Joined Shochiku Ofuna in 1953. Shinoda shot to fame with Youth in Fury (Kawaita mizuumi, 1960), his second directorial feature, for which he became regarded as a leading figure of the Shochiku New Wave alongside stablemates OSHIMA Nagisa and YOSHIDA Kiju. He collaborated with avant-garde playwright TERAYAMA Shuji and composer TAKEMITSU Toru in pursuit of new expressive possibilities within film, experimenting with stop-motion techniques and a narrative structure reminiscent of Citizen Kane for his jidaigeki (period drama) The Assassin (Ansatsu, 1964). In 1965 he left Shochiku to form his own production company, Hyogensha, where he continued to push the mold of artistic expression. His films from this period – such as Double Suicide (Shinju ten no amijima, 1969), an experimental adaptation of a bunraku play by leading Edo-period dramatist CHIKAMATSU Monzaemon; and Demon Pond (Yashagaike, 1979), a collaboration with special effects supervisor YAJIMA Nobuo (famed for his work on Toei tokusatsu TV drama series) – continue to attract global attention to this day. Whether directing hit movies like MacArthur's Children (Setonai shonen yakyu-dan, 1984) or more artistic fare such as Gonza the Spearman (Yari no gonza, 1986), for which he was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, he remained a director who steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed right up to his retirement in 2003.

(Taken from text originally written for National Film Archive of Japan screening program / Rearranged by TAMADA Kenta / Translated by Adam Sutherland)