Yoichi Maeda (movie director)

Yôichi Maeda (前田陽一, Maeda Yôichi, December 14, 1934 - May 3, 1998) is a Japanese movie director and screenwriter from Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture. He directed 17 movies for Shochiku and three for Toho. The best-known movie he directed is Make Way For The Jaguars from 1968, which became his well known musical comedy movie.

 Biography 
After graduating from Tatsuno High School and Waseda University School of Letters, Maeda joined the Shochiku Ofuna Film Studio in April 1958. He worked as an assistant director for Yoshishige Yoshida and Minoru Shibuya. In 1964, he made his first feature film debut as a director with Nippon Paradise (starring Yoshiko Kayama, along with Daisuke Katō, Mariko Kaga and Hiroyuki Nagato). Since then, he has been mainly focusing on comedy. 

After the decline of theatrical movies, Maeda switches to TV, worked on many television dramas, and co-represented the script-writing office "Ragus" with screenwriter Hideichi Nagahara. 

In 1998, he decided to make one last cinematic movie for the studio production "New Karajishi Co., Ltd." for the first time in a while, but he was hospitalized one week after filming it. Maeda died of liver failure on May 3, 1998. He was 63 years old. The filmed "New Karashishi Co., Ltd." was successfully completed and released by director Hideo Nanbu and screenwriter Hidetaka Nagahama, who were studying under director Maeda before. Directors Nanbu and writer Nagahama are credited as "cooperative directors", but they are still collaborated with by Yoichi Maeda.

He directed three movies for Toho with Kigeki migimuke hidari! (1970), Kigeki kinō no teki wa kyō mo teki and Okite koronde mata okite (1971). 

In his 1968 musical comedy movie, Make Way For The Jaguars, Maeda used good and sounds like The Beatles vocal harmonies mixed with "Psychotic Reaction" type fuzz guitar and the screen goes trippy with psychedelic prism effects—makes you think The Jaguars must have been "experienced." 

 Other websites 

Category:1934 births
Category:1998 deaths
Category:People from Hyōgo Prefecture
Category:Japanese movie directors
Category:Japanese screenwriters