tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12882119073106517572024-03-13T09:54:52.898+09:00vermillion and one nightstexts on Japanese cinema, history and more.Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-52176776349517756482015-08-21T22:12:00.000+09:002015-08-21T22:13:44.307+09:00Moving...This Blog is moving to another site.<br />
Enic-cinE <a href="http://www.enic-cine.net/">http://www.enic-cine.net/</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-80727120852075191562015-08-19T17:38:00.002+09:002015-08-19T17:54:39.816+09:00Composition Class (1938)<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-blwfnPpDLgc/VdQ188avY8I/AAAAAAAAHY0/AvQBk2ox6zE/s1600/Composition%2BClass%2B1938%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-blwfnPpDLgc/VdQ188avY8I/AAAAAAAAHY0/AvQBk2ox6zE/s1600/Composition%2BClass%2B1938%2B5.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hideko Takamine in "Composition Class (1938)"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Along the east bank of the Arakawa river in Tokyo, there is a place called Yotsugi. The place is a part of Katsushika, the lower town of the metropolis. Today, this neighborhood looks as generic as any other residential area, but rather chaotic web of narrow streets tells you the place has been developed with little total grand design. In 1930's, the place was filled with rows and rows of flimsy, jerry-built tenements for low-income families. <br>
</div><a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/08/composition-class-1938.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-78414301873627317302015-06-29T01:00:00.000+09:002015-06-29T01:08:05.200+09:00Bing Crosby and Art of Recording<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3CKVQ2iGfbU/VZAJgvMaXUI/AAAAAAAAHWQ/UN-oEgvfEKI/s1600/Ampex_-_Picture_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3CKVQ2iGfbU/VZAJgvMaXUI/AAAAAAAAHWQ/UN-oEgvfEKI/s640/Ampex_-_Picture_8.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The BCE Mark II video recorder in early 1953. (l-r) Jack Mullin, Bing Crosby and Wayne Johnson<br>via. <a href="http://ethw.org/">ethw.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I found <a href="http://ethw.org/First-Hand:Bing_Crosby_and_the_Recording_Revolution">this article</a> by Robert R. Phillips, the early magnetic recording engineer who worked at Bing Crosby Enterprises, on Engineering and Technology History Wiki site today. This is a fascinating read.</div>
</div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; -qt-paragraph-type: empty; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
You may not know this, but Bing Crosby was the father of modern magnetic recording technology. Oh, I don't mean he spent hours fiddling with vacuum tubes and making solder joints. He just wrote a series of fat checks to engineers to build audio and video recorders so that he didn't have to deal with radio and TV live shows every week. He had his own laboratory (Electronics Division in Bing Crosby Entertainment) and a group of very talented engineers working for him.</div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; -qt-paragraph-type: empty; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
<br>
</div><a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/06/bing-crosby-and-art-of-recording.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-42728329146970737772015-06-19T01:00:00.000+09:002015-06-19T01:02:59.689+09:00Points and Lines (2007)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VO_ONZQ2r4Y/VYLpKWhfftI/AAAAAAAAHTE/fUWd7SKuzrM/s1600/Points%2Band%2BLines%2B2007_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VO_ONZQ2r4Y/VYLpKWhfftI/AAAAAAAAHTE/fUWd7SKuzrM/s640/Points%2Band%2BLines%2B2007_1.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yasunori Takahashi (left) and Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
In 2007, almost half a century after <a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.jp/2015/06/points-and-lines-1958.html">the first movie</a>, "Points and Lines" was remade for TV. It was an ambitious endeavor for a TV drama; it was a 2-part program, almost 2 hours each, totaling 4 hours; because the story was set in 1950's, a huge budget was put into artworks and sets to recreate the era, and many of the location shootings were meticulously planned and executed not to give away anything modern; the story was reworked to be more convincing to modern audience while expanding the role of the detective from Fukuoka (Torikai), the role played by Takeshi Kitano. The results is a mixed bag, to say the least.</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br>
</div><a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/06/points-and-lines-2007.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-60669273536885178332015-06-12T19:00:00.000+09:002015-06-12T19:00:00.120+09:00Points and Lines (1958)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xY7Zf45Cq8/VXqfinLhfHI/AAAAAAAAHPo/52B2N7zDsio/s1600/points%2Band%2Blines%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xY7Zf45Cq8/VXqfinLhfHI/AAAAAAAAHPo/52B2N7zDsio/s640/points%2Band%2Blines%2B2.jpg" width="640"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<style type="text/css">
