- Born
- Died
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Nobuo Nakagawa
Nobuo Nakagawa (中川 信夫, Nakagawa Nobuo, April 18, 1905 – June 17, 1984) was a Japanese film director, most famous for the stylized, folk tale-influenced horror films he made in the 1950s and 1960s.
Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews for the Kinema Junpō film magazine. He joined Makino Film Productions in 1929 as an assistant director and worked under Masahiro Makino. When that studio went bankrupt in 1932, he switched to Utaemon Ichikawa's production company and made his debut as a director in 1934 with Yumiya Hachiman Ken. He later moved to Toho, where he made comedies starring Enoken and even documentaries during the war. It was at Shintoho after the war that he became known for his cinematic adaptations of Japanese Kaidan, especially his masterful version of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan in 1959.
To Western audiences, his most famous film is Jigoku (1960), which he also co-wrote. The film was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006.
He also filmed many Kaidan for television. His last film was 1982's Kaidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji.
As director
The Living Koheiji
Japanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Sealed Room of the Inner Chamber
Sea of Wonders
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 1
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 2
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 1 - Ghost Story at the Kagamigaike
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 4 - The Yokai Blood-stained Comb
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter Special - Ghost Story of Tragic Love: Dance of the Folding Fan
Quick-draw Okatsu
Okatsu the Fugitive
Sakura sakazuki: gikyōdai
Snake Woman's Curse
This Is Japan
男の嵐
Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni
The Phantom Goblin
Bored Hatamoto: The Mysterious Coral Mansion
The Warrior from Kishu
Showdown at Lightning Pass
Kaachan
Samurai Hawk
The Man Who Challenged 8,000,000-Koku
Jigoku
Death Row Woman
Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan
The Lady Vampire
Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger
Black Cat Mansion
A Wicked Woman
Ghost in the Regiment