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Leonard Schrader
Leonard Schrader (November 30, 1943 – November 2, 2006) was an American screenwriter and director, most notable for his ability to write Japanese-language films and for his many collaborations with his brother, Paul Schrader. He earned an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay he wrote for the film '' Kiss of the Spider Woman''. Early life and college Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Schrader was brought up in a strict Dutch Calvinist family and did not see his first film until he was an adult. In 1968, he finished his MFA at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop where he studied with Nelson Algren, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Yates, Robert Coover, José Donoso and Jorge Luis Borges. Japan After graduating, Schrader left Grand Rapids in the Midwest and escaped the draft by moving to Japan to teach. (According to Peter Biskind, in his book ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', Schrader left the U.S. when he received a draft induction notice and didn't return until he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the central city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,087,592 and a combined statistical area population of 1,383,918. Situated along the Grand River approximately east of Lake Michigan, it is the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan, as well as one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest. A historic furniture manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed "Furniture City". Other nicknames include "River City" and more recently, "Beer City" (the latter given by ''USA Today'' and adopted by the city as a brand). The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, based in the health care, information technology, aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yakuza'' is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization. The ''yakuza'' are known for their strict codes of conduct, their organized fiefdom nature and several unconventional ritual practices such as '' yubitsume'' or amputation of the left little finger. Members are often portrayed as males, wearing "sharp suits" with heavily tattooed bodies and slicked hair. This group is still regarded as being among "the most sophisticated and wealthiest criminal organizations". At their height, the ''yakuza'' maintained a large presence in the Japanese media and operated internationally. At their peak in the early 1960s, police estimated that the ''yakuza'' had a membership of more than 200,000."Police of Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Boyfriends
''Old Boyfriends'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Joan Tewkesbury and written by the brothers Paul and Leonard Schrader. The film stars Talia Shire, Richard Jordan, Keith Carradine, John Belushi, John Houseman and Buck Henry. The film was released on March 22, 1979, by Embassy Pictures. Plot Dianne Cruise is a clinical psychologist who is suffering with an identity crisis and struggling with her marriage. In an attempt to learn about herself, Dianne goes on a road trip to reconnect with three of her old boyfriends. Her first stop is in Colorado, where she appears on the set of a documentary movie that her college boyfriend, Jeff Turin is making. It's a campaign ad for a state politician. The star of the ad is Sam the Fisherman, who criticizes the political opponent for policies that lead to the pollution of streams. On the set Sam the Fisherman flirts with Cruise. After the ad has finished shooting, Cruise joins the cast and crew at a bar, where Sam attempts aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with director Martin Scorsese, starring in six of his films since 1967. Keitel has played in such films as '' Who's That Knocking at My Door'' (1967), '' Mean Streets'' (1973), ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), '' Blue Collar'' (1978), '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988), '' Thelma & Louise'' (1991), ''Bugsy'' (1991), ''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), '' Bad Lieutenant'' (1992), ''The Piano'' (1993), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), ''From Dusk till Dawn'' (1996), ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Red Dragon'' (2002), '' National Treasure'' (2004), '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'' (2014), ''Youth'' (2015), and ''The Irishman'' (2019). He has been nominated for a number of accolades, including Academy and Golden Globe nominations for ''Bugsy'' (1991), and won an AACTA Award ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. In 2017, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time . Rollingstone.com, retrieved February 15, 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Collar (film)
''Blue Collar'' is a 1978 American crime drama film directed by Paul Schrader in his directorial debut. Written by Schrader and his brother Leonard, the film stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. The film is both a critique of union practices and an examination of life in a working-class Rust Belt enclave. Schrader, who was a screenwriter renowned for his work on ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), recalls the shooting as being very difficult because of the artistic and personal tensions he had with the actors (including the stars themselves). Schrader has also stated that while making the film, he suffered an on-set mental breakdown, which made him seriously reconsider his career.''The Back Row''Robin's Underrated Gems: Blue Collar (1978)/ref> The film was shot in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Plot A trio of Wayne County, Michigan auto workers, two black— 32-year-old Ezekiel "Zeke" Brown from Detroit, Michigan (Pryor) and two-time ex-convict 35-year-old Sam "Smoke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film '' Out of Africa'' (1985), Pollack won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture. He was also nominated for Best Director Oscars for '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1969) and ''Tootsie'' (1982). Some of his other best-known works include '' Jeremiah Johnson'' (1972), '' The Way We Were'' (1973), '' Three Days of the Condor'' (1975) and ''Absence of Malice'' (1981). His subsequent films included ''Havana'' (1990), ''The Firm'' (1993), '' The Interpreter'' (2005), and he produced and acted in ''Michael Clayton'' (2007). Pollack also made appearances in Robert Altman's Hollywood mystery '' The Player'' (1992), Woody Allen's relationship drama '' Husbands and Wives'' (1993), and Stanley Kubrick's erotic psychological drama ''Eyes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in several classic film noirs. His acting is generally considered a forerunner of the antiheroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films include '' Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944), '' Out of the Past'' (1947), '' River of No Return'' (1954), '' The Night of the Hunter'' (1955), '' Thunder Road'' (1958), '' Cape Fear'' (1962), ''El Dorado'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970) and '' The Friends of Eddie Coyle'' (1973). He is also known for his television role as U.S. Navy Captain Victor "Pug" Henry in the epic miniseries '' The Winds of War'' (1983) and sequel '' War and Remembrance'' (1988). Mitchum is rated number 23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Yakuza
''The Yakuza'' is a 1974 neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura and Brian Keith. The screenplay by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne is from a story by Schrader's brother, Leonard Schrader. The film is about a retired American detective who returns to Japan after decades away in order to rescue his friend's daughter, kidnapped by the eponymous crime syndicate. Following a lackluster initial release, the film has since gained a cult following. Plot Retired detective Harry Kilmer is called upon by an old friend, George Tanner. Tanner has been doing business with a ''yakuza'' gangster, Tono, who has kidnapped Tanner's daughter to apply pressure in a business deal involving the sale of guns. Tanner hopes that Kilmer can rescue the girl using his Japanese connections. Kilmer and Tanner had been Marine MPs in Tokyo during the post-war occupation. Kilmer became aware of a woman, Eiko, who was involved in the black market so that s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22,615 , president = Nagahiro Minato , city = Kyoto , state = Kyoto , country = Japan , coor = , undergrad = 13,038 , postgrad = 9,308 , campus = Urban,, , colors = Dark blue , nickname = Kyodai , mascot = None , free_label = Athletics , free = 48 varsity teams , affiliations = Kansai Big Six, ASAIHL , logo = , website www.kyoto-u.ac.jp , or , is a public research university located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. KyotoU is consistently ranked amongst the top two in Japan, the top ten in Asia, and the world's top fifty institutions of higher education. Founded upon the principles of its motto, “ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doshisha University
, mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 billion (JP¥169.6 billion) , debt = , rector = , officer_in_charge = , chairman = , chancellor = , president = Matsuoka Takashi , vice-president = Nobuhiro Tabata, Yasuhiro Kuroki, Tsutao Katayama, Takashi Nishimura , superintendent = , provost = , vice_chancellor = , principal = , dean = , director = , head_label = , head = , faculty = 2,357 (800 full-time, 1557 part-time) , staff = , students = , undergrad = 27,024 , postgrad = 2,298 , doctoral = , divinity = , residents = , other = , profess = , alumni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the Meiji Restoration, Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality. The cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