p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; }
</style>
</div>
<br>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<i>"This is rather a lonely place, isn't it?"</i></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
A young woman told her male companion as they walked toward seashore from the railway station. It was already half past nine. More precisely, it was a few moments after 9:35 p.m. They apparently had arrived at the Nishitetsu-Kashii station near Fukuoka, Kyushu, at 9:35 p.m. and started toward the rocky beach of Kashii. A drunk passer-by overheard her words. He told so to police detectives weeks later. Next morning he overheard this enigmatic words, a woman and a man were found dead on the beach side by side. The local police concluded it was a double suicide. Detective Torikai didn't think so. And the federal police investigating a political scandal in Tokyo didn't think so either. The man who died beside his lover was the key witness to the scandal. He went to the grave with all the dirty secrets.</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/06/points-and-lines-1958.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-58121752528847064492015-03-28T12:00:00.000+09:002015-03-28T12:00:04.031+09:00We Will Fight Until Hell Freezes Over... (Part 2)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jz-CozX2NTs/VRUg2-17eMI/AAAAAAAAHM8/_aevqo6P9KU/s1600/img011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jz-CozX2NTs/VRUg2-17eMI/AAAAAAAAHM8/_aevqo6P9KU/s1600/img011.jpg" height="452" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Poster for "Until the Day of Victory (1945)"<br>
(via. <a href="http://www.momat.go.jp/FC/digitalgallery/20130515_002.html">NFC/MOMAT</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another film of 1945, "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038088/">Until the Day of Victory (勝利の日まで, 1945)</a>" is directed by Mikio Naruse, the film was released in January of that year. Judging from the synopsis, it seems quite an odd ball for Naruse. It was about a "mad" scientist who invented a new bomb, which delivers entertainment to soldiers in the fronts, rather than deaths to enemies. It seems 15-minute fragment survives in the NFC archive. I have never seen this fragment, but the productions stills from the movie are quite tantalizing. I have no idea how this film did in terms of box office. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/03/we-will-fight-until-hell-freezes-over_28.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-26133527729308705132015-03-25T12:00:00.000+09:002015-03-25T12:00:02.782+09:00We Will Fight Until Hell Freezes Over... (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU9hLBYB1AM/VREUA76vQfI/AAAAAAAAHLg/vC7GR_F8c08/s1600/Eiga%2BGijutu%2BMarch%2B1943_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU9hLBYB1AM/VREUA76vQfI/AAAAAAAAHLg/vC7GR_F8c08/s1600/Eiga%2BGijutu%2BMarch%2B1943_500.jpg" height="640" width="420"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Eiga Gijutu (Cinema Technology)" Cover, March 1943</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
According to Japanese Movie Database, <a href="http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1945/a1945.htm">total of 23 movies were released between January 1st and August 15th of 1945</a>. That is the last seven and half months of Great Japanese Empire and its militaristic endeavor. In the same seven and half month in 1935, the ten years prior, <a href="http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1935/a1935.htm">the total of 289 movies were released</a>. Thus, the leaders of the Empire miraculously reduced its cultural output by the factor of twelve within a decade, it seems. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
The filmmaking during the last days of the war faced serious setbacks. The materials, such as film stocks, various building materials for the sets, and lighting equipments were seriously in shortage. Blackouts were too often. Even cameras were not readily available, since the Interior Ministry had been adamantly advocating the need for propaganda newsreels and documentaries shot in the combat zones, and the cameramen had been sent off to China and Southeast Asia only to be perished along with the other soldiers. And their cameras had perished with them. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/03/we-will-fight-until-hell-freezes-over.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-42454868316801926132015-03-12T18:00:00.000+09:002015-03-12T23:00:38.652+09:00A Few Odd Facts About Universal's Frankenstein<div style="text-align: justify;">
Probably one of the most discussed topics about popular Hollywood cinema is that of horror genre. Horror fans are the most loyal and devoted group of cinema aficionados, who spend enormous time and efforts on digging up the most arcane facts of their favorite films. Above all, Universal horror films are the most researched and discussed topics of all and, of course, "Frankenstein" and its sequels fascinate all of us to this day.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
