Nobuhiko Obayashi Directs Charles Bronson in macho cologne commercial

by Chris MaGee

With North America in the grip of "House" hysteria there's been a few folks fishing around online for bits abd pieces of Nobuhiko Obayashi ephemera. One of those is Japan Society New York film programmer Samuel Jamier (with a little help from Outcast Cinema's Marc Walkow). He's tracked down the holy grail of Obayashi absurdity with this Japanese TV commercial for Mandom cologne starring... wait for it... Charles Bronson! Apparently this was shot in the early 70's by Obayashi who was segueing his career from an experimental filmmaker to a commercial one, and well before "House". This also came before Charles Bronson's career defining 1974 film "Death Wish", but by the looks of it Mandom cologne transformed Charlie from a pirouetting pretty boy to a gun-toting he-man. Thanks Mandom!