<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">I have been thinking about cigarettes in Japanese film as well, after watching Shina no Yoru (China Nights, 1940) earlier this week. Every time Hasegawa and Ri Koran look all ready to kiss, out comes the box of cigarettes instead, with Ri seductively striking a match and lighting her man's tobacco. I'm not sure if they were sponsored to light up, but it certainly seems like an effective way to add to add to the allure...<div><br></div><div>Come to think of it, Yamaguchi/Ri Koran's character slides into femme fatale mode for at least the middle part of the film - perhaps that's where she picked up the habit.</div><div><br></div><div>Paul</div><div><div><br></div><div><div><br><div><div>On Sep 26, 2008, at 1:47 AM, Roger Macy wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; 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; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div><font face="Arial">Does anyone know if there is any smoking gun connecting the tobacco industry with Japanese cinema?</font></div><div><font face="Arial">I noticed this report about Hollywood in the Guardian on-line</font></div><div><font face="Arial"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/sep/26/tobaccoindustry.smoking">http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/sep/26/tobaccoindustry.smoking</a></font></div><div><font face="Arial">and it is, doubtless, reported elsewhere.</font></div><div><font face="Arial"></font> </div><div><font face="Arial">I've been watching as many films as I can of the 'Japan in Black' season here at San Sebastian. The 'noir' elements of many of the films are debatable (as the organisers readily admit). Femmes fatales are passing rare, along with private detectives, etc. etc. Train scenes figure strongly and memorably, but all the films share two elements: they were popular films that featured well-photographed scenes of stars, smoking (or was it " stars' smoking ").</font></div><div><font face="Arial">Roger</font></div></span></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div></body></html>