As I was preparing for the Japanese magazine article (in preparation), I read many of these treatises, writings and publications of extensive research and discussions. They are excellent and just interesting to read. Plus I did my own research myself, and some of my findings don't seem to have appeared in any of recent discussions on the topic, as far as I know. So I will share some of them. They are nothing ground-breaking or anything, just a few bits of trivia you might find interesting if you are familiar with Universal's Frankenstein series.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-few-odd-facts-about-universals.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-56178317310068413032015-03-05T11:56:00.000+09:002015-03-12T01:50:49.081+09:00UNKNOWN HOLLYWOOD - Feburary 8<div style="text-align: justify;">
It has been a long time since I have added the post here...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On Feburary 8, William Wellman's pre-code classic, "Night Nurse (1931)" was screened at EIGA 24-KU (Sendagaya, Tokyo) as a part of UNKNOWN HOLLYWOOD series. UNKNOWN HOLLYWOOD is the on-going movie screening events Ryo Tsunoda, a film critic and a writer, and I plan and produce, with the aim to introduce some of the overlooked Hollywood films (- 1952) to Japanese audience. For an each event, we set a theme to emphasize the cinema history, social significance, or cultural background. This time, the theme was "pre-code Hollywood". After the screening, we invited Mr. Danny Reid of <a href="http://pre-code.com/">pre-code.com</a>, who is the foremost researcher on the subject right now and (luckily for us!) currently resides in Tokyo, to give us a special presentation on Pre-Code Hollywood cinema. It was a superb study on cinema history, well-researched and expertly presented. Here is the video of his presentation. Enjoy!</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hgOepuzAz_Y" width="853"></iframe>
<br /></div>
UNKNOWN HOLLYWOOD: <a href="http://ryotsunoda.com/%E7%9F%A5%E3%82%89%E3%82%8C%E3%81%96%E3%82%8B%E3%83%8F%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A6%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%E3%82%B7%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF-unknown-hollywood/">Official Site (Japanese)</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/UnkwonHollywood">Twitter</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-36819388360538069172014-10-31T00:00:00.000+09:002014-10-31T00:00:04.515+09:00Fusen (1956)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AdwQUibXuRE/VFJNG7YxyQI/AAAAAAAAG-k/NLit0AtdRJ4/w800-h603-no/Fusen_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AdwQUibXuRE/VFJNG7YxyQI/AAAAAAAAG-k/NLit0AtdRJ4/w800-h603-no/Fusen_1.jpg" height="481" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Izumi Ashikawa and Tatsuya Mihashi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Almost all movies - and stories, for that matter - rely on conflicts. Conflicts between a man and a woman. Conflicts between civilization and nature. Conflicts between love and hate. Between courage and weakness, old and new, mighty and poor etc. These conflicts casually employ archetypes of many sorts, to reorient audience to the familiar path of narrative development. It helps to pose ethical theme, metaphysical theme, something meaningful without going into complex discourse of human interaction. One of the most popular device of conflict is that of generations. Teenagers look and act like bubble-headed egoists with a lot of knowledge about modern-day practicalities, while the older parents are stubborn pieces of exhausted mental capacities with a lot of knowledge about bygone day's impracticalities. And reconciliation at the end is the must. At the beginning of <i>Fusen</i> (Japanese for Balloon), it looks like another melodramatic tale of this sort of generation gap. A reserved, serious and gentle father, Haruki (Masayuki Mori) and his wayward, nihilistic son, Keikichi (Tatsuya Mihashi). But as the story unfolds, we realize it is not about generation, it is about empathy.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/10/fusen-1956.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-47751968844440407962014-10-09T14:47:00.000+09:002014-10-09T14:47:14.013+09:00Digital Amnesia (2014)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NdZxI3nFVJs" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
(You can watch the full movie.)</div>
<br>
