Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
08-20-12, 04:06 PM
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Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Ken Watanabe will take the Clint Eastwood role in a Japanese remake of Unforgiven to be made by Time Warner's Warner Entertainment Japan.
Korean-Japanese helmer Lee Sang-Il (Hula Girls, Villain), who brought the idea of the project to Warner in May last year, will direct Yurusarezaru Mono (A Thing That Can’t Be Forgiven), which like the original, will be set in 1880.
Watanabe will play a samurai with a violent past, who lives on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido with his Ainu (the aboriginal people of the island) wife, but is brought out of retirement for one last job.
Koichi Sato (The Magic Hour) will play the Gene Hackman role, while veteran Akira Emoto (Villain) will take the part played by Morgan Freeman in the multi-Academy Award-winning original.
The production, due to start shooting in Hokkaido this fall and set for a Japanese release in fall 2013, is the first local remake of an Oscar Best Picture winner.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...orgiven-363976
Korean-Japanese helmer Lee Sang-Il (Hula Girls, Villain), who brought the idea of the project to Warner in May last year, will direct Yurusarezaru Mono (A Thing That Can’t Be Forgiven), which like the original, will be set in 1880.
Watanabe will play a samurai with a violent past, who lives on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido with his Ainu (the aboriginal people of the island) wife, but is brought out of retirement for one last job.
Koichi Sato (The Magic Hour) will play the Gene Hackman role, while veteran Akira Emoto (Villain) will take the part played by Morgan Freeman in the multi-Academy Award-winning original.
The production, due to start shooting in Hokkaido this fall and set for a Japanese release in fall 2013, is the first local remake of an Oscar Best Picture winner.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...orgiven-363976
08-20-12, 04:12 PM
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Unforgiven remake (set in Japan with Samurai)
TOKYO -- Warner Japan plans to remake the 1992 Clint Eastwood western "The Unforgiven" as a samurai period drama with Ken Watanabe playing the Eastwood role as a retired gunman taking one last job.
Helmer will be Lee Sang-il, who made "Villain," which swept the actor awards at the 2011 Japan Academy Prize ceremony.
Akira Emoto and Koichi Sato are also starring in the pic, skedded for a fall 2013 bow in Japan under the title "Yurusarezaru mono" (Japanese for "Unforgiven").
As in the original, the story will be set in 1880, with the location changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.
Watanabe plays a samurai with a fearsome reputation as a swordsman who is living in retirement with his Ainu wife when poverty and a large bounty tempt him into action again.
Eastwood himself shot to stardom in a remake of a Japanese film: Sergio Leone's 1964 "A Fistful of Dollars," which was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa samurai swashbuckler, "Yojimbo."
Kurosawa's 1954 pic "Seven Samurai" was similarly remade as the 1960 John Sturges-helmed western, "The Magnificent Seven."
"Yurusarezaru mono" will shoot from September to November in Hokkaido.
Helmer will be Lee Sang-il, who made "Villain," which swept the actor awards at the 2011 Japan Academy Prize ceremony.
Akira Emoto and Koichi Sato are also starring in the pic, skedded for a fall 2013 bow in Japan under the title "Yurusarezaru mono" (Japanese for "Unforgiven").
As in the original, the story will be set in 1880, with the location changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.
Watanabe plays a samurai with a fearsome reputation as a swordsman who is living in retirement with his Ainu wife when poverty and a large bounty tempt him into action again.
Eastwood himself shot to stardom in a remake of a Japanese film: Sergio Leone's 1964 "A Fistful of Dollars," which was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa samurai swashbuckler, "Yojimbo."
Kurosawa's 1954 pic "Seven Samurai" was similarly remade as the 1960 John Sturges-helmed western, "The Magnificent Seven."
"Yurusarezaru mono" will shoot from September to November in Hokkaido.
I've heard of Westerns remaking Samurai films, but has the chambara genre ever remade a Western genre film?
note to the mods: I would've called it in it's (at the moment) proper title but...since that probably wouldn't get much notice, I chose this...should one of you guys decide the proper title is cool..well..go ahead and put it up.
08-20-12, 04:15 PM
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Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Goddamnit. you made a thread too. *sigh* This is what happens when I go to take the trash out.
08-20-12, 05:29 PM
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08-21-12, 10:30 AM
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Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Listen, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN was a remake of THE SEVEN SAMURAI. A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS was a remake of YOJIMBO. I just read an interview with a Japanese star (Jo Shishido) from the 1960s who pointed out that many of his crime films were remakes of Hollywood films, including westerns. I've seen tons of kung fu films that are uncredited remakes of westerns, e.g. SHAOLIN KING BOXER was a remake of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. Tom Laughlin's THE MASTER GUNFIGHTER was a remake of GOYOKIN.
