Suzuki Noribumi (鈴木則文)
Noribumi SUZUKI (1933 -) is a Japanese film director as well as a script writer. He originates from Shizuoka Prefecture. He dropped out of the School of Economics, Ritsumeikan University. He was the film director that represented Toei Company, Ltd. He made various films concerning trucks, chivalry, Sukeban (female gangster), adaptation from manga, and pornography.
He was the creator of film series such as "Torakku yaro" (Truck men) played by Bunta SUGAWARA and "Hibotanbakuto" (Crimson Tree Peony Gambling) played by Sumiko FUJI.
Biography
1933: He was born.
1956: He was hired at Toei Kyoto Movie Studio as an assistant director.
1959 - 1964: He studied under directors Tai KATO and Tomu UCHIDA as their assistant director.
1963: He made his debut as a script writer in "Zoku, Tenamonya sandogasa" (Continued, Tenamonya Sandogasa) (co-written with Takaharu SAWADA) directed by Kokichi UCHIDE.
1965: He made his debut as a film director in "Osaka dokonjo monogatari, doeraiyatsu" (starring Makoto FUJITA).
1968: He wrote the script for the first work of the "Hibotanbakuto" series starring by Sumiko FUJI.
1971: He directed and wrote the script (co-written with Masahiro KAKEFUDA) for "Onsen Misuzu Geisha" starring by Reiko IKE. He became a pioneer for the Toei Porn films.
1974: He directed and wrote the script (collaborated with Masahiro KAKEFUDA) for his masterpiece pornography film, "Seiju Gakuen" (Convent of the Sacred Beast). It was popular abroad as well.
1975: He directed and wrote the script (co-wrote with Shinichiro SAWAI) for the first of the "Torakku yaro" series starred by Bunta SUGAWARA.
1977: He directed the film adaptation of the manga, "Dokaben."
1984: He directed and wrote the script (collaborated with Seiko SHIMURA) for "Kotaro makaritoru!" also based on manga before quitting Toei Company, Ltd. and became a freelancer.
1984: He directed "Pantsu no ana" (Hole in Underwear) (the first film version). It became the debut for Momoko KIKUCHI.
1987: He directed and wrote the script (collaborated the script with Masahiro KAKEFUDA) for "Hori no naka no pleiboru" (Play ball in a prison) originally written by Joji ABE.
1989: He directed and wrote the script for "Bungakush satsujinjiken oinaru joso" (Cultural Award Assassination Incident Big Runway) (the script was co-written with Seiko SHIMURA and Masahiro KAKEFUDA).
1990: He directed "Binbari High School" produced by Koji WAKAMATSU. It was the last film he directed as of now.
Film Style
He participated in many mysterious yakuza (Japanese mafia) films when he started as a script writer and film director. He created "Hibotanbakuto" series based on the dragon of Junko FUJI played by Bazoku Geigi that appeared in "Nihon daikyokaku" (1966) directed by Masahiro MAKINO. The same series was well known also as a work directed by Tai KATO, Kosaku YAMASHITA, and Shigehiro OZAWA, but the one that created the character, Otatsu, was Suzuki and wrote most of the scripts of the series (including the co-written works). He was the director only for the second of the "Hibotanbakuto ihhakuichimeshi" (Crimson Tree Peony Gambling: One Night Stay and One Meal). This became the pioneering work for female yakuza (Japanese mafia) films followed by "Nihonjokyoden" (Japanese female Tale), "Joshu Sasori Series" (Female Prisoner Scorpion Series), and "Gokudo no onnatachi" (Women in Gokudo (Yakuza World)).
He was a script writer for many of his works as well as films directed by others. The most famous one was the "Hibotanbakuto" series, but he also contributed to "Meiji kyokakuden sandaime shumei" (a story of professional gambler in Meiji, the third succession) (1965) and "Kyodai Jingi" (1966) of the first of the hit series of Kosaku YAMASHITA. However, most of them were collaboration works with one to two script writers including television dramas.
He directed many films starring Bunta SUGAWARA in the "Kanto tekiya ikka" series (he wrote scripts for some works as a co-author). He also directed and wrote the script (collaborated with Koji TAKADA) for "Mamushi no kyodai, kyokatsu sanokuen" (Adder Brothers 3 million yen), the sixth work of "Mamushi no Kyodai" released in 1973. Compared to other yakuza films such as "Chivalry films" and "historical films," it had a great entertainment aspect. It opened up other possibilities for Bunta SUGAWARA, who played many rough yakuza roles in the "Jingi naki Tatakai" (War Without a Code) series, and starred in the entertaining and popular "Torakku yaro" series.
He also directed "Shirukuhatto no Ooyabun" (The Boss of Silk Hat) (1970) which seemed like a mixture of the "Gokudo Series" (Mafia Series) and the "Hibotanbakuto" as an entertaining yakuza film.
Pornography films such as "Seiju Gakuen," "Tokugawa sekkusu kinshirei shikijo daimyo" (The Abstinence Order of Tokugawa The Erotomaniac Daimyo (the territorial lord)) (1972), and "Ero shogun to nijuichinin no aisho" (Erotomaniac Shogun (military general) and His Twenty-one Mistresses) (1972) had not only pornography aspect but had great entertainment aspect.
He also contributed to female action films such as "Karei naru tsuiseki" (1975) starting with "Sukeban" that were produced at the same period as pornography films. The entertainment aspect was preserved in these films as well.
He contributed to action films starring JJ Sunny CHIBA and Hiroyuki SANADA in late 1970s, and Takamori from JAC (current Japan Action Enterprise). These films had high reviews for being entertaining and full of action.
He paid the production costs himself for the "Bungakush satsujinjiken oinaru joso" (Murder at the Literary Award: Big Runaway) (originally written by Yasutaka Tsutsui) released in 1989 and was supposedly deeply involved. It was also highly entertaining similar to the original material.
He contributed, since the time when he made "Sengoku mushuku" (No Lodging in Warring States) in 1967, for many scripts for television dramas from the 1980s when the glory of the film world began to deteriorate. It was mostly historical drama, but one of the most noted one was "Abarenbo Shogun" (Wild Shogun) in "Meibugyo Toyama no Kinsan" (Famous Bugyo (Magistrate) Mr. Kin (Gold) of Toyama Mountain).
He focused greatly on the entertainment aspect of his films, started out with Chivalry, female yakuza, pornography, action films played by both genders, films produced from manga, and artistic works.
As a result, his works were regarded as 'second-rate films,' but he himself said, 'some say that I am a typical case of a mindless and inconsistent director, but those words flatter me.'
Although he contributed greatly to the film world both as a director and script writer, he prefers to not be considered as a 'great master' and refused fans asking him for a signature by saying, 'I am not that great.'
The highly skilled techniques used in pornography, art and literary, and science fiction films are special among Japanese films, but have characteristics of being lighthearted and having a cheerful atmosphere. Even if he took adventurous second-rate films, he looked rather unconcerned rather than having a clingy questionable atmosphere that emerged with Teruo ISHII.
He left many famous quotes such as, 'I light up the scene with really bright lights to create no shadows. Wouldn't it look stupid that way?' and 'I use full focus of the whole scene with the camera.
Wouldn't it look stupid since there is no depth to the screen?'