Did you have an account at GeoCities? I am quite sure at least you have visited more than dozens of those sites, - personal blogs or hobby exhibition, or maybe just a few pages of family photos - and probably went on to something else, without even noticing the site was hosted at GeoCities, one of the largest hosting service at the time. In 1999, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/1999/01/28/technology/yahoo_a/">Yahoo! purchased this thriving service at staggering $3.57 billion</a>, but it turned out to be not as lucrative a business as it had hope to be. Exactly 10 years after, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350024,00.asp">Yahoo! announced its closure rather suddenly</a>. Some of the users went panic, some lamented, most just decided to let it go, and there were those who didn't even notice their sites were deleted. But people at <a href="http://archive.org/web/geocities.php">Internet Archive</a>, <a href="http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Geocities">Archive Team</a> and others took it differently. They thought this was a part of our culture. If it were deleted, it would never be remembered. No one will recall how these GeoCities sites looked like back in 1999. So several teams of Internet archivists attempted to download the whole sites. The whole GeoCities. Now, you can browse the Internet life in 2000's at Archive Team or <a href="http://geocities.ws/">Geocities.ws</a> or <a href="https://archive.org/web/">Wayback Machine</a>. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/10/digital-amnesia-2014.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-61037420309306321072014-08-27T20:49:00.001+09:002014-08-27T20:49:10.271+09:00Chi Wa Kawaiteru (1960)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoFryog1HJQ/U_3A1qmCo9I/AAAAAAAAFdo/8J9alaKaMfI/w500-h213-no/Blood%2Bis%2BDry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoFryog1HJQ/U_3A1qmCo9I/AAAAAAAAFdo/8J9alaKaMfI/w500-h213-no/Blood%2Bis%2BDry.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the dystopian world of Sidney Lumet's <i>Network</i> (1976), the death of the once-popular TV personality in front of camera is considered to be the best way to preserve corporate integrity in the face of fierce competition. The price of 'virtual' persona sometimes exceeds the price of person's physical life itself. The idea of a life insurance company exploiting a sensational image of death for marketing their products sounds very promising, but Yoshishige Yoshida's <i>Chi Wa Kawaiteru</i> (血は渇いてる, 1960) abandons the credibility and nuances in exchange for visual impact.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/08/chi-wa-kawaiteru-1960.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-88608858546183451582014-08-22T22:00:00.000+09:002014-08-22T22:26:00.860+09:00Hakone-Yama (1963)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LBcH8o8IQsFrfgpE9Q2ZxTaKwl3HlzIYXcPAX3-sY4=w659-h274-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LBcH8o8IQsFrfgpE9Q2ZxTaKwl3HlzIYXcPAX3-sY4=w659-h274-no" height="207" width="500"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Oh, you mean, the next trend will be to live in the slower pace, in this age of hectic pace."</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
- Kouemon (Shuji Sano)</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
This film is about nothing but a hectic pace of modern life. Crisply photographed, edited and directed, Yuzo Kawashima's <i>Hakone-Yama</i> (1963) drives you through the world of highly-charged competition among corporations. It is fast, loud, vulgar, and mean. It is loosely based on the actual event at the time. It is timely, sensational and dirty. Most of all, it is energetic.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/08/hakone-yama-1963.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-68606419745644664792014-07-27T21:00:00.000+09:002014-07-27T21:46:48.057+09:00We Will Never Know Their Names, But That's Fine, Too<div style="text-align: justify;">
Whenever you read books or articles on film noir, you encounter expressions like this:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<i>Another influence on the visual style of the films was the development of camera and lighting technology in the late 'thirties: faster film stock, coated lenses (which significantly increased the light transmission) and more powerful lights.</i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
- 'Film Noir, Introduction', Michael Walker, in "The Book of Film Noir", edited by Ian Cameron, The Continuum Publishing Company, 1992</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
In fact, almost all literatures I have been reading recently reiterate the same thing: faster film stock, high-speed lens and powerful light. Some critics inserted these lines in the beginning of their writings so that they can go on rumbling about the analysis of film noir stylistics and aesthetics. I started to wonder, what are they? How did they differ from the previous technologies? So I dug a little deeper into this little problem.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/07/we-will-never-know-their-names-but.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-85261763557591416812014-06-13T18:00:00.000+09:002014-06-15T17:20:14.731+09:00Me no Kabe (1958)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/PMLuVyuzLTS8aA95xihFf_wOWf4EjJ2DPrO_63_2kaA=w500-h211-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/PMLuVyuzLTS8aA95xihFf_wOWf4EjJ2DPrO_63_2kaA=w500-h211-no"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br>
