I Am Makimoto, starring Sadao Abe, and Violence Action, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

“Making movies with Sony Pictures over the past four years has been a wonderful experience which has helped catapult this thrilling new chapter of my career,” said Ireton.

Sanford Panitch, President of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, said: “I want to thank Bill for his work the past few years. The making of Japanese films continues to be...

Pierre Rissient, a French producer, publicist and formerly an influential festival selector, has died. He was 81.

His death was announced (in French) by the Institut Lumiere and French director Bertrand Tavernier. “Pierre Rissient died last night. His wife Yung Hee asked me to let you know this, and, thinking of her, it is with infinite sadness that I write this message. Pierre was a great human being and an total cinephile. We will miss him,” Tavernier wrote on the institute’s Twitter feed.

Former festival head Gilles Jacob tweeted, “Pierre Rissient was a super-discoverer of filmmakers, with an inestimable flair and curiosity. When he helped someone like Jane Campion, he took them under his wing and helped them develop their art. He loved and supported the Cannes Film Festival, I can say with sadness and feeling.”

After being an assistant to Jean-Luc Godard on “Breathless,” Rissient went on to become a publicist and film distributor.

Sakura Ando, Yu Aoi, Hikari Mitsushima and Aoi Miyazaki to be feted.

Tokyo International Film Festival is highlighting the work of four Japanese actresses – Sakura Ando, Yu Aoi, Hikari Mitsushima and Aoi Miyazaki – in this year’s Japan Now section.

The highlight, ‘Muses of Japanese Cinema’, is one of the special programmes that the festival is planning to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The four actresses have won acclaim in recent years for the high standard of their work, collaborations with renowned directors and increasing international status.

Ando won multiple awards for 2015 releases 0.5 mm and 100 Yen Love, while Aoi’s credits include Over the Fence (2016) and Japanese Girls Never Die (2016).

Mitsushima gained worldwide attention in Sion Sono’s Love Exposure (2009) and recently starred in Traces Of Sin (2017). Miyazaki’s recent credits include Sang-il Lee’s Rage (2016) and Yasuhiro Yoshida’s Birthday Card (2016).

In addition to screenings of films featuring the selected actresses, Tokyo will host...

Lee Sang-il, Bartosz M. Kowalski and Emiliano Torres also help complete competitive line-up.Scroll down for full list of titles

San Sebastian film festival (Sept 16-24) has added five titles to its competitive official selection, completing the line-up of films in line for the coveted Golden Shell.

The titles include The Oath (Eiðurinn) by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur, who competed at San Sebastian with The Sea in 2001.

In his latest feature, the director - who made last year’s Venice opener Everest - tells the story of a heart surgeon whose family begins to unravel when his daughter gets mixed up with a drug-dealing boyfriend.

Also in the running for the Golden Shell will be China’s Feng Xiaogang with contemporary fable I Am Not Madame Bovary (Wo Bu Shi Pan Jinlian), starring Fan Bingbing.

Feng’s The Banquet competed at Venice in 2006 while Aftershock was China’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2011.

Other...

With the Toronto International Film Festival just around the corner, the debut trailer for Japanese superstar Ken Watanabe’s latest offering, Rage (Ikari), has landed with an almighty splash.

Directed by Lee Sang-il (Unforgiven, Hula Girls), Rage tells a the story of a single brutal murder whose complex and sinister threads reach deep into the lives of a number of different people across three different cities in Japan. The trailer below sets the tone of the film, with shots of cryptic messages painted in blood onto the wall effectively off-setting the colorful backdrops of Japan’s southern islands and vibrant nightclubs.

Joining Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai, Letters from Iwo Jima) are a number of up and coming Japanese acting talents, including Aoi Miyazaki (The Great Passage, Wolf Children), Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Assassin) and Mirai Moriyama (The Drudgery Train).

This will be...

