Waiting for Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu to play in your hood? Sadly bereft of weird Japanese videos? Here’s a bunch to whet your appetitite.
Obayashi was quite the prolific director, having directed over 30 movies in his career, but he’s also well known for his commercials. One of the first Japanese directors to start the trend of bringing over American actors to sell products, his most famous is a string of commercials for a deodorant/cologne/man-maker called “Mandom” which stars Charles Bronson.
I’ve embedded my favorites- the rest are linked below. Enjoy.
Harmonica Bronson.
Horseriding Bronson.
Axe swingin’ Bronson
Red Bronson.
Thanks to “hieronymousmerkin” for reminding me of these gems in the comments.
8 comments
This is great. Commercial number four is a real gem, too. Chopping wood, flying helicopters and chasing tiny horses!
CHARLES BRONSON OF GREASE ME DOWN TIME TO KILL A FEW INMATES FAME. oh well
Wow, any other dude attempting those adverts would look anything but mandomly. Would love to see a "Fandom" spoof: Kevin Smith rubbing it into his fat-flaps then rockin' World of Warcraft.
Mandom #6 is one of my favourite ads of all time, mainly because of the sad life Bronson has in that ad. He's dressed in a tux and yet can't pick up, so he goes home alone, grabs a pipe from his pipe collection, fruitily throws his shirt off and then literally showers himself with an entire bottle of cologne whilst having visions of himself as a cowboy.
Mandom obviously makes you good at throwing stuff…
When I was younger I always wished I could rip off his stache and use it as a boomerang.
Glad you posted these, Alex. All the world loves a lover, after all. The interesting thing is that Obayashi's hyper-glossy, kinetic visual style is readily apparent in these ads. They're almost like a dry-run for House. The superb Japanese film site The Midnight Eye has an extremely informative article on Obayashi right now, detailing his transition from doing experimental short subjects to respected studio director. I can't really fault the man for not devoting his entire career to insane films like House. I mean, I'll eat my hat if fan-favorite Takashi Miike is ever awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Emperor, as Obayashi was last year. Then again, it's probably its utter unclassifiableness that makes House so unique. It's really one of a kind. I only hope the Criterion Collection dvd includes an interview with the director, capturing his thoughts and recollections on making the incredible movie. Until then, MMMMM . . . Mandom.
Mmmmm, MANDOM! I'm using that..
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