Motion Picture Director. He is best remembered for his realistic 1939 docudrama "Tsuchi (The Earth)," about poor peasants. A native of Okayama, he started out as a comic actor in silent films. He subsequently became a director's apprentice to such filmmakers as Kurihara and Mizoguchi. In 1927, he made his own directorial debut. For a few years afterward, Uchida focused on producing comedies, but by the late thirties he had earned renown for his realism. Uchida's work met with disapproval by Japan's militaristic government during the Pacific War and he exiled himself to Manchuria, China, where he became a communist and supporter of the local people. He consequently became a prisoner in China until 1954. He thereafter returned to Japan and worked for Toei studios making soap operas. His most critically acclaimed film was "Kiga kaikyo (The Strait of Hunger)", released in 1965.
Motion Picture Director. He is best remembered for his realistic 1939 docudrama "Tsuchi (The Earth)," about poor peasants. A native of Okayama, he started out as a comic actor in silent films. He subsequently became a director's apprentice to such filmmakers as Kurihara and Mizoguchi. In 1927, he made his own directorial debut. For a few years afterward, Uchida focused on producing comedies, but by the late thirties he had earned renown for his realism. Uchida's work met with disapproval by Japan's militaristic government during the Pacific War and he exiled himself to Manchuria, China, where he became a communist and supporter of the local people. He consequently became a prisoner in China until 1954. He thereafter returned to Japan and worked for Toei studios making soap operas. His most critically acclaimed film was "Kiga kaikyo (The Strait of Hunger)", released in 1965.
Bio by: Warrick L. Barrett
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