Nigerian metropolis Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

Nigerian capital Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

The Toronto International Film Festival is mere weeks from kicking off, yet the annual fall fest is showing zero sign of slowing down when it comes to announcing the titles that will round out this year’s event. Today’s announcement brings with it a number of Cannes favorites, including Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or-winning “I, Daniel Blake,” Olivier Assayas’ divisive Kristen Stewart-starring “Personal Shopper” and Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta.”

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

The slate will also play home to the Dardenne Brothers’ latest, “The Unknown Girl,” which has reportedly been through an edit since it debuted at Cannes earlier this year. Other standouts from Cannes include Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Aquarius,” Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa” and Cristi Puiu’s “Sieranevada.

Retrospective will focus on Japanese independent cinema from the past 15 years and includes Cannes favourite Naomi Kawase.

The San Sebastian Film Festival is to programme a retrospective for its 63rd edition (Sept 18-26) titles New Japanese independent cinema 2000-2015.

Among the titles making up the retrospective from known directors are:

H Story (2001) by Nobuhiro Suwa;A Snake of June (Rokugatsu no hebi, 2002) by Shin’ya Tsukamoto;Bright Future (Akarui mirai, 2003) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa;Vibrator (2003) by Ryuichi Hiroki;Bashing (2005) by Masahiro Kobayashi;Birth/Mother (Tarachime, 2006) by Naomi Kawase;Love Exposure (Ai no mukidashi, 2008) by Shion Sono.

The works of several new talents to have made their debut since 2000 include:

Hole in the Sky (Sora no ana, 2001) by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri,Border Line (2002) by Sang-il Lee,No One’s Ark (Baka no hakobune, 2003) by Nobuhiro Yamashita, The Soup, One Morning (Aru asa, soup wa, 2005) by Izumi Takahashi,Fourteen (Ju-yon-sai, 2007) by Hiromasa Hirosue,Sex Is Not Laughing Matter (Hito no sekkuso...

When we discuss a remake, we’re usually talking about an American revamp of a foreign movie. Hollywood sure does love to borrow plots and characters from Eastern cinema, from “Seven Samurai” and “Yojimbo” to “Oldboy” and, most recently, another stab at the “Godzilla” franchise. Well, this East-West cultural exchange is, in reality, a two-way street. Granted, most of the traffic flows in a single direction, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t occasional cars headed the other way from time to time. This is the case with Sang-il Lee’s (“Villain”) remake of Clint Eastwood’s western “Unforgiven.” To say this new version is as good or better than Eastwood’s film is crazy talk, the 1992 is a modern classic that is every bit as poignant and powerful as the day you first saw it, but Lee’s film is an admirable effort and a strong movie in its own right.

Acclaimed director Terry Gilliam will attend the première of his new film, The Zero Theorem, in Glasgow later this month, it was announced today. The Glasgow Film Festival has announced several big name guests who will be present at this year's events, including Richard Dreyfuss and Jason Priestley for Cas & Dylan and Thomas Imbach for Mary, Queen Of Scots. Japanese director Sang-il Lee will introduce Unforgiven, his adaptation of the Clint Eastwood classic, and Jean-Paul Salomé will discuss Playing Dead.

Alongside this international line-up will be Scottish talent including Paul Brannigan, star of The Angels' Share, and David Mackenzie, who directed Perfect Sense and will be introducing his new film Starred Up. There will also be a chance to meet Ricky Jay, the celebrated stage magician whose work has appeared in everything from Boogie Nights to The Prestige.

You can read our full coverage of the festival <a...

A still from “Unforgiven”

Twelve new Japanese films will be screened at the upcoming 44th International Film Festival of India, which is to be held in Goa, from November 20 to 30, 2013 as Japan will be the “country in focus”.

In addition, press conferences will be held with directors and producers in attendance.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, director of Real; Sang-il Lee, director of Unforgiven; Keiichi Hara and Yoshitaka Ishizuka; director and producer respectively of Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story have been invited to attend the festival.

