Tomu Uchida

Biography

Uchida started out at the Taikatsu studio in the early 1920s, but came to prominence at Nikkatsu, adapting literary works with the screenwriter Yasutarō Yagi in a realist style. His 1929 film A Living Puppet (Ikeru ningyo) was selected as the fourth best film of the year by the film journal, Kinema Junpo. Many of his 1930s films featured the actor Isamu Kosugi. One such work, Policeman (Keisatsukan), has been called "a tremendously stylish gangster movie about the love-hate relationship between a cop and a criminal, once childhood friends" It is Uchida’s only surviving complete silent film. Uchida borrows from Hollywood gangster films and expressionist techniques in a story of a young policeman tracking down an old friend who is now a criminal. His work from the 1920 and 1930s possess a leftist social commentary and were often some of the most critically acclaimed films of the time. Kinema Junpo selected Jinsei Gekijo as the number two film of 1936, Karininaki Zenshin as the best film of 1937, and Tsuchi as the best film of 1939. The latter was praised for its realistic depiction of the lives of poor Meiji-period tenant farmers. Unfortunately, few of Uchida's prewar works survive i…

Directed

1. A Fugitive from the Past (1965) — Director
2. Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (1955) — Director
3. The Mad Fox (1962) — Director
4. Miyamoto Musashi (1961) — Director
5. Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights (1962) — Director
6. Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple (1964) — Director
7. Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro (1965) — Director
8. Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of Two Sword Style (1963) — Director
9. Hero of the Red Light District (1960) — Director
10. Miyamoto Musashi VI: Swords of Death (1971) — Director
11. Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka (1959) — Director
12. Police Officer (1933) — Director
13. The Eleventh Hour (1957) — Director
14. Earth (1939) — Director
15. Souls in the Moonlight (1957) — Director
16. Souls in the Moonlight II (1958) — Director
17. Souls in the Moonlight III (1959) — Director
18. The Master Spearman (1960) — Director
19. Twilight Saloon (1955) — Director
20. Crab Temple Omen (1925) — Director
21. Sweat (1929) — Director
22. Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (1968) — Director
23. A Hole of My Own Making (1955) — Director
24. Konishi Junsa (1922) — Director
25. History - Part I (1940) — Director
26. The Revenge Champion (1931) — Director
27. Jean Valjean: Part One (1931) — Director
28. Unending Advance (1937) — Director
29. The Outsiders (1958) — Director
30. The Kuroda Affair (1956) — Director
31. Theater of Life: Youth Version (1936) — Director
32. A Living Puppet (1929) — Director
33. The Crown of Life (1936) — Director
34. Jean Valjean: Part Two (1931) — Director
35. The Horse Boy (1957) — Director
36. Sun over the River (1934) — Director
37. Tale of a Boy: Noble Heart (1925) — Director
38. Rebellion from Below (1956) — Director
39. Return to Heaven (1930) — Director
40. The Naked Town (1937) — Director