Midnight Eye
Type of site
Film criticism
Literary criticism
Interviews
Available inEnglish
Created by
  • Tom Mes
  • Jasper Sharp
  • Martin Mes
URLwww.midnighteye.com
Launched2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Current statusOnline

Midnight Eye is a non-profit review website launched in 2001 by Tom Mes, Jasper Sharp, and Martin Mes. The website features reviews and analyses of Japanese films, as well as book reviews and interviews with filmmakers. In June 2015, it was announced that no further content would be added to the website.

History

Editor Tom Mes, alongside his brother, designer and programmer Martin Mes, and fellow editor Jasper Sharp, launched the website in spring 2001.[1] Tom Mes conceived the idea for the website after watching a retrospective of then-recent Japanese films at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2000.[2]

In 2004, Tom Mes and Sharp published The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film, a book about Japanese cinema which includes over 100 reviews of Japanese films, and which features a foreword by Hideo Nakata.[3] Throughout its history, the website has published articles by numerous contributors, along with interviews with filmmakers such as Takashi Miike,[4] Hayao Miyazaki,[5] Satoshi Kon,[6][7] and Yuki Tanada,[8] among others.[9]

On 29 June 2015, Sharp and the Mes brothers announced that the website was retiring, and that no further content would be added to it.[1] In their announcement, they wrote "The site will remain as and where it is for the time being, but after fifteen years of creating the main source of info on Japanese cinema in the English language we are calling it a day."[1]

Reception

Midnight Eye has been referenced by such publications and companies as Bustle,[8] the Criterion Collection,[10] DVD Talk,[11] Forbes,[12] and Vice.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sharp, Jasper; Mes, Martin; Mes, Tom (29 June 2015). "Reflections in a Midnight Eye". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (29 November 2004). "An interview with authors Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Midnight Eye feature: The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film". Midnight Eye. 29 November 2004. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  4. ^ Tafelski, Tanner (9 November 2017). "Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer" Is An Excessive Plunge Into the World of the Yakuza". The Village Voice. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b Ewens, Hannah (20 July 2016). "Why 'Spirited Away' Is the Best Animated Film of All Time". Vice. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  6. ^ Mes, Tom (11 February 2002). "Midnight Eye interview: Satoshi Kon". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  7. ^ Gray, Jason (20 November 2006). "Midnight Eye interview: Satoshi Kon". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  8. ^ a b Burgos, Danielle (2 March 2018). "36 Female Filmmakers Across The Globe Who Are Breaking Ground In Their Own Countries". Bustle. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Midnight Eye: Interviews". Midnight Eye. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Introducing Nobuhiko Obayashi". Criterion.com. Criterion Collection. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  11. ^ Remer, Justin (16 June 2015). "The Happiness Of The Katakuris (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  12. ^ Di Placido, Dani (25 June 2019). "'Toy Story 4' Vs. 'Spirited Away'". Forbes. Retrieved 21 July 2019.

Further reading

External links

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