was a Japanese

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

director who was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Career

Self-taught, first making shorts on

8 mm film 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

during the 1970s, he made his feature film debut with ''No Yōna Mono'' (''

Something Like It is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. Cast *Katsunobu Itō as Shintoto * Kumiko Akiyoshi as Elizabeth *Isao Bitō Awards and nominations 3rd Yokohama Film Festival * Won: Best Film * Won: Best New Director - Yoshimitsu Morita ...

'', 1981).Mark Schillin
"Director Yoshimitsu Morita dies"
''Chicago Tribune'', 21 December 2011 In 1983 he won acclaim for his movie ''Kazoku Gēmu ( The Family Game)'', which was voted the best film of the year by Japanese critics in the '' Kinema Junpo'' magazine poll.Roger Mac
"Yoshimitsu Morita: Director best known for 'The Family Game'"
''The Independent'', 3 January 2012 This

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

dealt with then-recent changes in the structure of Japanese home life. It also earned Morita the

Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award The is given annually by the Directors Guild of Japan to a new director of a film released that year who is considered the most "suitable" for the award. The winner is selected by a committee formed of DGJ members. All formats—feature film, docu ...

. The director has been nominated for eight Japanese Academy Awards, winning the 2004 Best Director award for ''Ashura no Gotoku'' ('' Like Asura'', 2003). He also won the award for best director at the 21st

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

for ''39 keihō dai sanjūkyū jō'' (''

Keiho is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. Cast * Kyōka Suzuki as Kafuka Ogawa * Shin'ichi Tsutsumi as Masaki Shibata * Ittoku Kishibe as Inspector Nagoshi * Naoki Sugiura as Professor Saneyuki Fujishiro * Kirin Kiki as Defence Cou ...

'', 2003) and the award for best screenplay at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' (1996). '' Sanjuro'' (2007) is a remake of the Kurosawa film

Death and legacy

Yoshimitsu Morita died from acute liver failure in Tokyo in December 2011. His last film ''Bokutachi kyūkō: A ressha de ikō'' ('' Take the "A" Train'', 2011), a

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

about two male train enthusiasts, was released in Japan in March 2012.

Filmography

* ''

No Yōna Mono is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. Cast *Katsunobu Itō as Shintoto *Kumiko Akiyoshi (born July 29, 1954), better known as , is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 1st Hochi Film Award for ''Ban ...

'' (1981) (''Something Like It'') * ''

Come On Girls! Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...

'' (''Shibugakitai Boys & Girls'', 1982) * '' Zūmu Appu: Maruhon Uwasa no Sutorippa'' (also known as ''Uwasa no Stripper'', 1982) * ''

Futoku Aishite Fukaku Aishite , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...

'' (''Pink Cut'', 1983) * '' Kazoku Gēmu'' (''The Family Game'', 1983) * ''

Tokimeki ni Shisu Tokimeki is the romanization of the Japanese term ときめき which can mean excitement or heartbeat. It can refer to: *''Tokimeki Tonight'', a manga/anime series that began in 1982 * Tokimeki Alice, a manga by Hideo Azuma that ran from 1985 to 2 ...

'' (1984) * ''

Mein tēma Mein may refer to: People * Alexander Mein (1854–1927), British soldier who played on the winning side in the 1875 FA Cup Final * Hannie Mein (1933-2003), Dutch ceramist. * John Gordon Mein (1913-1968), a United States ambassador to Guatemala, t ...

'' (''Main Theme'', 1984) * '' Sorekara'' (''And Then'', 1985) * ''

Sorobanzuku is a 1986 Japanese film The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced ...

'' (1986) * ''

Kanashi Iro Yanen Kanashi is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the isolated Malana (Malani) village area in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is, to some extent mutually intelligible with other Sino-Tibetan language like kinnauri. Sociolinguistic si ...

'' (1988) * ''

Ai to Heisei no Iro - Otoko AI is artificial intelligence, intellectual ability in machines and robots. Ai, AI or A.I. may also refer to: Animals * Ai (chimpanzee), an individual experimental subject in Japan * Ai (sloth) or the pale-throated sloth, northern Amazonian ma ...

'' (1989) * ''

Kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...

'' (1989) * ''

Oishii Kekkon Oishii is an American vertical farming company that grows strawberries. Founded in 2016 by Hiroki Koga and Brendan Somerville, Oishii produces the "omakase" berry, which launched in 2018 at grocers in New York City. Originally selling for $50 p ...

(Happy Wedding)'' (1991) * '' Mirai no Omoide'' (''Future Memories: Last Christmas'', 1992) * '' Haru'' (1996) * '' Shitsurakuen'' (''A Lost Paradise'', 1997) * '' 39 Keihō dai Sanjūkyū jō'' (''Keiho'', 1999) * '' Kuroi Ie'' (''The Black House'', 1999) * '' Mohou-han'' (''Copycat Killer'', (2002) * '' Ashura no Gotoku'' (''Like Asura'', 2003) * ''

Umineko is a Japanese dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted at Comiket 72 for Windows on August 17, 2007. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two ...

'' (''The Seagull'', 2004) * ''

Mamiya kyodai is a 2006 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Yoshimitsu Morita, based on a novel by Kaori Ekuni. The film's theme, ''Hey, brother'', was performed by Rip Slyme. Plot The film follows two thirty-something eccentric brothers (Akinobu a ...

'' (''The Mamiya Brothers'', 2006) * '' Sanjuro'' (2007) * '' Southbound'' (2007) * '' Bushi no kakeibo'' (''Abacus and Sword'', 2010) * '' Watashi dasu wa'' (''It's on Me'', 2009) * '' Bokutachi kyūkō: A ressha de ikō'' (''Take the "A" Train'', 2012)

References

External links

* * *Davis, Bo
"Morita Yoshimitsu"
'Senses of Cinema'', February 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Yoshimitsu 1950 births 2011 deaths Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year winners Japanese film directors People from Tokyo