The following twelve Japanese films will be screened:

1. Real, director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa (2013/127 min)

2. Unforgiven, director: Sang-il Lee (2013/135 min)

3. Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story, director: Keiichi Hara (2013/96 min)

4. Oshin, director: Shin Togashi(2013/109 min)

5. The Devil’s Path, director: Kazuya Shiraishi(2013/128 min)

6. Recipes of Diet Diaries,director: Toshio Lee (2013/100 min)

7. Rebirth, director: Izuru Narushima (2011/147 min)

8. The Garden of Words,director: Makoto Shinkai(2013/46 min)

9. Wolf Children,...

Like The Wind Rises, which recently had its trailer updated with English subtitles, Sang-il Lee‘s remake of Unforgiven has just been give the same treatment. Even better, this updated trailer (the Japanese-only version first made waves last month) comes paired with three new clips. Thankfully all the clips come standard with English subs. If you’ve seen Clint Eastwood’s original, than the subtitles aren’t really necessary anyway- this adaptation looks faithful enough that those with an understanding of the film should be able to glean the context of any scene through the visuals alone. Check out the English-subbed trailer below along with the three clips. But the real question here is how this Unforgiven (or, Yurusarezaru Mono), will differentiate from the original work. All these clips seem to offer is scenes taken directly from Eastwood’s version, albeit with a few pistols swapped out for samurai swords. This...

Following the announcement that came earlier this week, launching yet another hugely impressive line-up at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the respective line-up has now been announced for what is in some ways its European counterpart, the 2013 Venice Film Festival.

The announcement shows that the two will continue to have a number of films overlapping, including Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity (the Opening Night Film in Venice), Peter Landesman’s Parkland, Stephen Frears’ Philomena, and more. But it also brings with its news of where a number of films will be making their debut, including Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem; the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises; James Franco’s Child of God; Lee Sang-il’s Yurusarezaru Mono, the Japanese remake of Unforgiven; and Steven Knight’s Locke, led by Tom Hardy, and shot in one take.

In Competition

Es-Stouh – Merzak Alloucache (Algeria, France, 94’) L’Intrepido – Gianni Amelio (Italy,...

The Venice Film Festival gets under way August 28 with Alfonso Cuaron's previously announced 3-D opener "Gravity," starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, and closes with Tierry Ragobert’s $20 million 3-D documentary “Amazonia." Other films not in competition include the return of "Pieta" Golden Lion winner Kim Ki-duk with "Moebius," which is banned in South Korea reportedly for "scenes of self-castration and incest"; Shinji Aramaki's 3-D animated "Space Pirate Captain Harlock," Steven Knight's "Locke," starring Tom Hardy, Sang-il Lee's "Unforgiven," starring Ken Watanabe, Australian Greg McLean's "Wolf Creek," starring Philipe Klaus, Horizons jury chief Paul Schrader's crowd-funded "The Canyons," starring Lindsay Lohan and porn star James Deen, Ettore Scola's "Che strano chiamarsi Federico Scola racconta Fellini," and Andzej Wajda's (Walesa. Man of Hope"). Out of competition documentaries include "When Zappa Came to Sicily," featuring the Frank Zappa family,...

With still several films not yet announced for the behemoth Toronto Int. Film Festival, it appears that 2013 will be a significant cross-over year for Venice titles (Joe, Night Moves, Parkland, Philomena, Tracks, Under the Skin) landing in the Canadian capitol and from the get-go, it appears that Toronto programmers have indeed stole some of the thunder from the Alberto Barbera’s Lido, specifically in the case where they grabbed world premiere rights to Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave with the Fox Searchlight folks possibly looking to keep the film on North American soil. However, for the time being that are titles that are worth salivating over that will be making their preems on the Lido – along with a grab bag of Euro and Asian titles we have the highly anticipated showings for Hayao Miyazaki’s Kaze Tachinu, Tsai Ming-liang’s Stray Dogs, Xavier Dolan’s Tom a la Ferme...