[<i>Edit 2014.6.15: Added the trailer for this film at the end of this article.</i>]</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Gray fluorescence fills a phone booth as bleakly as gray dusk outside. A pale-faced middle-aged man talks into a receiver in a rather frustrated tone: No, I can't come home tonight. I will be away for a while. How about kids? Are they good? Bye bye. He hangs up the phone. He steps out of the booth into incessant high-pitch noise outside. Above him, the brooding gray sky silently pushes him into the noises of Tokyo. It is the last day of his life.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/06/me-no-kabe-1958.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-41050410980494623652014-05-11T17:00:00.000+09:002014-05-11T17:00:03.188+09:00Meito Bijomaru (1945)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU-jXx_sNlM/U23NHx6dGGI/AAAAAAAAFXs/K3HwiykoL8E/w640-h480-no/Meito+Bijomaru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DU-jXx_sNlM/U23NHx6dGGI/AAAAAAAAFXs/K3HwiykoL8E/w640-h480-no/Meito+Bijomaru.jpg" height="450" width="600"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Museum of the Moving Image (New York) is hosting the <a href="http://www.movingimage.us/films/2014/05/02/detail/mizoguchi/">Series on Mizoguchi films</a> during this May. The program includes many Mizoguchi's works rarely seen, and one of them is war-time Jidaigeki,<i> Meito Bijomaru</i> (名刀美女丸, 1945). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/05/meito-bijomaru-1945.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-43087609449426065622014-05-07T15:19:00.000+09:002014-05-07T15:19:58.960+09:00Nine Films from Germany, Kobe, 1925<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0YXPhFXLcZc/UwH732cqHXI/AAAAAAAAE8w/mLxKJDj5isY/w455-h683-no/14+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0YXPhFXLcZc/UwH732cqHXI/AAAAAAAAE8w/mLxKJDj5isY/w455-h683-no/14+-+1"></a></div>
<br>
<br>
I found this full-page ad in one of the old issues of Kinema Junpo (September 21, 1925). The ad is by a film distributor, probably specialized in German films, to inform exhibitors its new acquisition from UFA. There are nine films listed:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/05/nine-films-from-germany-kobe-1925.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-79440527202294021482014-03-26T19:30:00.000+09:002014-03-26T19:35:44.839+09:00In jenen Tagen (1947)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMuJNsD-ewg/UzKbP9XnfXI/AAAAAAAAFRY/kRXQqaFBZaY/w480-h360-no/vlcsnap-2014-03-25-17h10m51s108.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMuJNsD-ewg/UzKbP9XnfXI/AAAAAAAAFRY/kRXQqaFBZaY/w480-h360-no/vlcsnap-2014-03-25-17h10m51s108.png"></a></div>
<br>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; -qt-paragraph-type: empty; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
Many film history books devote their pages on postwar German film industry to New German Cinema movement, usually citing the names of the auteurs like Fassbinder, Herzog, Schlöndorff or Wenders, and drawing a parallel with French New Wave. Both movements shouted first and shot later: they both shouted their papa's movies suck. For French New Wave, 'papa' was kindly named by François Truffois, - directors like Claude Autant-Lara, Jean Delannoy, René Clément, Yves Allègret and Marcello Pagliero, and scriptwriters like Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost, Jacques Sigurd, Henri Jeanson, Robert Scipion, and Roland Laudenbach (1). Young Germans were much more civilized: their Overhausener Manifesto just called it "conventional German cinema" and refrained themselves from bursting into name-calling (2). </div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/03/in-jenen-tagen-1947.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-12779291157146945952014-02-11T22:00:00.000+09:002014-02-11T22:26:51.210+09:00When A Society Drifts Further From Truth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/mSoEfv09QHg4zTOo04hpFAR9Gg6OOQF2xT3Od8YsNF8=w500-h350-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/mSoEfv09QHg4zTOo04hpFAR9Gg6OOQF2xT3Od8YsNF8=w500-h350-no"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During the production of "Bouquet in the South Seas (Nan-kai no Hanataba, 1942)"<br>
The film was shot on location in Marshall Islands and other South Sea Islands, <br>
the occupied territories of Japan at the time. <br>
The caption for this photo reads "The issues of the South Sea Islands need the most urgent attention." </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The nationalists not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by
his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing
