Toshio Matsumoto (松本 俊夫, Matsumoto Toshio; March 25, 1932 – April 12, 2017) was a Japanese film director, a pioneer of avant-garde experimental films, multimedia, and video in his homeland and abroad. Born in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan and a graduate from Tokyo University in 1955, his first short was Ginrin, which he made in 1955, however his most famous work is 1969's wildly experimental Funeral Parade of Roses (also known as Bara no soretsu). A retelling of Oedipus Rex, a trans person (portrayed by Pîta) tries to move up in the world of the Japanese hostess clubs. Funeral Parade of Roses heavily influenced Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). Matsumoto published many books of photography and art and was a professor and dean of Arts at the Kyoto University of Art and Design. He was also the President of the Japan Society of Image Arts and Sciences.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 25, 1932
- April 12, 2017 (aged 85)
- Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
- Director and writer
- 3 on MovieCove · 51 credits in all
What are Toshio Matsumoto's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
Grounded 0 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 3
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Toshio Matsumoto's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Toshio Matsumoto's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
51 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Devil In Mary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Discovery of Image – The Era of Toshio Matsumoto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
KIKAIDE MIRUKOTO = Eye Machine / To See by Chance –The Pioneers of Japanese Video Arts– (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Toro Axe Part 3: All Things Change (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Dissimulation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Old/New (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Dogra Magra(1988)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Engram (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
1986 Summer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
EE Control (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Sway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Wave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Delay Exposure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Vibration (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Relation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Shift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Connection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Ki or Breathing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Kimoto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
White Hole (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Enigma: Nazo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
The War of the 16 Year Olds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Atman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
A Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Everything Visible Is Empty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Murder Catalogue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Phantom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Fly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Andy Warhol: Re-Reproduction (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Mona Lisa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Expansion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Autonomy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Metastasis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Demons(1971)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Space Projection Ako (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Funeral Parade of Roses(1969)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Ecstasis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
For My Crushed Right Eye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Magnetic Scramble (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Mothers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Nippon Express Carries the Olympics to Tokyo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Nichiray a la carte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
The Song of Stone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
I'm Nylon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Weavers of Nishijin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Catch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Record of A Long White Line (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Security Treaty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
300 Ton Trailer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Caisson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Silver Wheel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Career shape
A full career of 51 titles from 1955 to 2018.
How do Toshio Matsumoto's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 96th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 96th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 3 titles divides audiences: 2 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 83/100 and the pacing 57/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Toshio Matsumoto work with?
People who share at least 2 of Toshio Matsumoto's MovieCove titles; Tatsuo Suzuki shares the most, 3.
- Tatsuo SuzukiShared titles: Dogra Magra (1988), Demons (1971), Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)See all 3 shared titles with Tatsuo Suzuki
- Toshie IwasaShared titles: Demons (1971), Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Toshie Iwasa