Competition titles include new films from Reichardt, Morris, Miyazaki, Glazer, Gitai, Gilliam, Frears.See below for full lists

The 70th Venice International Film Festival includes an array of exciting new features, including films from Kelly Reichardt, Errol Morris, Jonathan Glazer, Terry Gilliam, Amos Gitai and Stephen Frears.

As previously announced Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity will open the festival and Thierry Ragobert’s Amazonia will close.

Director Bernardo Bertolucci will head the jury at the event, which runs from August 28 to September 7.

A total of 20 titles in all will compete for the festival’s Golden Lion award.

Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem stars Christoph Waltz playing a reclusive computer genius, and also features Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw, Melanie Thierry and David Thewlis.

Glazer is launching anticipated sci-fi Under the Skin, starring Scarlett Johansson, while Reichardt’s thriller Night Moves stars Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard and Dakota Fanning as three environmentalists who plot to blow up a dam. Frears...

This trailer for Sang-il Lee’s Unforgiven doesn’t have subtitles, but it doesn’t really need them. Especially if you’ve seen the Clint Eastwood-starring version that Lee is remaking. For some reason, I can’t think about that title without picturing Billy Crystal singing “Unforgiven/That’s what you are/You killed everyone/’Cause you’re the star” at Eastwood during the 1993 Oscars. It sums up the movie quite nicely. With this new take (called Yurusarezaru Mono locally) we get Ken Watanabe as a sworn blade of the shogun retiring to a non-violent existence as a rancher before, as always, they pull him back in Pacino-style. It feels appropriately somber and hints at more than enough bloodshed. Check it out for yourself (and if you speak Japanese, please feel free to help us out in the comments section with some subtitles): Other than that one punch to the stomach, everything...

Last week we had the trailer for the American remake of Korea’s Oldboy, a movie that’s destined to lose impact due to familiarity with its bold source material. Now, there’s a full trailer for the Ken Watanabe remake of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.

That film, telling the story of an old gunslinger strapping his six-shooter back on for one more ride, is also a film that depends much upon the impact it has on a first watch. An essentially beat-for-beat remake, in any language, might not garner much interest.

Forget about that then, because the new trailer gives us gorgeous scenery and Watanabe looking like he could spit nails, capturing perfectly that stoic, unmoving warrior—here, a samurai—prepared to take on any challengers. There are no subtitles here, but if you have seen the original film, the story will be clear to you.

Although I’m...

Japan and America have had an interesting cinematic exchange going on ever since the 1950s. Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films – themselves informed by the aesthetics of westerns – were in turn transformed into American westerns. More recently, directors like Quentin Tarantino have helped produce Japanese films that mimic American westerns (check out the crazy Sukiyaki Western Django, if you don’t believe me). That exchange now continues with the Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, now titled Yurusarezaru mono and starring Ken Watanabe.

We already had a teaser for the film awhile back; now we have the full Japanese language trailer. Watanabe plays the lone gunman, now living a peaceful life at home, who takes on bounty hunting work. The film is written and directed by Sang-il Lee, based on David Webb’s original Unforgiven script. It also stars Akira Emoto, Jun Kunimura, Yuya Yagira, Eiko Koike, Shiori Kutsuna and Koichi Sato.

For every rule, there is an exception, and while we generally approach remakes with severe caution, in this case, we have to admit that we're pretty curious. Granted, topping Clint Eastwood's excellent 1992 western “Unforgiven”—winner of four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director—is not really going to happen, but presenting a fresh spin on the story, with a new setting and few different flavors? Sure, we'd be up for that, particularly if it's going to star Ken Watanabe. The Japanese actor is leading the foreign language remake of "Unforgiven," from director Sang-il Lee, and a new trailer is here to show off a bit more of what's been done. The story has been relocated to 1880s Japan, on the island of Hokkaido, with Watanabe as poverty stricken samurai, in an era when those traditions are fading, who takes on one last job for a big payday. Koichi...