about them.<br>- George Orwell</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-japans-bbc-is-rewriting-its-role-in-second-world-war-9115827.html">an article</a> in Independent website about ever-growing revisionist views among the board members of NHK, the public broadcasting in Japan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Naoki Hyakuta says Japan was lured into the Second World War by America while liberating Asia from white colonialism. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-style: italic;">He denies war crimes such as the 1937 Nanjing massacre, when Japanese troops killed thousands of Chinese civilians. Such views are common among revisionists in Japan. Mr Hyakuta, however, sits on the board of the nation’s public service broadcaster</span>.</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/02/when-society-drifts-from-truth.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-82810469988892134422014-02-03T23:00:00.000+09:002014-02-03T23:00:07.116+09:00Newsreels of War (Part 3)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Southern half of Sakhalin had been a part of Japanese territory since early 20th century, and many Japanese relocated from the main islands to seek profitable opportunities. At the same time, these settlers craved for entertainment from the country they had left behind. Movies were particularly in high demand, and there was at least one theater in each settlement. Shikuka (or Shisuka, Polonysk today) was one of those towns along the Soviet border, with a population of 30,000 (in 1941). Koji Takii, a reporter from Kinema Junpo, visited the town in 1939 to document the movie business in the town. There were two movie theaters in Shikuka, but their programs were chaotic. They screened whatever available to them at the time regardless of their production companies or origins. During winter, movie print supplies from Japan main islands were so scarce that they had to screen the same old movie for weeks. Since the place was located at the very end of film distribution chain, the prints were battered from repeated screenings and broke easily. Takii brought a fresh print of a propaganda film, <span style="font-style: italic;">Koukoku Nippon</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Emperor's Country, Nippon</span>), and proposed its screening to townspeople. They were only eager to have such a 'glorious' movie screened. The local movie theaters were running mainly commercial features such as melodramas and period films, and it is not surprising that people in Shikuka found such a propaganda film so illuminating and educational. The event was named "Anti-Communism National Defense Week" and the Women's Association of the town handled ticket sales through Geishas and Cafe waitresses. The screening was packed to the roof, with all those who had bought the tickets from girls in nightclubs and cafe, plus all the school pupils lead by teachers. </div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/02/newsreels-of-war-part-3.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-30204500855686361582014-02-01T23:00:00.000+09:002014-02-01T23:00:04.309+09:00Newsreels of War (Part 2)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Akira Yamamoto (1932 - 1999), a sociologist, recalls his experience during his kindergarten days in 1937. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<br></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
In the playground of elementary school in my neighborhood, I saw many newsreels in the screenings sponsored by a newspaper agency. Up on the screen, I saw the train packed with soldiers were sent off with cheers of 'Banzai, Banzai'. Cargo vessels traveling through China Sea, soldiers holding guns advancing over a river, those soldiers charging to castle wall ... and they took the castle, put up our flag and yelling 'Banzai'... I saw these newsreels among the crowd packed in the playground. Sometimes people cheered and applauded to the screen. </div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/02/newsreels-of-war-part-2.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-74589110413218546222014-01-30T23:00:00.000+09:002014-01-30T23:00:09.702+09:00Newsreels of War (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
On July 8, 1937, the hostile confrontation at the Marco Polo Bridge ignited the full-scale war between China and Japan. It was the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945), which eventually developed into the World War II in the eastern hemisphere. Japanese Imperial Army and Navy fought fierce battles in Beijin, Shanghai, Nanking and other major areas in China, expanding the Empire's territory. 'Our Soldiers Attack Enemy's Front !', 'Our Imperial Soldiers Fire Back At Hostile Enemies !', "A White Flag on the Enemy's Hill !", these audacious headlines were splashed across the newspapers almost every morning. As in many industrialized nations in the first half of 20th century, Japanese newspapers played the decisive role in forming national opinion and sentiment during the war. Their day-to-day reports from the battlefront were rarely objective data and facts, but read like fanatic pamphlet written in boiled blood. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/01/newsreels-of-war-part-1.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-27867014946542303762014-01-14T00:00:00.000+09:002014-01-14T15:29:20.794+09:00Literary Genealogy of Rashomon (Part 2)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QHGkJlYm1rA/Usu-w8uh1DI/AAAAAAAAE7I/sfuukz8adl0/w423-h636-no/cu31924013443266_0030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QHGkJlYm1rA/Usu-w8uh1DI/AAAAAAAAE7I/sfuukz8adl0/w423-h636-no/cu31924013443266_0030.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Browning's Signature on the front page of the original <i>Old Yellow Book</i><br>
