11 - Japanese Film: 1951 - Flashcards
When were the first Japanese film studios established?
1904-1905
What were the Benshi? What was the effect of their popularity?
- popular live performers whose narration/dialogue accompanied silent film
- sound didn’t arrive until the mid-1930’s
Japanese films were divided into two main categories, each having its own conventions & styles. What were these?
- jidai-geki - historical films
2. gendai-geki - contemporary films
When did the international film community begin to recognize & celebrate Japanese cinema?
In 1951 with Kirusawa’s Rashomon
What was the Japanese equivalent to MGM?
Daiei Motion Picture Company
What were the Japanese concerned with (as opposed to Americans & Europeans) ?
Japanese - overall mood & atmosphere (including *motion)
Americans - action
Europeans - psychological & pictoral
What were the jidai-geki?
historical films
What were the gendai-geki?
Contemporary films
What are some major characteristics of the early (classic?) Japanese style.
slower pacing
emphasis on the image
savour what is expressed.
“painting with motion”
What is the ‘No’ Plays tradition?
Only male performers (same as Kabuki)
Supernatural content, mythology.
Slow and careful physical movement.
Poetic, but flat dialogue.
What is the ‘Kabuki’ Plays Tradition?
only male performers (same as No)
Elaborate staging
Over-the-top/Grandiose
Expressive Makeup (character).
Whose later films were notably jidai-geki? What were two such films?
Kurosawa
Kagemusha & Ran
Who are three ‘Japanese masters’ identified by Wexman?
Akira Kurosawa
Kenji Mizoguchi
Yasujiro Ozu - most ‘japanese’
What are two ‘new formulas’ developed in the Japanese New Wave moment?
the youth film
the action film.
What are Yakuza films?
Japanese gangster films (Toei Studio)
What were the Japanese Pink Films?
soft-core pornography
When did new and innovative directors (new wave) emerge into Japanese cinema?
60’s & 70’s
Name two new wave Japanese directors
Shohei Imamura
Nagisa Oshima
When was the golden age of japanese cinema?
1950’s and 60’s
When did the golden age of japanese cinema come to an end?
end by the mid-70’s
What Japanese film did we watch?
When was it released?
Who directed?
Production Company?
Throne of Blood (1957)
Akira Kurosawa
Toho Company (presents)
Kirosawa was the most easily appreciated of the Japanese directors. Why is this? What is the historical context?
Many of his films were adapted from both classic and contemporary Western literature. Influence from the USA’s post WWII occupation of Japan from 1945-1952.
Also very similar to Westerns; same general ideas and premises (past the surface differences: guns/swords, cowboys/samurais, etc)