The Internet loves to moan about Asian films getting Hollywood workovers (Spike Lee's Oldboy is bearing the brunt at the moment) but it's worth remembering that the remake traffic goes both ways, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. Exhibit A: Sang-il Lee's Japanese version of Unforgiven, a trailer for which has recently emerged. There are no subtitles, but if you're even slightly familiar with the Clint Eastwood original, you'll easily pick up the jist.Elegant-looking stuff, we're sure you'll agree, and proof that, where samurai films have previously made for great westerns - Yojimbo became A Fistful of Dollars; Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven - here's a Western that looks to have made a great samurai film. The Japanese title is Yurusarezaru Mono, which Google is singularly failing to translate for us. Anyone?The film's still set in 1880, but the locale has been switched to...

Time for another look at the Unforgiven remake from Japan, starring Ken Watanabe as Jubee kamata in the Will Munny role that Clint Eastwood played. As crazy as it may seem, this doesn't look terrible at all, it actually looks pretty damn good. This impressive full trailer for the upcoming Japanese release is a good sign this isn't the disaster many thought it would be. There are no subtitles, but if you're familiar with the original Unforgiven it shouldn't be too hard to make sense of it. Aside from gorgeous cinematography, there's an odd mix of Japanese sensibilities and Westerns, like lots of horseback riding. Give it a look below. Watch the full theatrical trailer for Sang-il Lee's Yurusarezaru mono (aka Unforgiven) from YouTube: As standards shift in the late 1800s, Watanabe plays a man—still holding to his samurai code—who takes on bounty hunting work. Yurusarezaru mono,...

Unforgiven Trailer, Poster. Sang-il Lee‘s Unforgiven / Yurusarezaru mono (2013) movie trailer, movie poster stars Ken Watanabe, Jun Kunimura, Yûya Yagira, Akira Emoto, and Kôichi Satô. Unforgiven‘s plot synopsis: “The action is now set in late 1800′s Hokkaido with the lead actor Ken Watanabe playing a long retired samurai drawn back into action by [...]

Continue reading: Unforgiven (2013) Movie Trailer: Ken Watanabe in Eastwood Remake Film...

Am I crazy or do we have a couple of remakes looming on the horizon that don’t look absolutely terrible? Hot on the heels of “Oldboy” remake trailer comes the first full clip for Sang-il Lee’s take on the gritty Clint Eastwood western “Unforgiven.” Judging from the trailer embedded below, this reimagining doesn’t look half bad. Ken Watanabe stars as a samurai who decides to hang up his sword in order to enjoy the remaining years of his life. However, he is soon called out of retirement to perform one final job. Koichi Sato has been tapped to portray Gene Hackman’s character while Akira Emoto will tackle Morgan Freeman’s role. Jun Kunimura, Yuya Yagira, and Shiori Kutsuna also star in the upcoming remake. As a fan of Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” I was a little anxious about Sang-il Lee’s version of the story. While...

Warner Bros. Pictures Japan has brought online the full trailer for the Japanese remake of Unforgiven . In Yurusarezaru mono , set in 1880, Ken Watanabe plays a samurai with a violent past, who lives on Japan.s northern island of Hokkaido with his Ainu wife, but is brought out of retirement for one last job. Koichi Sato and Akira Emoto co-star. Opening in Japan on September 13, the film was directed by Sang-il Lee.

Remaking the Oscar-winning Clint Eastwood movie of the same name, Warner Bros.’ Japanese arm will be releasing Unforgiven (Yurusarezaru mono / 許されざる者) into theatres later this year.

We first heard about the remake last summer, when it was announced that Ken Watanabe, Japan’s internationally best-known actor, would be taking the lead role played by Eastwood just over two decades ago.

With the film’s September release date on the horizon, the studio have debuted a new poster, following on from the promising first teaser trailer which surfaced late last year.