from <a href="https://archive.org/details/cu31924013443266">Cornell University/Archive.org</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Robert Browning composed <span style="font-style: italic;">The Ring and the Book</span>, a long dramatic poem, based on a real-life murder trial in 17th century Rome. In 1698, Count Guido Franceschini was accused of a murder of his wife and of her parents and sentenced to death. He protested and even appealed his innocence to the Pope, who denied his plea eventually. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Ring and the Book</span> is comprised of twelve separate books, the first and the last being the narration by a third person, presumably Browning himself. The remaining ten books are testimonies and discussions by witnesses, the accused, the lawyers and the Pope. This poem was inspired by yet another book Browning found in a stall in Florence (it is called <span style="font-style: italic;">Old Yellow Book</span>). This book was from the 17th century, the time of Franceschini case and contained the actual letters and documents relating to the case. <br>
</div><a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/01/literary-genealogy-of-rashomon-part-2.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-86780025100262128082014-01-07T18:00:00.000+09:002014-01-07T18:00:08.464+09:00Literary Genealogy of Rashomon (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MparSH-uSi0/UsuZ_HlZfOI/AAAAAAAAE5I/l1pmRJKzB5Y/w500-h400-no/Miniature_Model_of_Rajomon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MparSH-uSi0/UsuZ_HlZfOI/AAAAAAAAE5I/l1pmRJKzB5Y/w500-h400-no/Miniature_Model_of_Rajomon.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Model of Rajoumon (Rashomon) (The Museum of Kyoto)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
The word 'Rashomon' has now firmly acquired the place in English vocabulary. Even a person who has never seen the Kurosawa's film uses the term. In Wikipedia, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_effect">the word "Rashomon Effect"</a> is defined as a term "to refer to contradictory interpretations of the same events by different persons, a problem that arises in the process of uncovering truth". The word also found its entry in OED in the recent edition. In the film <a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/06/postwar-kurosawa-rashomon.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Rashomon</span></a>, there is a crime and there are witnesses (suspects and victims). Each witness tells a story about the crime, - how it happened, who did what, - but each account is different from one another. We speculate why they contradict each other, - these may have been altered by their various emotions, cheated out by their vanity or obscured by their conscience. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2014/01/literary-genealogy-of-rashomon-part-1.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1288211907310651757.post-86241702147115206442013-12-17T14:20:00.000+09:002013-12-17T14:20:02.975+09:00The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AhoOSSRv8y8/Uq_b0o9j6hI/AAAAAAAAE34/YqU6bOdpedA/w500-h348-no/kaguya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AhoOSSRv8y8/Uq_b0o9j6hI/AAAAAAAAE34/YqU6bOdpedA/w500-h348-no/kaguya.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaguya-hime_no_Monogatari_%28film%29">THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA (KAGUYA-HIME NO MONOGATARI, かぐや姫の物語)</a> is based on the oldest Japanese fiction called '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter">Taketori Monogatari (Spoilers)</a>' written in late 9th century. The author is unknown and the original text didn't survive. Set in the peaceful era of the Fujiwara regency, the story revolves around a 'princess', who was found inside a bamboo tree, when she was a baby. Raised by the old childless couple, she grew up to be the most beautiful lady on earth. So begins the story. Almost all Japanese know the story by heart, at least the beginning and the ending. But I wouldn't go further, for I presume many of my readers are not familiar with this old Japanese tale of wonder, and I don't want to spoil your excitement when you see it.</div>
<a href="http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-tale-of-princess-kaguya-2013.html#more">Read more »</a>Murderous Inkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726333918255937045noreply@blogger.com