“Today is the first day of a life of sacrifice.” 地獄門 [Jigokumon / Gate of Hell] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953)
Aug
4
orange
The shrine's torii as seen in the film. Vermilion contains mercury, which not only acts as a preservative but is also believed to ward off evil. DP: Kōhei Sugiyama.
Orange: a building or structure*
– Moritoo Endō
Partially filmed near the 厳島神社 (Itsukushima Shrine) with its striking vermilion torii.
Shot on Eastmancolor, relatively cheap and globally available, and influenced by Hollywood colour melodramas of the time, in particularly Rudolph Maté's Mississippi Gambler (1953) (source), and in its turn greatly influenced the implementation of colour in global cinema to come.
Jigokumon won two Academy Awards in 1955, for Best Costume Design and Best Foreign Language Film.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for August is not date-related but lists, for the most part, the colours of the rainbow.
IsaoYamagata
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“A scientist is not like a politician who can answer every question.”
宇宙人東京に現わる [Uchūjin Tōkyō ni arawaru / Warning from Space] (Kōji Shima, 1956)
Nov
30
1955
The News Herald reports (with the wrong type of headers): “Supreme Headquarters Of The World Council” “Suspend All Activities In Launching Artificial Satellites Until Notice”. DP: Kimio Watanabe.
– Japanese Bar' Ucyū-ken' Madam Ohana