Like the original, the remake is set in 1880, relocating the setting to Hokkaido, Japan, at time when Japanese settlers were displacing the local Ainu people.

Watanabe stars a samurai with a fearsome reputation living in retirement with his Ainu wife, brought out of retirement for one last job.

Watanabe stars alongside Kōichi Satō (When the Last Sword is Drawn) and...

Here’s your first look at a teaser trailer for for “Villain” director Sang-il Lee’s “Unforgiven”, his remake of the Clint Eastwood Western of the same name starring Ken Watanabe as a retired Samurai called back into service to avenge some wronged prostitutes. The teaser is short and entirely in Japanese, but if you’ve seen the Eastwood original, I think you can easily figure out who is who and what’s happening (or about to happen). I can pick out the old dude playing the Morgan Freeman role, but I’m not sure who is playing “The ‘Schofield Kid’” in this one… Set in 1880 Japan, “Unforgiven” follows a samurai with a violent past (Watanabe), who lives on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido with his aboriginal wife, but is brought out of retirement for one last job… Also starring Jun Kunimura, Kôichi Satô, Yûya Yagira, Akira Emoto, and Shioli Kutsuna.

Kevin covered this back when it was announced only three short months ago and now a brief teaser trailer for Yurusarezaru mono (A Thing That Can't Be Forgiven), a remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven starring Ken Watanabe (Inception) has arrived. The film, an adaptation of David Webb Peoples' script, was written and is currently in the process of being directed by Sang-il Lee and reimagines Unforgiven as a samurai feature set in 1880. I haven't seen an official synopsis to suggest exactly how this remake will play out, but the original found Eastwood and Morgan Freeman playing a pair of outlaws who venture out one last time to collect a bounty offered by a group of prostitutes looking for justice due to violence against one of their own. Along with Watanabe, Yurusarezaru mono co-stars Akira Emoto, Jun Kunimura, Yuya Yagira, Eiko Koike, Shiori Kutsuna and Koichi Sato and is...

"Who's the fella owns this shithole?" Another day, another remake. But this one doesn't look so bad. Warner Bros recently produced a complete Japanese samurai remake of the 1992 western classic Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood, this time starring the legendary Ken Watanabe as the Will Munny character. Many have been dreading this remake since the moment it was announced, but thanks to a first teaser trailer (via The Film Stage) debuted, I have to say it doesn't look so bad. If they've got to remake a classic like Unforgiven, this is the way to do it. This is only a quick tease but I'm honestly curious to see more from it. Take a look! Watch the first teaser for Sang-il Lee's Yurusarezaru mono (aka Unforgiven), originally from Twitch: As standards shift in the late 1800s, Watanabe plays a man—still holding to his samurai code—who takes on bounty hunting work.

A Man Who Couldn’T Tell If He Was Dead Or Alive

Okay. So the first fifteen minutes of the movie “Villain” are nothing to gawk at. Frankly, not much is happening at this point. It starts off with a trio of young women having a bite to eat. One of them, Yoshino, seems more overt than the other two and isn’t shy to tell her friends about the prospect of meeting her dream hunk, Keigo, later on that very night.

They finish their meal, split up, and Yoshino ( Hikari Mitsushima ) appears to make her way to the rendez-vous point. Along the way, she stumbles upon another potential suitor, Yuichi ( Satoshi Tsumabuki ), whom she found on an online dating site. He’s waiting in his parked white Gt-r when she crosses path with hunk #1.

Yoshino decides to shun mad motorist Yuichi in favour of her beau Keigo and leaves the scene with the latter.

Japanese films can go either way - the unnecessarily epic or brutally butchered. Sang-il Lee's most recent Academy Award winning offering, Villain (Akunin), adapts the critically-acclaimed novel of the same name, unfortunately falling into the it-drags-it's-so-long category - but at least doing so in style.