I only wish this proposed remake of UNFORGIVEN had actually been made as an original in the 1960s or '70s, when Japanese filmmakers knew how to make this stuff, and that Eastwood's film had been a remake of that!
I only wish this proposed remake of UNFORGIVEN had actually been made as an original in the 1960s or '70s, when Japanese filmmakers knew how to make this stuff, and that Eastwood's film had been a remake of that!
09-08-12, 05:52 PM
#11
DVD Talk Hero
UNFORGIVEN remake starring Ken Watanabe
Clint Eastwood western will become a samurai drama
By Mark Schilling
TOKYO -- Warner Japan plans to remake the 1992 Clint Eastwood western "The Unforgiven" as a samurai period drama with Ken Watanabe playing the Eastwood role as a retired gunman taking one last job.
Helmer will be Lee Sang-il, who made "Villain," which swept the actor awards at the 2011 Japan Academy Prize ceremony.
Akira Emoto and Koichi Sato are also starring in the pic, skedded for a fall 2013 bow in Japan under the title "Yurusarezaru mono" (Japanese for "Unforgiven").
As in the original, the story will be set in 1880, with the location changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.
Watanabe plays a samurai with a fearsome reputation as a swordsman who is living in retirement with his Ainu wife when poverty and a large bounty tempt him into action again.
Eastwood himself shot to stardom in a remake of a Japanese film: Sergio Leone's 1964 "A Fistful of Dollars," which was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa samurai swashbuckler, "Yojimbo."
Kurosawa's 1954 pic "Seven Samurai" was similarly remade as the 1960 John Sturges-helmed western, "The Magnificent Seven."
"Yurusarezaru mono" will shoot from September to November in Hokkaido.
By Mark Schilling
TOKYO -- Warner Japan plans to remake the 1992 Clint Eastwood western "The Unforgiven" as a samurai period drama with Ken Watanabe playing the Eastwood role as a retired gunman taking one last job.
Helmer will be Lee Sang-il, who made "Villain," which swept the actor awards at the 2011 Japan Academy Prize ceremony.
Akira Emoto and Koichi Sato are also starring in the pic, skedded for a fall 2013 bow in Japan under the title "Yurusarezaru mono" (Japanese for "Unforgiven").
As in the original, the story will be set in 1880, with the location changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.
Watanabe plays a samurai with a fearsome reputation as a swordsman who is living in retirement with his Ainu wife when poverty and a large bounty tempt him into action again.
Eastwood himself shot to stardom in a remake of a Japanese film: Sergio Leone's 1964 "A Fistful of Dollars," which was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa samurai swashbuckler, "Yojimbo."
Kurosawa's 1954 pic "Seven Samurai" was similarly remade as the 1960 John Sturges-helmed western, "The Magnificent Seven."
"Yurusarezaru mono" will shoot from September to November in Hokkaido.
09-08-12, 05:54 PM
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Re: UNFORGIVEN remake starring Ken Watanabe
ahem, you also fucked up along the lines I did.
mine:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...n-samurai.html
and the official one:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...nforgiven.html
So newsworthy that we need 3 to announce the film.
mine:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...n-samurai.html
and the official one:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...nforgiven.html
So newsworthy that we need 3 to announce the film.
09-08-12, 05:56 PM
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DVD Talk Hero
Re: UNFORGIVEN remake starring Ken Watanabe
ahem, you also fucked up along the lines I did.
mine:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...n-samurai.html
and the official one:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...nforgiven.html
So newsworthy that we need 3 to announce the film.
mine:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...n-samurai.html
and the official one:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...nforgiven.html
So newsworthy that we need 3 to announce the film.
12-11-12, 04:28 PM
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Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Looks real purdy.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U5-503ia7nU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U5-503ia7nU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
12-11-12, 05:58 PM
#17
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Lovely.
12-11-12, 06:12 PM
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05-01-13, 09:06 AM
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Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Still digging it and really liking the cast. I wouldn't mind a subtitled trailer at some point.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9hIQssfyaV0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9hIQssfyaV0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
05-01-13, 02:48 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Some of the sets/locations almost look identical.
America remakes Japanese films all the time...but how many times has this happened? I'm not aware of too many Japanese movies that are remakes of American films (now, someone is bound to post a list of hundreds).
America remakes Japanese films all the time...but how many times has this happened? I'm not aware of too many Japanese movies that are remakes of American films (now, someone is bound to post a list of hundreds).
05-02-13, 12:11 AM
#24
Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
Sideways was also remade for the Japanese market.
05-02-13, 01:29 AM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese Remake of 'Unforgiven'
I dig Ken Watanabe. I first recall him acting Tom Cruise off the screen in The Last Samurai. Loved all his work since. Looking forward to this.