I just took out both Something Like an Autobiography and The Warrior's Camera to double check, and I think I was misspeaking. Stephen Prince, in The Warrior's Camera (pg. 54) has: <br><br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote">
"None of Kurosawa's other films of this period demonstrates the consummate and professional command of form so evident in <span style="font-style: italic;">Sanshiro Sugata</span>. These other works were <span style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">
made under conditions of official compulsion</span> or were thematically and formally constrained by the exigencies of wartime."</blockquote><div><br>I think this is what I was remembering, but his autobiography doesn't indicate he did anything against his will (in fact, he met his first wife, Yoko Yaguchi, while making
<span style="font-style: italic;">The Most Beautiful</span>). He does seem to intimate that, much like after 9-11 for Americans, the wartime patriotism was a little overboard. Perhaps he would not have made the film at all if he hadn't been contacted by the Japanese navy, but he doesn't mention any intimidation tactics, neither does Prince.
<br><br>These are the only two books I have on Kurosawa, perhaps someone else has more insight. <br></div><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 4/7/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Jonathan M. Hall</b> <<a href="mailto:jmhall@uci.edu">
jmhall@uci.edu</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div style="">Dear All,<div><br></div><div><span>Rob Smith raises, tentatively I see, an interesting question. Was Kurosawa forced to make
<i>The Most Beautiful</i>? Was quitting his job a possibility? I wonder if the rhetoric of force is a contemporary means to deal with the question of life under fascism. Of course, for those Americans on the list, we might be able to ask similar questions of ourselves?
</span></div><div><span><div><br></div><div><div><div>Yours,</div><div>Jonathan</div><div><div><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div><span class="e" id="q_111cf991bc903496_1"><br><div><div>On Apr 6, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Rob Smith wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite">This won't answer the question specifically, but Kurosawa's "The Most Beautiful" might be worth taking a look at. It takes place in an optical plant during WW2, and does depict a little bit of the war during the climax, if I recall correctly.
<br>It's been a long time since I've read his own autobiography or Stephen Prince's book (I've never seen the film itself), but it's essentially a propaganda piece that he was, I think, forced to make during the war against his will (it was made in '44).
<br>Hope that helps, even though it doesn't really address the central issue of the question. <br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 4/6/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Bruce Baird</b> <<a href="mailto:baird@asianlan.umass.edu" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
baird@asianlan.umass.edu</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div>Dear Colleagues,<div><br></div><div> This is a rudimentary question from a colleague (Steve Forrest--not usually a KineJapan type) of mine here at UMass, but I thought that one of you might know off the top of your head or already have a previously typed file stored in your hard drive and thus could help out faster than I can.
</div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div><br></div><div>Bruce</div><div><br></div><div>PS. No need to trouble yourself with responding directly to Steve. If you just hit reply and respond to me or the list, I can forward replies on to him
<br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3">
<b>From: </b></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" face="Helvetica" size="3">
Stephen Forrest <<a href="mailto:sforrest@asianlan.umass.edu" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">sforrest@asianlan.umass.edu</a>></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3">
<b>Date: </b></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" face="Helvetica" size="3">
April 6, 2007 2:04:37 PM EDT</font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3">
<b>To: </b></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" face="Helvetica" size="3">
Bruce Baird <<a href="mailto:baird@asianlan.umass.edu" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">baird@asianlan..umass.edu</a>></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" color="#000000" face="Helvetica" size="3">
<b>Subject: </b></font><font style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" face="Helvetica" size="3">
<b>Movie history question</b></font></div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br></div> <div><br></div><div>Hi Bruce,</div><div><br></div><div>I'm wondering if know, or could look up (or suggest a good source for looking up), the earliest Japanese movies that depict WWII actions and events. Between the end of the war and 1970 Tora! x3 is the period I'm interested in, as of course there are all those victor's movies. Any thoughts?
</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Steve</div><br><div> <span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<div style="margin: 0px;"><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Bruce Baird</span></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Assistant Professor
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