Meeting a "blue-collared loser" on a dating website proves fatal for shallow Yoshino (Hikari Mizushima), who's soon the subject of a murder investigation. As a victim, she's so loathsome as to almost deserve her fate. Initially drawn to each other by their loneliness and depressing status as singletons, the remaining leads are later bound by their misery and fear of losing each other when Yuichi's (Satoshi Tsumabuki) link to Yoshino's murder is revealed.

Scriptwriter and original novelist Shuichi Yoshida clearly uses vile characterisation to play on the title, challenging our expectations. All the male characters are arseholes, and many of the females only marginally more sympathetic,...

When Third Window Films acquires a film, it's time to sit up and take notice. This past year they've been scouting the best of Japanese cinema, so when they revealed their newest acquisition I was pretty excited to see how Sang-Il Lee's latest film would fare. Even though the setup of Villain (or Akunin, if you want to stick with the Japanese name) sounds like a pretty standard Japanese drama, there is a lot more going on underneath the hood. Sang-Il Lee keeps jumping back and forth between comedy and drama in his oeuvre. Nothing out of the ordinary you might say, but there's a really big gap between his fluffy comedies and his edgy dramatic works. When I first watched 69 I was ready...

Assembled for broadcast on Japanese television by Nhk, Kaidan Horror Classics is a series of four adaptations of famous macabre short stories by high profile Japanese directors. And it's an interesting selection of talent, to say the least. Calling the shots on the series are Hula Girls director Sang-Il Lee, Infection's Masayuki Ochiai, Nobody Knows helmer Hirokazu Kore-Eda, and Tetsuo: The Iron Man's Shinya Tsukamoto.

For a full breakdown of the four films I recommend heading over to the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow, who have posted a full review, but for a quick taste we've got the trailer below.

Yahoo! Eiga has posted a link to the new trailer for Sang-il Lee‘s upcoming film Akunin (literally “Villain”).

The film is based on a crime story by Shuichi Yoshida which was originally serialized in Asahi Shimbun in 2006 and later published as a novel. In the story, a young female insurance agent is murdered and police initially suspect a rich college student is the culprit. However, their investigation soon leads them to a lonely blue collar worker named Yuichi (Satoshi Tsumabuki). By the time police have sorted this out, Yuichi meets a woman named Mitsuyo (Eri Fukatsu) by chance and the two attempt to evade detection in her car. During their time together, the unlikely pair gradually become captivated by one another.

Toho will be releasing “Akunin” in Japan on September 11, 2010.

Pretty much everyone involved with Sang-il Lee‘s upcoming crime thriller Akunin has remained notably mum about the project since it was first announced back in November, but it seems as though that’s about to change. Earlier today, Toho released a 34-second teaser trailer for the film via its Toho Yokoku website.

The film is based on a crime story by Shuichi Yoshida which was originally serialized in Asahi Shimbun in 2006 and later published as a novel. In the story, a young female insurance agent is murdered and police initially suspect a rich college student is the culprit. However, their investigation soon leads them to a lonely blue collar worker named Yuichi (Satoshi Tsumabuki). By the time police have sorted this out, Yuichi meets a woman named Mitsuyo (Eri Fukatsu) by chance and the two attempt to evade detection in her car. During their time together, the unlikely pair...

• The programming of the Nmff was very interesting in the first few days of the press screenings before the festival. Perhaps they put all the good films at the beginning to impress journalists. It worked, for a few days. Now as a quasi-morbid ambiance can be felt at the festival headquarters where the press office is located, the festival continue to agonize as the remaining few days of the festival slowly draining down. I wouldn't want to be the press relation person who has the job of putting all the press clippings on the Spectra 'Billboard of Shame'. There isn't a single day during which a devastating article isn't published about Spectra's management of the festival (or the lack thereof). Fellow journalists who cover the festival for printed newspapers have a limited number of words every day. Due to the festival's problems, they spend 90% of their word count criticizing

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