Toshio Masuda - Legacy

Legacy

Within the studio system, Toshio Masuda was a major figure in defining the Nikkatsu Action style. He has been called the studio's top action director and worked with the studio's biggest stars. He produced box office hits which are fondly remembered by Japanese fans into the 21st century and are regarded as genre landmarks by Japanese critics. Masuda developed a reputation as a "pro's pro", who delivered consistently strong work in the difficult, fast-paced, production line environment of the Nikkatsu Company and did so on time and within budget. His films from this period remain little known outside of Japan, largely eclipsed by the cult fame of Nikkatsu enfant terrible Seijun Suzuki. While preparing a Nikkatsu Action Cinema retrospective for the 2005 Udine Far East Film Festival, author and critic Mark Schilling found it likely that none of the five Masuda films he selected had previously been screened abroad. though Velvet Hustler was released on VHS cassette by Home Vision Entertainment on September 21, 2001 in North America.

After the collapse of the studio system, Masuda's career continued unabated. His best known film in the West is the blockbuster American-Japanese co-production Tora! Tora! Tora!, although his contributions are somewhat overshadowed by co-directors Richard Fleischer and Kinji Fukasaku—the latter of which later achieved international cult notoriety for his own yakuza films, among others—despite having been responsible for the lion's share of the Japanese segments of the film. Masuda's animated works, especially the Space Battleship Yamato series, are remembered by anime fans worldwide. The first Yamato film originally reached overseas audiences in 1978, including theatrical screenings in England and American television. The series has since expanded into a full blown franchise.

A comprehensive, Japanese language book detailing Masuda's career was released in 2007, titled Masuda Toshio: The Complete Action Films of Giant Star Toshio Masuda (映画監督舛田利雄 アクション映画の巨星舛田利雄のすべて Eiga kantoku Masuda Toshio: akushon eiga no kyosei Masuda Toshio no subete). It includes an extensive interview with Masuda, approximately 500 pictures, poster images of his 52 Nikkatsu films and notes on all 82 feature films. Widely neglected by Western critics, writer Mark Schilling dedicated a section of his 2007 book No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema to Masuda, predominately focusing on said cinema. Musician and writer Chris D. has expressed an interest in doing likewise. No Borders, No Limits is an expanded edition of the version that accompanied the Nikkatsu Action Cinema retrospective Schilling programmed for the Far East Film Festival. Abridged versions of the retrospective have appeared in the United States. The Criterion Collection has since optioned a number of films from the retrospective to be made available for the first time in the North American home video market but the titles have not yet been announced.